Incorrect White Overprint Objects Generated in PDF Marks

Hi Smriti,

Thank you for your reply.

No, I don't think this is the same issue.
 

The UserVoice request is about providing a way to remove existing overprint attributes from a document.

My report is about something different: Illustrator appears to introduce white overprint automatically during PDF export.

In my case, I am not applying white overprint myself. It seems to be introduced somewhere during PDF generation.
 

Our professional RIP (CGS ORIS Works) consistently points to the printer marks area, but I have not been able to identify the exact object responsible. Acrobat Preflight also reports white overprint warnings, but it does not clearly identify the source either.

The problem is that every white overprint warning has to be investigated manually. While it often appears to originate from the printer marks, the same warning could also indicate a real production error—for example a white logo or headline accidentally set to overprint, which would disappear when printed.

Because of that, operators cannot simply ignore the warning. Every exported PDF has to be checked manually before it can be released to production.

I was actually surprised to find that this still seems to happen in Illustrator 30.5.1, as I remember encountering the same behaviour many years ago.

Could your team please investigate whether Illustrator is introducing these white overprint attributes during PDF export, and verify that a PDF exported with trim marks and registration marks passes Acrobat Preflight and professional RIP preflight without any white overprint warnings?

Additional suggestions

• Please add an option to automatically discard white overprints during PDF export, and make it enabled by default. White overprint is almost always an unintended mistake in print production. Performing this cleanup during export would ensure that the vast majority of exported PDFs are displayed correctly and would significantly reduce production errors. Today, a PDF is only displayed correctly if someone uses Acrobat Pro and explicitly enables Overprint Preview—something many users either cannot do or simply never do.
   
• Please add an option to convert all text to outlines during PDF export. 
  Many production problems are still caused by font interpretation or font handling in smaller print shops. Converting text to outlines before export is a common manual step for many designers. Having this available directly in the PDF export dialog would save time and significantly reduce production errors.
  
  
  Mac Studio 2023
  Apple M2 Max
  36GB
  Tahoe 26.5.1
  
  Adobe Illustrator 30.5.1