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JShartzer
JShartzer
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Problem with overlapping images when distilling

Jul 18, 2012 6:48 AM

Categories: Windows Tags: #indesign #overlap #overlapping #distiller

I have an ad which I have created in InDesign. When I export it to pdf for proofing it looks fine. But when I distill it for publishing it knocks the color out of overlapping images. I am attaching images so you can see what I mean.

 

This is what it should look like:

Correct.jpg

This is what it does after distilling:

PROBLEM.jpg

Here is a screen cap of the distiller settings:

DISTILLER SETTINGS.jpg

And here are my print settings:

Print Preset: Color Dist
Printer: PostScript® File
PPD: Acrobat Distiller
PPD File: C:\WINDOWS\System32\spool\DRIVERS\W32X86\3\ADIST5.PPD

General
    Copies: 1
    Collate: N/A
    Reverse Order: Off
    Pages: All
    Sequence: All Pages
    Spreads: Off
    Print Master Pages: Off
    Print Layers: Visible & Printable Layers
    Print Non-printing Objects: Off
    Print Blank Pages: Off
    Print Visible Guides and Baseline Grids: N/A

Setup
    Paper Size: Custom
    Paper Width: Auto
    Paper Height: Auto
    Page Orientation: Portrait
    Paper Offset: 0p0
    Paper Gap: 0p0
    Transverse: N/A
    Scaling: 100%
    Constrain Proportions: On
    Page Position: Centered
    Thumbnails: Off
    Tiling: Off

Marks and Bleed
    Crop Marks: Off
    Bleed Marks: Off
    Registration Marks: Off
    Color Bars: Off
    Page Information: Off
    Printer Mark Type: Default
    Crop Mark Weight: 0.25 pt
    Mark Offset from Page: 0p6
    Use Document Bleed Settings: On
    Bleed Top: 0p0
    Bleed Bottom: 0p0
    Bleed Inside: 0p0
    Bleed Outside: 0p0
    Include Slug Area: Off

Output
    Color: Composite CMYK
    Text As Black: N/A
    Trapping: N/A
    Flip: None
    Negative: N/A
    Screening: Default
    Simulate Overprint: Off

Graphics
    Send Data: All
    Download: Complete
    Download PPD Fonts: On
    PostScript®: Level 3
    Data Format: ASCII

Color Management
    Document Profile: US Newsprint (SNAP 2007)
    Color Handling: Let InDesign Determine Colors
    Printer Profile: Document CMYK - US Newsprint (SNAP 2007)
    Preserve CMYK Numbers: On
    Proof Profile: N/A
    Simulate Paper Color: N/A

Advanced
    Print &as Bitmap: N/A
    Bitmap Resolution: N/A
    OPI Image Replacement: Off
    EPS: Off
    PDF: Off
    Bitmap Images: Off
    Transparency Flattener Preset: [Medium Resolution]
    Ignore Spread Overrides: Off

 

We are using Distiller 5.0 and InDesign CS5.

703 Views   6 Replies   Latest reply: Daniel Flavin, Jul 19, 2012 9:57 AM
 
Replies
  • MichaelKazlow
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    1. MichaelKazlow,
    Jul 18, 2012 8:06 AM   in reply to JShartzer
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    That is why Adobe doesn't recommend printing to pdf from InDesign rather than exporting. There are some features in InDesign that are not supported in the postscript print model.

     
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  • Test Screen Name
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    2. Test Screen Name,
    Jul 18, 2012 8:14 AM   in reply to MichaelKazlow
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    Most likely you need to turn on Overprint Preview in Acrobat's display preferences.

     
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  • Steve Werner
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    3. Steve Werner,
    Jul 18, 2012 10:07 AM   in reply to JShartzer
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    The Distiller workflow is regarded by Adobe as an old legacy format which will not be removed, but also will not be changed. I suggest you use the File > Export > Adobe PDF method instead.

     
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  • Daniel Flavin
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    4. Daniel Flavin,
    Jul 18, 2012 11:55 AM   in reply to JShartzer
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    Is that affected color (gold/yellow) a Spot color by chance?

     
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  • JShartzer
    Currently Being Moderated
    5. JShartzer,
    Jul 19, 2012 9:40 AM   in reply to JShartzer
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    I wish I could just export rather than distilling. Unfortunately, our publisher makes us distill. I don't understand why it would make any difference at all between exporting as a pdf vs. printing to a .ps then distilling to a pdf, but thats what our printer tells us to do.

    I have Overprint Preview turned on. It looks fine until it distills.

    DANIEL: THANK YOU! THAT WAS IT! It was a spot color. Changed it to process and it worked.

    Now my question is: why did it work?

     
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  • Daniel Flavin
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    6. Daniel Flavin,
    Jul 19, 2012 9:57 AM   in reply to JShartzer
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    Spot colors and transparency don't play well together. Flattening was invoked by distiller, vector elements were converted to "atomic regions" (a mix of vector and raster imaging dependent on the flattener setting used), overprint was applied to the cabash and likely you were viewing without overprint preview. It probably could have passed thru a decent RIP correctly, but never send out a pdf which does not view correctly, especially to a vendor with whom you have little control or dialog and proofing with.

     
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