PUB2000: Some Spot Colors in Inserted EPS Graphics Appear as Grayscale (235485)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Publisher 2000
This article was previously published under Q235485

SYMPTOMS

If you create a spot color publication that uses two spot colors, and then import Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) files that contain those two spot colors, only one of the spot colors will appear on screen. The other color will appear as a grayscale.

For example, suppose your publication uses the colors PANTONE 123 CVC (a yellow) and PANTONE 675 CVC (a reddish-purple) as its two spot colors. If you import an EPS file that contains PANTONE 123 CVC, you see the yellow areas on screen. However, if you import an EPS file that contains PANTONE 675 CVC, those areas appear as gray, not as purple.

NOTE: This is only an on-screen effect. If you print color separations to a PostScript printer, the EPS graphics separate correctly.

CAUSE

When you import a graphic from an EPS file into your publication, the Publisher EPS import filter has to create an on-screen preview of that graphic. When it does this, it only recognizes the first PANTONE color as being a PANTONE color. All other PANTONE colors are identified as CMYK colors. The preview is incorrect; however, Publisher does separate the actual graphic correctly when you print it (as long as you are printing to a PostScript printer.)

WORKAROUND

Method 1: Accept the incorrect screen preview

You can verify that Publisher detects both the spot colors.
  1. On the Tools menu, click Commercial Printing Tools, and then click Color Printing.
  2. Inspect the Colors Used list.
If the Colors Used list includes entries that are similar to the following

Spot color 1: PANTONE 123 CVC -- EPS "PANTONE 123 CVC"
Spot color 2: PANTONE 675 CVC -- EPS "PANTONE 675 CVC"


it means that Publisher has successfully identified the spot colors in the EPS image(s). The graphic will separate correctly when printed to a PostScript printer.

Method 2: Change the spot colors to the CMYK representation of the second PANTONE color

NOTE: Only use this method if it is vital to have an accurate on-screen display.
  1. On the Tools menu, point to Commercial Printing Tools, and then click Color Printing.
  2. Examine the Colors Used list. Determine if the color that doesn't appear is Spot color 1 or Spot color 2.
  3. Click Change Spot Color.
  4. Click the Spot color 1 or Spot color 2 list (whichever represents the missing color), and click More Colors on the menu that appears.
  5. Click CMYK on the Color Model list, and then click OK.
  6. Click OK again to return to the Color Printing dialog box
When you close the Color Printing dialog box, both spot colors should appear correctly. However, when you print separations, the resulting film won't have the PANTONE name for your first or second PANTONE color; you'll have to remember what that name is.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

EPS graphics are a special case in Publisher 2000. Publisher can automatically recognize spot colors in an EPS file; for all other imported graphics formats, it cannot. In addition, EPS graphics are the only kind of graphic that can contain two spot colors in Publisher. For all other graphics types, you can set only a single spot color (by using the Recolor Picture command on the Format menu.)

If you create an illustration in a drawing program such as Adobe Illustrator or Macromedia FreeHand, you can use spot colors that use the PANTONE Color Matching System (PMS). When you save the illustration as an Encapsulated PostScript, you can choose to save the names of those spot colors (along with a CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and black) conversion) as part of the EPS file.

When you import that graphic into your publication, Publisher checks the EPS file to see if it contains any custom spot colors that it recognizes. If the EPS file does, Publisher displays these colors in the Color Printing dialog box.

NOTE: It is possible to create an illustration using PANTONE colors but then convert them all to CMYK colors when you save it. If you do this, Publisher does not recognize the custom spot colors when you import the graphic. You can check to see whether an illustration contains recognizable PANTONE colors by doing the following:
  1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Wordpad.
  2. In Wordpad, on the File menu, click Open.
  3. Switch to the folder that contains your EPS image.
  4. Change the text in the File Names check box to *.*.
  5. Click your EPS file, and then click Open.
If there is a line near the top of the file that begins

%%DocumentCustomColors:

followed by a list of your PANTONE colors, then the file contains the PANTONE color information. If this line is missing, it means that all the colors were converted to CMYK when the file was saved.

If the PANTONE colors in an illustration do get converted to CMYK, there is no way through Publisher to put them back. You should open the illustration in the program that you used to create it, and switch the colors back to PANTONE.

The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:7/31/2001
Keywords:kbbug kbcmyk kbPostScript kbprepress kbsep kbspot KB235485
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