topic Re: Export to ArcGIS Pro layouts to PDF using CMYK Printers Black (C0% M0% Y0% K100%) does not work in ArcGIS Pro Questions

Export to ArcGIS Pro layouts to PDF using CMYK Printers Black (C0% M0% Y0% K100%) does not work

Witherbys — Thu, 25 Nov 2021 19:29:58 GMT

Hello community, I would like to export Layouts in ArcGIS Pro 2.8.1 for printing with 100% printers black.

I have the maps and layouts set to use CMYK color model and am using the Coated FOGRA39 (ISO 12647-2:2004) colour profile to match that used by our Graphics department. Within Color Management in Options panel, I have chosen to enable colour management and to use the same CMYK colour profile.

In Options>Color Management I have swopped Conversion rules between 'preserve color appearance' and 'preserve color values' with no evidence of change in the output.The linework and text properties are all configured to use C0% M0% Y0% K100% however when I export to PDF, TIF and PNG and load these exported formats into Adobe Illustrator they all show values for Rich Black. Somewhere in the export process they loose the C0% M0% Y0% K100%. How do I preserve 100% Printers Black in my exports from ArcGIS Pro?

Post (https://igis.ucanr.edu/Tech_Notes/arcgispro_printing/) suggest RGB to CMYK is inferior to Illustrator anyway. I'm looking for sharp text and linework therefore image formats aren't appropriate. Any suggestions?

Thanks, Lisa

Re: Export to ArcGIS Pro layouts to PDF using CMYK Printers Black (C0% M0% Y0% K100%) does not work

curtvprice — Thu, 25 Nov 2021 20:39:52 GMT

Industry common practice is to go through Illustrator (ie distill the pdf) if you need to do spot color processing of your graphics.

If you plan to do a lot of prepress you may want to look into ArcGIS Maps for Adobe Creative Cloud.

Re: Export to ArcGIS Pro layouts to PDF using CMYK Printers Black (C0% M0% Y0% K100%) does not work

BobbiLay — Wed, 24 Aug 2022 23:10:30 GMT

Did you ever find a solution? This is super frustrating. Thanks in advance

Re: Export to ArcGIS Pro layouts to PDF using CMYK Printers Black (C0% M0% Y0% K100%) does not work

Koeller_Christine_A_-_DOT — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 17:15:06 GMT

After a bit of trial and error, I figured out how to make this work without having to distill files or fix the black in Illustrator... CMYK settings must be correct in multiple places in ArcGIS Pro.

This is where I messed up... you have to set the map layout properties to CMYK as well, it's not enough to do it in the Color Management project settings (grrrr):

Here's the color management settings for the Pro project:

I hope this saves someone else time - I didn't find this information in the documentation.

Re: Export to ArcGIS Pro layouts to PDF using CMYK Printers Black (C0% M0% Y0% K100%) does not work

MGPGISUSER — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 15:08:02 GMT

Bless you. I needed this today!