Object color and color picker color picker doesn't match

[bl...@adobeforums.com]

This has got me totally befuddled:

1) new Illustrator document >> RGB mode
2) create rectangle
3) use color picker. pick color. color shows up in "current color" box
4) assign color to rectangle
5) double click foreground color to view color picker. "current color" and rectangle color are different. Huh??????? should be the same right?

see illustration here:

<http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=dfv8h494_21gn9xq4ds>

[Harron_K....@adobeforums.com]

Cannot duplicate problem here. Might be version-dependent.

[bl...@adobeforums.com]

happens with CS3 too, in addition to CS2

since its not happening to everyone, must be a setting. but where?

[richno...@adobeforums.com]

Hmmmm i haven't tried this, but i'm having a problem whereby i'm trying to pick colours from a placed image into illustrator and the colours don't quite match like you said above.

Surely this is so basic that it can't be a bug, anyone out there know whats causing it? Adobe?

[OldBob]

The only time I've seen something like this is when either;

a) The document color mode and the color pallette color mode don't agree (One is RGB, one CMYK), or

b) Trying to pick or copy colors from an object built in a diferent color space (again, RGB vs. CMYK).

I'm currently running CS3.

[Harron_K....@adobeforums.com]

...i'm having a problem whereby i'm trying to pick colours from a placed
image into illustrator and the colours don't quite match...

Not sure whether this is a bug, but if you want an exact match, try embedding rather than linking.

I know... shouldn't make a difference, but it does.

[Harron_K....@adobeforums.com]

Just a few additional bits to my preceding post. (Again, this is unrelated to the OP but concerns post #3. There used to be a entire discussion about this "bug," but it seems to have scrolled off the system.)

1. This happens in AI 12 (CS 2). It does not happen in AI 8 nor in AI 10. I have no idea whether it happens in newer versions (13 & 14).

2. The color mode for the image file and Illustrator document must be CMYK (and, obviously, it helps to have the same color settings in Illustrator and Photoshop). It won't happen in RGB mode. That's right, it won't happen if your image file and AI document are RGB.

3. You'll notice that, for the example values I used in my preceding post (20/20/20/20), the linked placement in Illustrator will read something like 35.29/31.76/31.76/0. Exact values will probably differ with different color settings, but the point is that the K value is 0. The eyedropper, in this case, seems to be providing some kind of CMY (not CMYK) conversion of the RGB values. I'd venture this is why this oddness doesn't happen when you're working in RGB mode.

4. Although the final output from Illustrator appears unaffected by this behavoior (i.e., the original CMYK values of the image file will be maintained through printing, assuming you do nothing to intentionally change them in Illustrator), care must be taken if one does not embed and creates new color swatches using the eyedropper. One can, for example, temporarily embed for the purpose of sampling colors, then re-link. Or, one can do all necessary color sampling in Photoshop.

[bl...@adobeforums.com]

not certain we're not getting off topic here....

But to OldBob - this is happening to new RGB doc with new color object. If you mean by color palette settings to be the options mini-menu in the color windoid

those are set to RGB too

This apparently has something to do with how Illustrator interacts the embedded color profile - in this case "Adobe RGB (1998)". If you change the Illustrator color settings to "Emulate Illustrator 6 - ignore profiles" the problem is not manifest - the color in the color picker>>current color is the same as the object color.

an explanation from Adobe would be helpful...Adobe? Please?

[David...@adobeforums.com]

Illustrator color manages the canvas (everything in the Illustrator document), the operating system color manages the menus, dialogs, etc..
What Illustrator does on the canvas is to convert from the working color space(s) to the profile you have selected under View > Proof Setup.
If you want the color picker to match the colors on the document, you need to tell Illustrator to match what the operating system is doing. Under Proof Setup, choose Monitor RGB. This will work in most cases if you are working on RGB documents. For CMYK documents, you'll need to select Proof Setup > Customize and choose an RGB profile that matches what you operating system is set for.

[Harron_K....@adobeforums.com]

...not certain we're not getting off topic here...

Off the original topic, most certainly. The author of post #3, Mr. Nosworthy, should have started a new topic.

It is possible that Mr. Bob, in post #4, was (as was I) responding to Mr. Nosworthy, not to the OP, Mr. On.

This apparently has something to do with how Illustrator interacts the
embedded color profile - in this case "Adobe RGB (1998)". If you change
the Illustrator color settings to "Emulate Illustrator 6 - ignore profiles"

the problem is not manifest.

FYI, re: my post #1, I routinely use profile-based color-management (with, of course, embedded profiles) and still cannot get this to happen in AI 12 (CS2).

an explanation from Adobe would be helpful...Adobe? Please?

Posts here at this user's forum might or might not be viewed by someone at Adobe. If you wish to contact Adobe tech support, your best bets are e-mail or telephone.