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jinch
jinch
Known Participant
September 24, 2025
Question

Illustrator (29.7.1) Bug - Compund Path - Lost Detail

  • September 24, 2025
  • 2 replies
  • 757 views

Illustrator - 29.7.1

Issue:
When making a compound path detail is lost / lines seem thinner. This appears both on screen and in print. This creates an issue in file prep for screen printing as both the ink will clog in fine detail and the art does not stay consisten.

This seems to be a known issue going back years but I all recomended resolutions do not fix the issue.

The path is the same in conversion but both the art on the monitor and the printed output shows a considerable difference.

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Please see atached  PDF and EPS file for reference. The forum wont let me post the Illustrator file for some reason. All have the same issue though - file format does not matter.

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How can we fix this? What is the best way to prepress this for screen printing for consistent rendering?

> j

2 replies

Ton Frederiks
Community Expert
Ton FrederiksCommunity Expert
Community Expert
September 25, 2025

Looks like anti-aliasing makes it fatter.

You could try an Opacity mask:

Open the attached PDF in Illustrator to inspect.

jinch
jinchAuthor
Known Participant
September 27, 2025

Thanks Ton,

I tried this as well, and it does render more accurately with a mask; however, this won't work for prepress. The opacity mask is more of a screen effect and not good for file output - view outlines and you can see the path is removed ~ won't work for preflight.
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I turned off anti-aliasing - unfortunately still gives the same effect.

I also tried adjusting the pathfinder precision to be as tight as possible ~ unfortunately still no effect.

The only workaround I found was to thicken up the path by either offsetting or expanding a stroke before compounding. It's a cheat and not efficient, but it gives you the results you will need if accuracy is important to you.
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This seems like a major flaw in Illustrator that I find very strange, seeing that it's a major part of the application. This seems to be a known issue that really hasn't been thoroughly addressed.
 

Ton Frederiks
Community Expert
Ton FrederiksCommunity Expert
Community Expert
September 27, 2025

"this won't work for prepress" I don't think it will be visible on a printing press. It is typical for low res devices like computer screens and desktop printers.

Anubhav M
Community Manager
Anubhav MCommunity Manager
Community Manager
September 24, 2025

Hello @jinch,

Thanks for reaching out. Would you mind sharing a link to a sample file, along with a small screen recording of your workflow and the problem, so I can check this with the team?

 

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Anubhav

jinch
jinchAuthor
Known Participant
September 25, 2025

Thanks Anubhav,

Attached is a video demonstrating my steps, as well as a photo of printed output.

It's subtle, but there is a difference in the art when a compound path is made. Sent my PDF to the printer, and they see it as well.
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Illustrator File:  - NOTE: Had to post to cloud as the forum would not let me attach AI file.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mfh7mbuLE2_8Oa7iSS_xdX2vCHYQayy9/view?usp=sharing

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Video:

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Printed Output:

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