PDFX-ready reports problems with Pantone colours in Adobe CS6 and higher: "Since the introduction of Adobe Creative Suite 6, complaints have been mounting about altered representation of PANTONE colours on screen and different print results after converting PANTONE colours to process colours."
The reason is that the libraries delivered with version 6 only contain Lab colour values of the Pantone colours, the libraries of the previous versions also contained fixed CMYK definitions. As of version 6, the Lab Pantone colours are now converted to CMYK via ICC profiles, and the result varies depending on the profile; the previous versions relied on the fixed CMYKs.
The result is very different colour representations of the Pantone colours after conversion to process colours. A striking before/after example can be found in in the article.
In view of such problems, the question arises: why not work in Lab?
PDFX-ready was founded in Zurich in 2005. The initiative wants to help the PDF/X standard achieve a rapid breakthrough. It awards the quality seal "PDFX-ready" to companies that can ensure an error-free CMYK workflow using PDF-X. The founding members include Adobe Systems (CH), UGRA and various well-known Swiss agencies and printers. In 2015, some German companies are also among the certified partners, see http://www.pdfx-ready.ch.
