Preflight flagging vector image as low res

Forum|Forum|1 day ago
July 2, 2026
3 replies
30 views

I have preflight set to flag images that are below 300dpi. it works great except for one vector Illustrator file that it keeps flagging. It’s vector, so it has no resolution? this is the only vector image file it flags. here are screenshots of the images, the preflight panel, and the preflight settings. Why is it flagging this vector file as low res?

Abhishek Rao

Community Manager

Hi @mgthomas82,

Thanks for sharing the additional details. Could you please try the suggestions shared by the experts, particularly checking the Document Raster Effects Settings in Illustrator and verifying whether the drop shadow is triggering the Preflight warning? Once you've tested those suggestions, please let us know the results so we can proceed accordingly if the issue persists.

Best,

Abhishek

Willi Adelberger

Community Expert

Drop Shadows in InDesign have always a lower resolution than the psi (not dpi settings) In Illustrator is should use the raster effect settings. Rasterized effects are recognized as raster images in InDesign. Die you use the ai file with the current version or did you use an older version?

leo.r

Community Expert

First, what error exactly is shown when you click the preflight errors? Also, does the Illustrator file contain any placed images?

M

mgthomas82Author

Participant

the error:

Problem: Color images must be at least 300 ppi

Effective Resolution: 221 ppi

Fix: Direct-select the image and use the Object > Transform > Scale command to change the scaling applied. Or edit the source file to correct the resolution problem.

The Illustrator file contains no images. We’ve tested the image at all sorts of sizes and it flags it no matter what. here is a test showing it (the blurry grey shadow below the laptop. the middle one is the original size. all get flagged.

Brad @ Roaring Mouse

Community Expert

What are your Rasterize settings in the document? Your drop shadow is probably triggering this. In any case, 221 is more than enough for that purpose. I would just ignore it (prepress guy here)

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