How do I check if a PDF is CMYK or RGB?
You do not need Acrobat’s Output Preview for the first answer. The four steps below are the whole public check. They match the buttons on this page.
- Drop the design file. Add a PDF, AI, EPS, PSD, TIFF, JPG, PNG, SVG, IDML, Word, or PowerPoint file. Up to 8 files, 30 MB together. Export a native InDesign .indd to PDF or IDML first.
- Press Check color profile. The checker reads the file bytes on the server. It does not convert, retag, or flatten the art.
- Read the verdict and the profile line. RGB, CMYK, grayscale, spot, or mixed. If an ICC name is present you will see it, including GRACoL or SWOP. A missing profile is reported as missing.
- Decide the press, then the next step. Digital copiers stay RGB. Offset work needs GRACoL2006_Coated1v2. Use the File Uploader when you want prepress to convert. This page will not do that conversion for you.
Four files from this bench, and how to read each report
These are the reads we use before a job is plated. They are not a demo with a renamed sample. Copy the same clicks on your own file.
1. A 4 by 6 postcard PDF that was called print-ready
A customer sent a 4 by 6 postcard PDF for offset and wrote that it was already CMYK. We used this page to check if a PDF is CMYK or RGB. The verdict was RGB. The page object used DeviceRGB, and the embedded ICC line said no profile was found. Chrome had looked fine because the screen is RGB. An offset postcard still needs GRACoL plates. The check did not convert it. Prepress converted only after that read, then we proofed the GRACoL file. If your postcard report says RGB, do not order offset from that export.
2. A proof that looked darker than Photoshop
The designer mounted the art on a GRACoL template in Photoshop and the color looked right. Our PDF looked darker in the proof viewer. Another check if a PDF is CMYK or RGB was not enough by itself, because both files were already CMYK. The check found an Artifex SWOP profile, about 187,484 bytes, not GRACoL2006_Coated1v2. That GRACoL profile is 2,747,956 bytes and its md5 is CC7A6196271B13DBAE4622AA1FA0FCA9. Same-looking ink numbers, wrong tag, darker navy on screen. Use the profile line on this page before you blame the photo. We do not retag the file from this button.
3. A color-copy letter that had to stay RGB
A letter for color copies arrived as a three-component JPEG with an sRGB profile. The same check if a PDF is CMYK or RGB works on a JPG. Someone asked us to “make it CMYK so it is more print-ready.” That would have been the wrong press. Digital copiers want RGB. We left the file RGB, and the report’s press note says the same thing in one line: RGB stays RGB for color copies. Use this example when the job is copies, a digital flyer, or any piece that runs on a copier rather than an offset press.
4. A business card PDF with a spot, and a Word file that hid the mode
A card PDF showed CMYK plus a Separation name for a Pantone. We still check if a PDF is CMYK or RGB on a card, because a spot can sit beside process color. The spot list is its own line, so you can see that the logo was not only process color. A separate Word agenda looked neutral until we opened the placed images: the logo JPEG was RGB and a chart TIFF was CMYK. Office files do not have one page profile. The report lists each placed image. If you only have the .docx, drop that. If you only have the .indd, export PDF or IDML first. The native InDesign document stays unread on purpose.
What each design file can and cannot say
People also search “pdf color profile,” “embedded ICC profile,” and “is my pdf cmyk.” Those are the same job as a check if a PDF is CMYK or RGB. The honest answer depends on the container. This is the full list this checker can read, and the fact each format is allowed to withhold.
| File | Color mode | ICC profile | Output intent | What it cannot say |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PDF, or AI saved as PDF | DeviceRGB, DeviceCMYK, gray, Lab, indexed | Yes, name and md5 when the profile bytes are inside | Yes, including a PDF/X marker | Photoshop layer names |
| EPS / PostScript | Process-color comments and operators | Only if an ICC sits in the file | No PDF/X intent | A rendered soft proof |
| PSD | Header mode: RGB, CMYK, Lab, duotone, gray | Yes, when the profile is embedded | No | Which layer is which plate |
| TIFF | Photometric tag: RGB, CMYK, Lab, gray | Yes, tag 34675 | No | A press output intent |
| JPG | 1 component gray, 3 RGB, 4 CMYK | APP2 ICC, plus EXIF and Adobe APP14 | No | A Pantone name |
| PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP | RGB, gray, or an indexed palette | PNG iCCP or WebP ICCP only | No | CMYK plates, except a profile that truly says CMYK |
| SVG and IDML | sRGB paint, device-cmyk(), or swatch space | Rare | No, until you export a PDF | The finished press tag |
| Word, PowerPoint, Excel | Each placed image, one line each | Whatever that image carries | No | One mode for the whole document |
| INDD, HEIC, Corel, Affinity, Sketch, Figma | Not readable | Not readable | Not readable | We will not guess. Export PDF, IDML, SVG, or TIFF. |
GRACoL, SWOP, and a file with no tag
After you check if a PDF is CMYK or RGB, read the profile name before you call the job done. Three CMYK reports are different jobs. CMYK with GRACoL2006_Coated1v2 is the offset profile we print. CMYK tagged SWOP, including the Artifex SWOP profile some PDF writers attach, is a warning: the numbers may be fine and the screen may still go dark. CMYK with no ICC at all means the plates are there and the press condition is unnamed. RGB with sRGB, or RGB with no profile, is normal for a digital copier. None of those lines changes your file.
