Reducing Ink Levels in Adobe Acrobat

Jamie Ashworth
by Jamie Ashworth 3 years ago

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How to reduce ink levels using Acrobat's Touch-Up Object Tool

Open your PDF in Acrobat. Then go to Tools > Print Production > Output Preview.

In the dialogue box below (under Total Area Coverage) enter the recommended Maximum Ink Limit for the paper stock you reqire (225% for Uncoated stocks such as Letterheads and 300% for Coated stocks such as Gloss Leaflets).

This tool will then highlight the areas within the document that exceed this limit (100C, 100M, 100Y, 100K = 400%).

To edit an image, select Edit Object (under Content) then right click the image to select Edit Image... (see below). This opens the image in Photoshop.

Once the image is opened in Adobe Photoshop select Edit > Colour Settings then under Working Spaces - CMYK select Custom CMYK..

Coated (300%)

Copy the screenshot below for Coated Paper Stocks.

UnCoated & Large Format (225%)

Copy the screenshot below for UnCoated Paper Stocks.

Applying your Colour Settings...

Select your Coated (300%) or Uncoated (225%) Colour Settings from above, then;

To convert RGB Images...
In Photoshop select: Image > Mode > CMYK

To convert CMYK Images...
In Photoshop select: Image > Mode > Lab > CMYK

The ink conversion is applied directly to the image which is then saved back into the PDF when you close the image.

 

See also

Converting RGB images to CMYK & setting Ink Levels

When you convert RGB images to CMYK in Adobe Photoshop maximum Ink Levels are set. We recommend setting up Colour presets to ensure your images are converted using the correct ink levels for ...

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Converting RGB images to CMYK & setting Ink Levels

When you convert RGB images to CMYK in Adobe Photoshop maximum Ink Levels are set. We recommend setting up Colour presets to ensure your images are converted using the correct ink levels for ...