When you manually key in CMYK values, the RGB values in the color picker show how those CMYK values will convert to RGB given the current color setup. Illustrator has a document color mode, so if it is CMYK any fills or strokes you create will be CMYK even if you choose an RGB value from the Color Picker. Here are the ID, AI, and PS pickers Converting CMYK to RGB. To convert a CMYK document to RGB in Adobe Illustrator, you can follow these simple steps: 1. Open your CMYK document in Adobe Illustrator. 2. Go to the “File” menu and select “Document Color Mode.” 3. In the dropdown menu, select “RGB Color” and click “OK.” The RGB colors are converted into CMYK colors in order to make sure that the final product has good quality and doesn’t look pixelated. On the other hand, converting CMYK to RGB is also useful, this process helps to generate accurate preview of the final product in those cases, when CMYK colors will be used. 6. Click "File" in the top menu bar and select "Save." The colors you see in a PDF file on your screen don't always translate precisely to the shades that appear when the document comes out of Save it and load it in the Illustrator Color Settings. Danny Whitehead. The old custom CMYK method will get you CMY values, but all bets are off regarding what they'll actually print like. To get the "closest "CMY" color equivalent", you'd need a professionally built profile. Easiest and quicker way you can convert CMYK and RGB colour swatches into Pantone swatches in Adobe illustrator. Tools -> Print Production -> Convert Colors -> Conversion Profile -> Pick the one you want. I would check after if the values are converted to K100%. Thank you! This Preflight > Convert to Grayscale is by far the easiest. Ideally, you would alter the images placed in InDesign using their native applications - Photoshop/Illustrator - then RGB and CMYK are two common color modes that represent how colors are created and displayed on different devices. RGB stands for red, green, and blue, and it is the color mode used by digital mYyG.