vector colors changing in CorelDraw X4

[Glen Monaghan]

I normally only cut with vectors but my current project has both cuts (lower speed, higher power) and vector engravings (higher speeds and lower power) so I am using color in CorelDraw to differentiate the cuts (black) and engravings (red or blue, for two different levels of engraving). When I transferred the file over to the laser's computer and ran a test job, I found some, but not all, engravings were cut through. Checking those vectors, I found they weren't pure red 255/0/0 or blue 0/0/255. For example, some of what should have been blue (0/0/255) were 6/0/255, some 12/0/255, and some 17/0/255. Similar changes happened with reds.

At first, I thought I'd somehow set the colors incorrectly but I fixed them and took the file back to my workstation for further edits. Opening the file there, I again found some of the reds and blues changed. Both machines have the same version of CorelDraw. I just saved my updates and closed the file, then decided to check something else. When I reopened the file on the same machine moments after closing it, I found some of the red and blue colors had changed again!

Any ideas on what's happening and how to stop this? There are too many vectors in too many groups to keep manually changing them!

-Glen

PS - On further investigation, I found that saving, closing and reopening the file caused the reds and greens to "increment"! A vector that had been set to 0/0/255 (blue) when saved becomes 6/0/255 when reopened. If left unchanged and the file is again saved/closed/reopened, that vector will be 6/0/255. Next cycle it becomes 12/0/255, then 17/0/255, then 21/0/255! I can reset one vector back to 0/0/255 and leave another at 6/0/255, save, close and reopen, and the one I reset will be 6/0/255 while the other has incremented to 12/0/255. Black vectors stay black. Red vectors change similarly but with different increments beginning 255/0/0, 255/0/2, 255/0/6.

I just tried cyan, green and yellow, with similar changes: cyan mutated from 0/255/255 to 4/255/255, green from 0/255/0 to 4/255/2, and yellow from 255/255/0 to 255/255/2.

PPS - The shades of gray 10%-90% don't change, nor does magenta (255/0/255) or orange (255/102/0). A number of other colors picked from the color palette do. ??? For now, I'm converting to red and blue to orange and magenta, but I'd still like to find out what's going on!

[Dan Hintz]

Sounds a lot like you have your colorspace set to CMYK, not RGB... check it first.

On a side note, black is typically used for engraving, red for vectoring, and all other colors are open for interpretation. Just a heads up in case you decide to use those files on another system some day.

[David Fairfield]

Yeah Adobe does this too, when its in CMYK, some values don't work and so it auto sets to the closest ones that do. Set to file to RGB, you'll be OK.

[Larry Bratton]

Glen,
You need to set your RGB palette as the default. With the RGB palette showing , look at the very top of it for a small arrow. Click on that arrow and it will give you an option to set it as default. I ran into the same thing after a new install of X4. This way, all your lines etc will be RGB. I believe X4 comes in with CMYK set as the default.

[Glen Monaghan]

My preferences were already set for RGB and I was using the RGB palette, not CYM. I'd already looked at that, but the comments here prompted me to look further in that area.

Poking around, I found the Color Management option under Tools. It was set for Optimized for Professional Output, but I rechose the setting (which changed the radio button to CYM from RGB where I'd had it), reselected the RGB button, reset my monitor profile to match my monitor, and tested again. The settings all look the same as before but, for whatever reason, it seems to have fixed what appears to be some glitch that recently popped up because my colors are no longer changing on me when saving/reopening. Whew...

-Glen