Title: Images appearing corrupted in InDesign and exported PDFs – vertical coloured lines and black areas

Hi ​@easygoing_kid5b0d,

Sorry to hear you're experiencing this issue, especially since the image corruption is also appearing in your exported PDFs.

Thanks for confirming that you've already checked the links, tested different storage locations, and tried changing Display Performance and GPU settings.

Adding to Eugene's suggestion, could you please try opening one of the affected images in macOS Preview, selecting File > Export, and saving it as a TIFF or PNG? Then relink the converted image in InDesign through Window > Links > Relink and check whether the colored lines and black areas disappear, both in InDesign and the exported PDF.

If the issue persists, could you also try placing the same image in a new blank InDesign document and exporting it to PDF?

Additionally, please confirm your exact InDesign version, macOS version, and the original image format.

If possible, please share one affected original image, a sample InDesign file, and the exported PDF showing the corruption. You can share them here or send me a downloadable link via DM if the files are confidential.

Thanks for your patience and cooperation!

Abhishek

I wonder if it’s the same issue discussed here:

 

One file or all files? Have you tried toggling GPU Performance?

Try resaving one of the affected images in Photoshop using a different file format.

Although InDesign supports JPEG and PNG, not all files are encoded in exactly the same way. Differences in compression, colour profiles, metadata or how the files were originally generated can sometimes cause problems.

As a test, open one of the affected images in Photoshop, save it as a PSD or TIFF, then relink it in InDesign to see whether that resolves the issue.

If it works, that would suggest the problem lies with the original image file or how it was encoded, rather than InDesign itself.

You could then resave the remaining images in Photoshop. I'd generally recommend keeping them as PSD or TIFF rather than converting them back to JPEG or PNG, particularly for print work. Repeatedly saving JPEGs can also introduce additional compression artefacts.

And you don't necessarily have to relink every image individually. InDesign has a Relink File Extension option in the Links panel menu, which allows you to relink multiple images to a different format, provided the filenames match and the replacement files are in the same folder as the originals.

Alternatively, Relink to Folder allows you to specify a different folder and file extension.

Hi, it’s most likely a "permissions" issue; InDesign is unable to access the folder where the photos are located. Press Command + I and adjust the permissions—that should solve it. I’ve encountered the exact same problem myself.