In this training I will show you what you can do if you want to export your finished file and upload it to an online printer and you notice that the desired color profile is not available in InDesign.
For example, if I take this file and I go to the export dialog (File>Adobe PDF Presets>[PDF/X-4:2008],...
... save the file, set the color conversion in the output to Convert to target profile (1), and then look at which output method profiles (2) I have, then I see a whole lot.
I've already chosen an online printer in advance where I want to upload it, and I check again which profile they want. For example, viaprinto would like to have ISO Coated v2 (ECI).
When I now look in InDesign (see image on previous page), I realize that it is not available at all. So it is not pre-installed at all.
At flyerpilot they want the FOGRA Coated 27 or the ISO Coated v2. Again, the ISO Coated is missing, but I have the FOGRA. So I could select that.
What about the other print shops? At diedruckerei.de, they want one of the ISO 12647 series of standards, i.e. one of these: FOGRA27 or FOGRA39.
On another page of diedruckerei .de there is also something else about the color profiles and there ISO Coated v2 is also preferred.
The same applies to print24.
What I would like to point out is that InDesign does not have all color profiles pre-installed by default. So where do I get them from?
I go to www.eci.org for this. This is the site of the European Color Initiative. Under Downloads ...
... the color profiles, which I can easily download. I'm going to do that. Here are the ECI profiles, the 2009 set, and that's exactly what I need. Once I have downloaded them, ...
... then I find a zip file with the color profiles. Now the question is how best to install them. There is also a help page, kindly provided directly by Adobe. And it says: To install a color profile under Windows, I should go to the folder WINDOWS/system32/spool/drivers/color and add my profiles there. Mac users should look under Library/ColorSync/Profiles or just with the user name first.
Now I have my zip file with the color profiles and I drag them into the folder mentioned. In InDesign, I cancel the export dialog again and go back in. I notice that the profiles are not there yet, so I have to restart InDesign so that the newly added profiles also appear. I do that.
And lo and behold: the profiles are there.
So: If you are missing color profiles that an online print shop wants, you can easily find them on the ECI website. Download them, add them to the relevant folder and then you will also have this color profile as a selection option for your print export.
