Overprint/knockout problem with PitStop or Original File?

[ScottShafer]

We get most of our files "print ready" but sometimes I have to put in indesign to resize for white borders. Every now and then we get a job where the knockout does not show when pitstop is opened. If I notice it I will have to click on the type and make it overprint/knockout. Sometimes it is something I do not notice and it prints with type missing! I am not sure if it is something in the original document that does not have overprint settings correct or if it is something in my output from indesign, however it does not happen to all type, the knockout at the top of the sheet showed and the line at the bottom did not, which leads me to think that it is not in my indesign output. If I close pitstop the type will show normally. Also putting the file through our Agfa pre-press program did not fix the issue which is surprising. The customer wants to know how to prevent this in the future but I really am unsure where the problem is originating from. Has anyone seen this problem and can you lead me to the right direction in figuring out how this is happening? Thanks for all your expert help!

 

[abc]

I assume if something disappeared it's white overprint. You don't need to do this manually, a preflight and fix will find them all for you and then set them to knockout.
If you want some feedback on a specific file, then you'll need to post a sample. It's difficult to give any opinion without something to look at.
You can always email me directly if you wish. [email protected]

 

[keith1]

Make certain 'Overprint Preview' is enacted in the Acrobat, Advanced, Print Production menu. But of course this isn't of much help if you don't know what's supposed to be visible in the first place.
I recently reprinted booklets for this exact reason. Not my fault. The original customer supplied Illustrator file was set to overprint white. Found this out after the fact. And so it went. I had no idea anything was missing. This is the value of proofs. In this instance the customer missed that the image in question was missing (a company logo) and OK'd the proof. We printed. $2,000 down the toilet.

 

[ScottShafer]

Appreciate the help guys...So this has happened to us maybe 6-8 times we have had to reprint the job, basically trying to find out if its something that we are doing or something in the original artwork that is causing the problem. I have attached 2 files here, one shows the blue bar at the bottom with the type as its supposed to read (with print production/output preview/Simulate Overprint clicked off) and one with the type missing with simulate overprint clicked on (which is our default view) I also would assume that something in the PDF export from indesign would have something to do with it because the customers original views fine with both simulate overprint setting on and off.

Honestly we have never used the preflight options. I just looked into it a bit and it looks like this is something that can definitely save us with some problems in the future. I think that may be the best route to go

 

[Joe]

The overprint setting you need to be concerned with is in the Acrobat Preferences.

 

[ScottShafer]

Joe, thanks, I changed that setting to automatic how you have it and it did not fix the issue.

 

[Joe]

Well it won't fix the issue but it should show you the true representation of the file. The missing text was probably originally black set to overprint. Then changed to white and overprint wasn't changed. You can change the file via Pitstop or Acrobat Preflight and any modern workflow should have a setting that looks for and fixes white overprint. This is an old problem that has fixes for it many different ways.

 

[ScottShafer]

Thanks for the help guys certainly learned something today and have a starting point that I can play around with, im a press operator turned pre-press/digital so I do not know a ton about how to solve issues like these! I appreciate you all, I am always wanting to learn more!

 

[abc]

Hi Scott
This might be a nice starting point. It's a basic PitStop preflight profile you can load into your PitStop.
It's also open so you can adjust it and add to it.
It checks some basic things like fonts, color spaces and image resolution, it also finds white overprint and automatically fixes it.
It has one other fix to embed missing fonts if available, other than that it's just going to warn you about potential issue.
If you have questions feel free to contact me (email in previous post).
https://esko.box.com/s/vpe33zh94kkafungaloprkezydh8mygj

 

[metromike]

Your Apogee and/or Enfocus preflight Task Processor should be set for "non black 2 knockout" for type and vectors in your work flow.