Spot COlour discrepancy

My client gave me her logo in .EPS format, which I opened using Illustrator. The logo color was Pantone 274C. However, while working on the same EPS file in Photoshop, I realised, when I eyedropped the same color, Photoshop tells me its 2756C, and it does look duller in the workspace. I'm working in CMYK for both programs.

What could be the problem. Is there any way to solve this? Thanks

[QUOTE=sinned_82]My client gave me her logo in .EPS format, which I opened using Illustrator. The logo color was Pantone 274C. However, while working on the same EPS file in Photoshop, I realised, when I eyedropped the same color, Photoshop tells me its 2756C, and it does look duller in the workspace. I'm working in CMYK for both programs.

What could be the problem. Is there any way to solve this? Thanks[/QUOTE]

I see what you mean. Created a simple box in Illustrator with 274C as a fill colour (midnight blue). And it does the same thing in Photoshop, switches over to 2756C, a slighter brighter midnight blue.

If it's a logo, I think it's rather easy to fix. Take the magic wand and select the area your pantone colour covers. Then go to Edit ---> Fill... and choose Color... from the Content/Use drop-down menu. Then click on custom, and you should have your pantone options. Scroll up a little bit, and you should find 274C again.

That's because 274C is out of CMYK gamut, so Photoshop, and Illustrotor, for that matter, swaps in the closest in gamut colour, in this case 2756C.

But since i'm preparing this file for spot printing, how do i ensure that 274C is the color that is embedded into the file, and not the gamut replacement? I understand that all colors reproduced on screen are just simulations, but is there a way to ensure 274C is the actual spot color used?

Photoshop and Illustrator have similar, but not the same, methods for spot color separation. Here's a technique for Photoshop.

1) Select the logo. You can use the magic wand tool or a more exacting method.

2) Fill the selection with white. Press D to get the default foreground and background colors and then press Ctrl+Backspace (Apple-Delete on the Mac). It’s important that you erase the old logo so that it appears in pure spot color without any mixing with the CMYK inks. But do not deselect your selection! It must remain active for Step 5 to work.

3) Create a new spot channel. The easiest way to do this is to Ctrl-click (Win) or Apple-click (Mac) the page icon at the bottom of the Channels palette. But you can also choose New Spot Channel from the Channels palette menu if you prefer.

4) Set the color to Pantone 274C. Click the Color swatch in the New Spot Channel dialog box. Then select Pantone 274C from the Custom Colors dialog box. (If the Color Picker appears instead, click the Custom button.)

5) Press Enter or Return or click OK twice. Photoshop adds the new spot color to the Channels palette and fills the selection. Your logo automatically appears in the spot color. (Cool, huh?)

6) Choose Image/ Trap. It’s a good idea to trap the spot color so that it covers up any gaps that may result from misregistration. Enter a value of 1 or 2 pixels and press Enter or Return. Photoshop spreads the logo but leaves the CMYK image alone.

7) Save the image. You have two choices of formats, native Photoshop or DCS2.0. If you want to import the image to a different program, use the latter.