In Design CS5 exporting to PDF wonky

[Markus]

I have observed that on a number of jobs since I installed CS5 that unless I select my print presets to Acrobat 6,7,8 or 9 for compatibility random graphics get dropped in the final. It seams to be logos placed in as AI files. I'm trying to choose Acrobat 4 as a preset because it's what I've told works best over the years, but I really need all the elements making up my image So I've been exporting selecting "Press quality" and Acrobat 7 - 9 in the compatibility box, which gives me a PDF that looks like it's all there at my end, but the printer sends me back a proof with the elements missing!? I've been watching Lynda.com videos all morning but I'm at a loss! The only pattern I can find are that the drops seem to be Ai files which really shouldn't and hasn't ever been a problem, and the fact that the jobs may have been started in CS4 - which , again - I'm thinking shouldn't matter! Right?!

 

[wonderings]

Have not had that issue with indesign CS5, though I am hardly using it as its incredibly laggy and unusable, for me, at the moment. The pdfs I have made in Indesign CS5 have had .AI files and have not noticed anything missing. Preflight says everything is ok? No missing links?

 

[Markus]

Yup, Preflight A OK - Links all accounted for . . .

 

[Al Ferrari]

By way of investigating if the problem might not be at "the printer", have you asked what softwares and versions they are putting your pdfs through?

Al

 

[Lukas Engqvist]

As Al Ferrari said, you need to know what your printer is putting things through… but i will brave a guess. Are the missing objects spot colour?
I would recommend checking overprint, spotcolours and then export to PDFx, if and older PDF rip choose PDFx1a if a newer rip PDFx4.
Never had random elements dissapear without an explanation.

 

[Markus]

Thanks Al and Lukas, I will contact the printer. - and yes the objects that drop are spot. (The last object though was actually white!) The conclusion I'm coming up with is that since none of this sort of thing ever happened with any prior CS versions, and since I haven't changed my processes or printers, is that some hopefully imminent update will magically resolve the problem. I do however find it odd that I have found only a few other instances online, of designers experiencing the same problem.

 

[Lukas Engqvist]

If it was with spots it does happen with older versions. probably just that you haven't come across it. It is not a version issue but a workflow issue. It could be that the stacking order, with affects transparency flattening or design has changed.

You say you haven't changed anything, but changing your jobpotions is changing things. Also you maybe do not change things but your printer does, thus affecting the net workflow. Spot colours are tricky to handle especially when you have transparency.

Oh by the way you can create a custom preflight profile in InDesign that only allows process inks

 

[Markus]

Thanks Lukas - Interesting that it happens with older versions. Re the stacking order I tried putting the problem elements on higher layers without any change, and I also checked off change spots to process in the PDF export dialog box . . . I'll take your advice and delve a little deeper in my workflow . . .

 

[Norcrans]

Thanks Al and Lukas, I will contact the printer. - and yes the objects that drop are spot. (The last object though was actually white!)

Are the white objects that are dropping in the AI file? If they are you may want to check them and make sure that overprint is not turned on. In our workflow if you have a white object in Illustrator or even InDesign and you click on overprint it will drop out once it goes through our Prinergy system.

 

[bprint_tampabay]

overprinting white is a recipe for disaster in any app or workflow. Unless you have a custom set-up (i.e. a special spot named "white") it will automatically disappear.

 

[Markus]

That's it! The overprint preview is not showing the objects !- I'm thinking that's a real rookie error! - looking at how to fix this now!

 

[Jeff Mauck]

You may want to also look in your raster settings in illustrator to see if honor spot colors is checked

 

[Markus]

Thanks all - but now that I know what the problem is - I'm not sure how to fix it - Is selecting a white and designating it as a spot the best solution

 

[Lukas Engqvist]

In illustrator you will find overprint in the Attributes pannel. May be there is a script to fix this automatically.

In a PDF you can fix it by building a preflight fix in Acrobat or pitsop or similar plugin.

Also it is possible in some rips to configure that you allways want knockout on non black colours, but this can mess up other transparency issues.

 

[Markus]

The problem was with the illustrator file after all. I opened the offending element in illustrator, selected FlattenTransparency in the object menu and unchecked "Preserve Overprints and spot colors" There is also an option to check a box to "Preserve Alpha Transparency" - Not sure whether I should check that also? I also cranked the Raster to Vectors slider to 100 on the vector side. I realize now that some of you were saying telling me exactly that, but I didn't know where the controls for it were . . . Thanks again for all your help!