System Black not working correctly when exporting to PDF

Forum|Forum|10 months ago
June 20, 2025
1 reply
412 views

When I use the system black and export to PDF the black takes up the colour boxes behind it. No overprint fill on blank new doc used to create below. If I make a new black all is fine only issue with system default black

E

Eugene Tyson

Community Expert

Black usually is overprinted but in some cases it is not, which for me is rare.

Indesign by default has Black (that's the [Black] swatch) set to overprint in the preferences - when you make a new black swatch it is not bound by the preferences.

C

chris_6037Author

Participant

Why would that be a default setting if it doesnt display black correctly and causes issue. If I turn that setting off it works then

E

Eugene Tyson

Community Expert

I guess settings have to default to something, and I guess most people need black to overprint, very strange situations not to - but you can force it to knockout.

And note the Options for Black on RGB and Greyscale devices are just that - it's how it looks on only for those devices.

It is what it is. If you don't want black to overprint, you can turn it off globally in the preferences.

Or if you need it for a specific case then create a new Black swatch.

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