Setting Color Options in Illustrator

June 4, 2009 3:57 PM

I need more Illustrator/Photoshop color help! We got Adobe Creative Suite 4 for our office. There are some color settings that I'd like to set as defaults but can't figure out how to do so.

a) When I open a file in Illustrator or Photoshop - is there a way for it always to default to RGB instead of CMYK. So anytime we open start a new file it would be RGB unless we change it. It seems this should be easy. But I can't find it!

b) When printing I found the best printing color profile for our printer is: Epson Standard RGB Gamma 1.8. But that is not the default so every time we go to print in a new file it goes back to the standard default setting. So you have to go into color management every time you print. I saved an option so everyone can just scroll down to it but they still forget to do it. We are wasting a ton of paper. There has to be a way to do this.

I am definitely no expert and our IT isn't much help! Would appreciate any help!

posted by ChloeMills to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)

a) When you're creating a new file, PS and AI will remember your last-used settings. When you're opening a already-existing file, it remembers its last saved state, so you'll have to change the colorspace. In Illustrator, as far as I know, you'll do this manually, but in Photoshop you can create a "Droplet" from an Action. So, create an Action that just has Image->Mode->CMYK Color. Then go to File->Automate->Create Droplet... to generate a drag-'n-drop icon. Then drag the file you want to open onto the icon, et violá, you get your file opened in CMYK.

b) In Illustrator, you can save printer presets. At the top of the Printer dialogue (File->Print), you'll see a dropdown for Print Preset. CLick it and you'll see Custom, [Default] and [Default Web/Video/Mobile]. Select Custom, set the printer up to your specifications, and click the little disk icon next to the dropdown Print Presets menu. This will open up a box where you can name and save your new preset. Next time you got to print something, select your new preset from the Print Preset dropdown, and all of your saved settings will come back as you previously defined them. You can make as many as you see fit.

I'm not sure, but I imagine Photoshop has something similar.
posted by lekvar at 4:54 PM on June 4, 2009

Best answer: Ah, I see you can also access Illustrator's print presets via Edit->Print Presets...
posted by lekvar at 4:56 PM on June 4, 2009

Response by poster: b) In Illustrator, you can save printer presets. At the top of the Printer dialogue (File->Print), you'll see a dropdown for Print Preset. CLick it and you'll see Custom, [Default] and [Default Web/Video/Mobile]. Select Custom, set the printer up to your specifications, and click the little disk icon next to the dropdown Print Presets menu. This will open up a box where you can name and save your new preset. Next time you got to print something, select your new preset from the Print Preset dropdown, and all of your saved settings will come back as you previously defined them. You can make as many as you see fit.

I did this but everyone still forgets to just scroll down to it. I can't just make that the default one or erase the default one!
posted by ChloeMills at 5:37 PM on June 4, 2009

I seem to remember that if you name the preset [Default] then it overwrites the original and will load automatically. I've done this with InDesign page setups before.
posted by lekvar at 5:49 PM on June 4, 2009

Response by poster: Ah, I see you can also access Illustrator's print presets via Edit->Print Presets...
posted by lekvar at 4:56 PM on June 4 [mark as best answer] [+] [!]

Ahh okay - I went into here and edited the default. I think it stuck.
I am going to restart and stuff. but if so i think that did the trick.

Thanks!
posted by ChloeMills at 5:51 PM on June 4, 2009