: Pdf output looks different when exported from InDesign vs CorelDraw? I have created a design in CorelDraw. While publishing it to PDF, it gets washed out. That might be due to some color management

@Connie430

Your problem probably lies with the fact that Corel Draw only allows CMYK formats and InDesign uses both RGB and CMYK.

When you export a file in a CMYK format and view it on a screen which is essentially an RGB screen everything looks dull or washed out.

If you're exporting the PDF to print, you shouldn't worry about the colors you see there, but if you're exporting a PDF just for digital usage, it would be better to use InDesign since you can export an RGB PDF too and the colours wouldn't look washed out.

Hope that helps.

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@Turnbaugh909

[How] can I be sure that this PDF generated from InDesign will print to paper as it is shown on screen in PDF ?


You can't.

There at least a dozen variables in the path from screen to press. You can not control all of them and it's entirely possible ones you can control are incorrect.

You have to calibrate everything - monitors, scanners - use proper profiles for all application and images - export to a press-ready (PDF) format and then get a chroma key/color proof from the printer.

Once you do this a few times you'll begin to trust your settings. However, there's never an absolute way to know that everything is perfectly correct until you see the file off the press compared to your screen.

I am not a Corel user. But I am a long time InDesign user. If you've got your monitor properly calibrated, your InDesign color settings correct, and exported to PDF/X format, chances are you're pretty close with the PDF generated from InDesign. However, only a chroma key or press proof will verify that.

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