Why can't I save Swatches in L*a*b* format except as Spot Color?
Why can't I save Swatches in Lab* format except as Spot colors?
This is unique to Adobe Illustrator, unfortunately, and such a thorn in the side of a device-independent color management workflow. Please resolve.
Rick Burress
shared this idea
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Hmm. For the task you describe spot swatches are just enough. Logos don’t use a extensive range of colors (usually), they are limited.
You don’t have to have the whole document’s color mode in Lab to use Lab swatches (and Pantone has no monopoly on values or the method).
Yet you ask for the whole color mode... so I am still interested — what is the workflow that requires you to have Lab as a MODE, which gives some benefits over using spots?I am no gatekeeper for this, I am just curious :) Editing photos in Lab is one thing, but designing vector graphics, ALL in Lab... just why?
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Rick Burress
commented
“Is there a workflow or a task that can benefit from having Lab color mode in Illustrator? Please provide some examples or descriptions of these.”
Yes! Consistent color across the apps, particularly with logos, and now specifically because the PMS Library has been discontinued. L*a*b* is the ONLY consistent description of color.
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Indeed, Illustrator, unlike Photoshop, deals with two color modes only (as given in File > Document Color Mode): CMYK and RGB, because these cover two main media types: print and screen. Any of these two won’t be able to reproduce the full range Lab provides, so it feels natural to not have it.
Photoshop deals with images produced with natural light, and it makes sense to store and edit raster images within L*a*b* space... but vector images are usually get crafted artificially almost always, and there is no real benefit of having Lab as one the general modes...
Some other apps follow this same approach: Corel Photopaint / Draw, Inkscape — but Affinity Designer has Lab, as their Photo.
However, just the fact it exists in competing apps does not mean it worth the effort. Is there a workflow or a task which can benefit having Lab color mode in Illustrator? Please provide some examples or descriptions of these.
