Achieving Reliable Print Output from Adobe ... - Adobe Partners

Chapter 8: Troubleshooting
This section describes what you can to do to minimize or prevent problems in standard print
production workflows. Each problem has corresponding descriptions and solutions.
Tips
• Install and use the latest Adobe software updates.
(www.adobe.com/support/downloads/main.html)
• Install and use the latest RIP software updates.
• Install and use the latest PPDs/printer drivers.
• Dedicate sufficient RAM to all applications.
• Read the Print Service Provider Toolkit.
(partners.adobe.com/asn/printserviceprovider/index.jsp)
• Read the ReadMe.pdf files that accompany the installers for additional known issues, resolved
issues, and production and troubleshooting tips.
• If your customers must do their own flattening, provide them with appropriate Flattener presets
for your output conditions.
• Pay attention to the stacking order of objects. You should place, wherever possible, text and
line art elements above all nearby sources of transparency to minimize the possibility that the
Flattener will process them. You can minimize this possibility by placing such elements on
their own layer, which is above all layers containing sources of transparency.
Transparency-related issues to watch for
Some transparency interactions currently have no workarounds for optimal printing. Future versions
of Adobe applications will likely address some of these interactions. Until then, however, be
alert for the following elements when they are mixed with transparency:
Preseparated content (nonPhotoshop DCS files) InDesign CS can extract high-resolution
plate data from placed Photoshop DCS files, which can be flattened and output. This capability
requires that the DCS files not contain any vector data other than a clipping path.
Duotone, tritone, or quadtone images place-linked into legacy Illustrator files While
Illustrator CS handles these files properly, earlier versions of Illustrator do not.
Low resolution OPI images Replace all low-resolution images that will be flattened with highresolution
versions. Remember, “fatten before you flatten.”
Planning for transparency
The degree to which the effects of flattening affect your work often depends on if the flattened
results are appropriate for the next step of your workflow.
For instance, you cannot change type that gets converted to outlines with a PDF touch-up tool. If
a file is to be immediately color separated for printed output, and the Flattener was correctly set,
this issue is unlikely to occur. At other points in the workflow, however, it may cause a problem.
Similarly, you may not be able to map one spot color to another color after flattening, but if the
next workflow step is trapping, you may not need to map colors.
The goal of quality print output is to maximize the value of transparency and minimize the
effects of the transformation to a flattened file.
Treat flattening like preseparated content
You may want to think about workflows involving flattened art in the same way as those that
involve preseparated content—something with which you are already familiar.
With preseparated files, you can make corrections only by going back to a composite format. You
cannot convert a spot color to process, fix a trap, change image resolution, or replace an image
after the separations are made. Similarly, flattening binds artwork into a representation that
precludes making certain changes, unless you return to the original version.
Achieving reliable print output from Adobe
applications when using transparency
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