Strange cuts when flattening transparency

Question

Hi All,how can I avoid these cuts when flattening transparency in illustrator?I'm preparing artowork for print. This specific banner is a real size so they won't enlarge it but I have gotten feedback before that these lines appear on the print.Previously they dindn't appear so I thought its a glitch in the pdf viewerI think they come from these shapes that illustrator cuts the shadows and shapes intoWhat am I doing wrong?I have different layers a tif background, some opacity gradients on top of that and other solid shapes with drop shadow.Is there another way of expanding these and flattening than selecting them all and flatten image and keep transparency?If I do each layer one by one then the visuals change a lot the images become dull and shadows change in appearance.Thanks for the help in advance!

Kurt Gold · Accepted Answer

As Ton already indicated: Advanced print providers have been able to process unflattened PDF/X-4 files for many years (decades) without considerable issues. Isn't that usual in your environment?

Ton Frederiks · Answer

Do you really need to flatten it? Modern RIPs can use the the Adobe PDF Print Engine, that can handle transparency very well. Flattening before sending it to print is not a good idea, it will cut up your artwork to get rid of the transparency and can result in tiny light anti-aliased lines around these regions.

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