TechNote (Archived)

Gradients that contain spot colors are recognized by Acrobat as a process colors

Issue

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Gradients that contain spot colors are recognized by Adobe Acrobat as process colors.

Reason

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Based on the information provided to Acrobat from Macromedia FreeHand, the spot colors are not interpreted properly and subsequently converted to a process color.

Solution

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Instead of using a gradient, create a blend to be pasted inside a path or simple object to achieve the desired results. In this solution a simple square has a gradient from Pantone 187 C to Pantone 3005 C.

Here are the steps to workaround this issue:

1. Draw a closed path or simple shape that is to be filled with the spot colors.
2. Draw two horizontal lines with a weight of 1 pt, one above and the other below the object drawn in step one.
   
   
   
3. Apply the spot colors to each of the lines drawn in step 2.
4. Blend the two horizontal lines, select Modify > Combine > Blend.
   
   
   
5. In the Object panel, increase the number of steps to 256 or a number that achieves a smooth blend on screen.
   
   
   
6. With the blend selected,choose Edit > Cut.
7. Select the object drawn in step 1.
8. Select Edit > Paste Contents on Windows or Edit > Paste Inside on Macintosh.

Additional Information

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For more information about calculating the optimum number of steps in a blend see Creating Smooth Gradients for PostScript Output (TechNote 3668).

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