In this article, you will learn
- which prerequisites must be met for this Fixup, and
- how to apply this Fixup.
1. Introduction
In the application $PRODUCT_NAME_WORKFLOW, the Fixup Rename, Convert or Remove Spot Colors is available. The purpose of this Fixup is to rename selected Spot Colors or Technical Colors, change the alternate color space, convert them to CMYK, or remove them.
2. General
The Fixup Rename, Convert or Remove Spot Colors can be used to rename or remove selected Spot Colors. In addition, the Spot Color or Technical Color can be converted into a different alternate color space – CMYK, LAB, or RGB.
The Fixup can be found in the tab Data Preparation of an Article, Order or Production Job by:
- entering the name of the Fixup in the section Filter,
- enabling the option Color in the section Category,
- enabling the option Rename or Delete in the section Action,
- enabling the option Spot Color, Pantone, HKS or RAL in the section Property.
3. Description
With this Fixup, Spot Colors or Technical Colors can be renamed, removed, converted to a different alternate color space, or converted to CMYK. To do this, select the desired Spot Color and the corresponding operation.
3.1. Prerequisites and Functionality
For the Fixup to perform as intended, the following requirement must be met:
- The file contains Spot Colors or Technical Colors.
Depending on whether the selected Spot Color or Technical Color is to be renamed, removed, converted to a different alternate color space, or converted to CMYK, different options are available in the dialog. These individual options are described in detail below.
3.1.1. Rename Spot Color
To change the name of a Spot Color, first select the Rename [1] action. You can then rename the desired Spot Color.
Figure 1: The dialog of the Fixup Rename, Convert or Remove Spot Colors with the Rename action enabled
To rename a Spot Color, the following options are available:
- Source Spot Color Name [2] – select the Spot Color to be renamed from the dropdown menu. All Spot Colors present in the Print Item are available for selection.
- Target Spot Color Name [3] – enter the new name for the Spot Color here. If you select a name that already exists system-wide or within the Print Item, all objects colored with the Source Spot Color will automatically be converted to the Target Spot Color.
3.1.2. Delete Spot Color
To delete a selected Spot Color, first select the Delete [4] action.
Figure 2: The dialog of the Fixup Rename, Convert or Remove Spot Colors with the Delete action enabled
To delete a Spot Color, the following option is available:
- Source Spot Color Name [5] – select the Spot Color to be deleted from the dropdown menu. All Spot Colors present in the Print Item are available for selection.
3.1.3. Change Alternate Color
To change the Alternate Color Space and the alternate color values of a selected Spot Color, first select the Change Alternate Color [8] action. The desired ICC profile for CMYK or RGB can be selected as the basis for the conversion.
Figure 3: The dialog of the Fixup Rename, Convert or Remove Spot Colors with the Change Alternate Color action enabled
To change the alternate color of a Spot Color, the following options are available:
- Working Color Space CMYK [6] – the stored CMYK working color space profile is used as the basis for the conversion. All ICC profiles uploaded to the application $PRODUCT_NAME_WORKFLOW for CMYK are available in the dropdown menu. A new ICC profile can be added to the application via Add [7].
- Working Color Space RGB [10] – the stored RGB working color space profile is used as the basis for the conversion. All ICC profiles uploaded to the application $PRODUCT_NAME_WORKFLOW for RGB are available in the dropdown menu. A new ICC profile can be added to the application via Add [11].
- Source Spot Color Name [9] – select from the dropdown menu the Spot Color whose alternate color is to be changed. All Spot Colors present in the Print Item are available for selection.
- Color Space [12] – select the color space to be used as the new alternate color space. The following options are available to the user:
- RGB – the alternate color values must be entered in RGB.
- CMYK – the alternate color values must be entered in CMYK.
- LAB – the alternate color values must be entered in LAB.
- Color Values [13] – enter the new alternate color values here. If only the alternate color space is changed, the color values are automatically recalculated into the new color space using the selected working color space profile.
3.1.4. Convert to CMYK
To convert a selected Spot Color to CMYK, first select the Convert to CMYK [15] action.
Figure 4: The dialog of the Fixup Rename, Convert or Remove Spot Colors with the Convert to CMYK action enabled
To convert a Spot Color to CYMK, the following options are available:
- Working Color Space CMYK [14] – the stored CMYK working color space profile is used as the basis for the conversion. All ICC profiles uploaded to the application $PRODUCT_NAME_WORKFLOW for CMYK are available in the dropdown menu. A new ICC profile can be added to the application via Add.
- Working Color Space RGB [17] – the stored RGB working color space profile is used as the basis for the conversion. All ICC profiles uploaded to the application $PRODUCT_NAME_WORKFLOW for RGB are available in the dropdown menu. A new ICC profile can be added to the application via Add.
- Source Spot Color Name [16] – select from the dropdown menu the Spot Color that is to be converted to CMYK. All Spot Colors present in the Print Item are available for selection.
3.2. Before / After
To test this function, you can use the sample file "Sample_Rename, Convert or Remove Spot.pdf". The file contains the following Spot Colors: "Spot Black", "Spot Gray", "Spot Brown", and "Spot Blue". The Spot Color "Spot Black" should be renamed to "Black_New". The Spot Color "Spot Gray" should be deleted. The alternate color space of the Spot Color Spot Brown should be converted to LAB. The Spot Color "Spot Blue" should be converted to CMYK.
After applying the Fixup, the file "Sample_Rename, Convert or Remove Spot_End.pdf" is generated. The values from Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3, and Figure 4 were used for this.
Figure 5: Left: Original file; Right: Edited file with renamed, removed, and converted Spot Colors
Article Update: $PRODUCT_NAME_WORKFLOW 2.0.0 – 04/2026