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PNG looked washed out compared to originals

I am exporting pdf files from Adobe InDesign, then opening the pdf files in Photoshop, then saving as png files to drag into BookSmart. The InDesign files look great, as do the pdf files, but when converted to png files, the photos are washed out, especially the blacks. When I then view them in BookSmart, they have the same washed-out look. Is this normal or am I doing something wrong? I followed all the pdf settings as illustrated in the screen shot in the tutorial.

Thanks in advance for anyone with an opinion, especially of your experience is similar.

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Posted by
zekesdad
Jan 10, 2009 6:57pm PDT
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zekesdad
 

Howdy,

From the Swatches menu, choose Registration black to ensure InDesign is outputting, and not just displaying, a rich black (RGB 0,0,0). You’ll also want to change your InDesign preferences (Appearance & Handling of Black) accordingly.

That should help!
Jeremy

Posted by
jbates
Jan 11, 2009 1:36am PDT
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jbates
 

Thanks Jeremy, I could find no "Appearance and Handling of Black, or any of those individual words actually, in the InDesign/Preferences. I went to InDesign/Window/Swatches and clicked the Black Registration rectangle when Swatches opened up, then saved the InDesign page again to pdf, opened THAT in Photoshop and saved as a PNG. The images still looked washed out. Jpegs dropped into the BookSmart templates look fine, and the pdfs exported from Indesign look fine, so it seems that something other than InDesign may be to blame? If you have any further ideas I would be grateful. -Richard

Posted by
zekesdad
Jan 11, 2009 6:31pm PDT
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zekesdad
 

Hi Richard;

Hope you don’t mind me chipping in here with a suggestion…

In PhotoShop, have you checked for "Levels"?

May be worth opening one of your imported PDFs and verifying that the Histogram is showing a reach to the left hand edge; if not, try dragging the left slider in until it meets the histogram graphic, so it re-sets the blacks to "0"...

If that’s does it, you’ll probably also then need to do some added tidying up for colour saturation and/or contrast…

Outside of that, regrettably, I can’t think of anything else to suggest…

Good luck;

Lee

Posted by
lkb-28
Jan 12, 2009 2:26am PDT
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lkb-28
 

Howdy,

Under InDesign’s Preferences menu, Appearance of Black is an option towards the bottom. This settings is important, since even if you’re selected Registration as your swatch (and your black type is therefore 0,0,0 RGB), you’ll want to ensure InDesign actually outputs rich black type.

Posted by
jbates
Jan 12, 2009 10:39am PDT
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jbates
 

Thanks Jeremy…I am using InDesignCS and I think you have  a newer version, as my preferences don’t have these options. Thanks for taking the trouble to make the screen shot for me…that’s above and beyond the call of duty!

I need to make sample books for clients and this is such a cost effective way to go. But until BookSmart accepts pdf files, or I can fix this conversion problem, I can’t use this service effectively. Best regards, Richard

Posted by
zekesdad
Jan 12, 2009 11:08am PDT
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zekesdad
 

Lee, thanks for the suggestion. I can do the levels adjustment, but the colors and contrast are affected, and it would be more experiemental— to see if the result was acceptable— than effective, I think. I really appreciate your help. -Richard

Posted by
zekesdad
Jan 12, 2009 11:12am PDT
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zekesdad