The profile format itself is published by the International Color Consortium. Their home page is color.org. We quote the description string and the md5 from the bytes in your file. We do not download a replacement profile onto your art from this page.
Where to go after the read
- Postcard printing when the PDF is for an offset card and the report is still RGB.
- Flyer printing and business cards use the same offset rule: GRACoL on press.
- Color copies stay RGB. Do not convert them because a folder was named CMYK.
- File Uploader when you want a person to convert an offset file or to keep a spot.
- Free PDF proof after the color mode matches the press.
- Online Designer when you would rather rebuild the piece than repair a bad export.
Public use is 8 files at a time, 30 MB together, and 40 checks a day from one network, with a short pause between runs. A logged-in 55printing administrator is not held to that cap. The honest limit: this page will not show you a soft proof, a bleed size, or a font list. It answers the color-setting question and leaves the file alone.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check if a PDF is CMYK or RGB without converting it?
Drop the PDF on this page and press Check color profile. The report names DeviceRGB, DeviceCMYK, an ICC profile, spot colors, and any output intent that the file actually stores. You keep the same file. There is no converted download and no new tag. If you only need to know the mode before you order postcards or color copies, this read is the whole job.
Does this tool convert RGB to CMYK?
No. The checker reads bytes and stops. It will not build a GRACoL PDF, retag SWOP, or change a JPG into four plates. When an offset job needs GRACoL2006_Coated1v2, that conversion is a separate prepress step. Send the original through the File Uploader and say the piece prints offset. Color copies and other digital-copier work should stay RGB, so a conversion would be the wrong fix.
Why does my CMYK proof look darker than Photoshop?
Photoshop can be viewing the art as GRACoL2006_Coated1v2 while the PDF is tagged Artifex SWOP or has no profile at all. The ink numbers can be close and the on-screen preview still shifts, because the viewer paints those numbers with the wrong profile. Our offset profile is the 2,747,956-byte GRACoL file, md5 CC7A6196271B13DBAE4622AA1FA0FCA9. A SWOP tag we have measured is about 187,484 bytes. This page tells you which tag is present. It does not repaint the file.
Should color copies be CMYK or RGB?
RGB. Color copies and digital products at 55printing run on digital copiers, and those machines are built for RGB. Forcing that file through a coated-sheet CMYK profile makes the screen and the copier disagree. Offset postcards, flyers, brochures, and business cards that run at Printograph, Zooprinting, or another offset press use GRACoL2006_Coated1v2. The press decides, not the product nickname on the file.
What is an ICC profile, and what is a PDF output intent?
An ICC profile is the color recipe embedded in the file, such as sRGB or GRACoL2006_Coated1v2. A PDF output intent is the press condition named in the PDF catalog, often as a PDF/X marker. A file can have one, both, or neither. Untagged RGB usually means viewers assume sRGB. Untagged CMYK means the plates exist but no press profile is named. The International Color Consortium publishes the profile format at color.org. This tool quotes the name and the md5 when the profile bytes are in the file.
Can this check read a Pantone or other spot color?
Yes, when the PDF or EPS actually writes a Separation or custom color name. You will see the spot name next to the process plates, for example a Pantone plus CMYK. A plain JPG cannot name a Pantone, because JPEG stores components and an optional ICC profile, not a swatch book. If the spot must stay a spot on press, say so when you upload. This check reports the name. It does not convert the spot into process CMYK.
Why will a native InDesign file not open here?
An .indd package keeps plates inside InDesign. Guessing RGB or CMYK from that container would be a lie, so the report says not readable. Export a PDF, or an IDML package, and drop that file. IDML can list swatch spaces such as CMYK and RGB. The PDF is the file that can also carry an output intent. HEIC, Corel, Affinity, Sketch, and Figma need the same kind of export before this bench can read them.
What if one PDF contains both RGB and CMYK?
The verdict is Mixed. A common case is an RGB photo sitting on a page of CMYK vectors, or a Word file whose placed JPEG is RGB while another TIFF is CMYK. The report counts the markers it can see and, for Office files, lists each placed image on its own line. Mixed is not a failure. It means you should not treat the whole file as one color mode when you send it to an offset press or a digital copier.