How often have you faced the daunting task of trying to make all your illustrations retain the same color values, when imported from one Adobe software into another? Well, with all the newer Adobe software packages, you can do just that. All these applications use the same interface and color settings files for color management, so you can be sure that the colors you see in Adobe Photoshop 6.0 and 7.0 will appear the same in Adobe Illustrator 10, Adobe InDesign 2.0, and even Adobe Acrobat 5.0.



1. Create or obtain color profiles for your devices.

Assemble accurate ICC profiles for each of the devices you use: scanners, monitors, digital cameras, printers, and so on. You may be able to use the profiles provided by device manufacturersbut individual devices often vary from the default profiles, so custom profiles give you the most accurate results.



2. Customize a color settings file.

Choose Edit > Color Settings in InDesign, Photoshop, or Illustrator. From the Settings pop-up menu, choose the predefined color settings file that most closely resembles your workflow. Then specify the profiles for your devices in the Color Settings dialog box. Click Save and name the custom color settings file. To ensure that InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Acrobat can access the settings file, save it to its default location: Program Files/Common Files/Adobe/Color/Settings folder (Windows) or System Folder: Application Support: Adobe: Color: Settings folder (Mac OS).

You might notice minor differences in the Color Settings dialog box in these applications. In InDesign, you need to select Enable Color Management before you can specify settings. In Photoshop or Illustrator, select Advanced Mode to see more fields in the dialog box.

Predefined color settings files are each designed to provide consistent color in a particular publishing workflow under typical conditions. In some cases, the predefined settings files provide sufficient color management. However, you can achieve the most consistent color using ICC profiles created for your specific devices.



3. Apply the custom color settings file in each application.

When you open the file in another Adobe application, apply the same color settings: In InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator, choose Edit > Color Settings; in Acrobat, choose Edit > Preferences> General, and then click Color Management in Acrobat. Choose the file you named from the Settings pop-up menu.

You may want to modify the settings for fields not included in the saved color settings file. For example, Photoshop is the only application that designates a working space specifically for spot colors, so if the color settings file was saved from InDesign, the default Spot working space is selected in Photoshop.

If you regularly print to different devices, or work with different input devices (such as scanners or digital cameras), you can create additional color settings files that are customized for those workflows. Save each file with a name that clearly states its purpose, so that you can identify it easily.

By default, Photoshop and Illustrator embed the profiles designated in the Color Settings dialog box when you save a file in native format or as a PDF, JPEG, or TIFF file. If color management is enabled in InDesign, InDesign embeds profiles when you save a document or export it to PDF.