eps problems from 7 to 6

[tamoo]

Quark EPS trapping problem HELP!
In my work, I have to create eps's of Quark jobs for importing into Quark 6 on another system network.

I have checked the trapping settings in Quark 7 which are fine, yet when I import into Quark 6 and try to print to a platesetter, the black is always dropping out of it's background image or colour, when I really want it to overprint.

In the Quark 6, I even check the 'overprint black in eps' box, but it makes no difference!

I'm thinking that I'm maybes doing something wrong when creating the eps and selecting the various options in Quark 7's 'save page to eps'.

Could someone please run through this problem and give me the best 'option' settings when creating the eps. I choose 'composite cmyk' for the colours option, as the jobs are process colour. Could it be a 'postscript' problem also?... I tried selecting 2 and 3.

Also, I tried exporting the pages to 'pdf' but the black text, although not dropping out from background, was printing out of all the process colours! Help with that also appreciated.

phew! that should cover a days work for some helpful soul.

muchos thanks in advance of your assistance.

tamoo

[disbellj]

First of all, if your black text is going to four-color, then color management is happening to the CMYK (which you really don't want I wouldn't think, and doesn't happen by default). Make sure in Quark Preferences > Print Layout > Color Manager, under Vector EPS/PDF Files section, that both options are unchecked. Doing this however doesn't "un-color-manage" everything that got color managed by checking these. Under Source Options, you'll have to check 'Enable Access to Picture Profiles' so that you can make sure nothing is getting color managed (wish Quark would make it so that when you uncheck the options I said to before, that it would do what we're going to have to do manually now). Click OK to get out of Quark Preferences. Go to Window menu > Profile Information. Now you'll have to go through and select every element (text or picture box) in the job and make sure when the box is selected that in the Profile Information window that Color Manage is unchecked. If color manage is checked, your CMYK colors will change upon output and this is NOT what you want (I would leave the CMYK unchanged from what the customer sent in, and by default Quark does this. You have to go out of your way messing with preferences to get one-color black going to four-color black, unless of course the black is four-color before placed into Quark). And if color management is happening, it should be happening whether you're outputting to EPS, PDF, or Postscript (unless the color management options on the Color tab are set different for each of these types of output, which I would make them the same).

As far as I know, in a composite workflow Quark doesn't overprint (again, unless spec'd in program before linking into Quark).

I did a test and saw that even though black type was set to overprint in QX7, that when placed in QX6 and PostScript printed to rip, that black text knocked out. So QX7 composite EPS stuck into QX6 and output separated doesn't work.

I did another test, and saw that if in Quark 6.5, I set my Preferences > Application > PDF to Create PostScript file for later Distilling, and use a Watched Folder (set up in Distiller first, then set up here to point to the 'In' folder of the Watched folder), that I could then go File > Export > Layout as PDF, and set my options to not include hyperlinks, no compression, keep resolution, composite, DeviceN, Registration centered, 12 pt Offset, Symmetric Bleed .25", that I could save the PostScript and let Distiller make the PDF. Note: I edit Distiller's PDF/X-1a joboptions, unchecking 'Allow PostScript file to override Adobe PDF Settings' in Advanced tab, and saving as my own preset, that I get a smaller PDF than would have been made by Quark, that I can drop on my rip hotfolder and get black type to overprint.

Because of this, I would say always:
1. Open up legacy documents in Quark 7 and don't change the color settings. CMYK won't be changed unless Color Manage is checked in Profile Information window.
2. If dealing with QX7 or placing anything from QX7 in QX6, always export PostScript and let Adobe make the PDF.

Don