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A
Alexander30407442qmux
Participating Frequently
June 9, 2023
Answered

My gradient background is disappearing when converting it to a pdf

  • June 9, 2023
  • 5 replies
  • 3950 views

So I made a design in Adobe illustrator and I'm working on a mac, I was trying to save it as a PDF but everytime I hit save as pdf it just gets rid of my gradient background. I have looked through some other posts but all fixes don't work or I am not fully understanding the steps. I'm a graphic design student at a highschool and just need some help so I can print out this design 

 

      This topic has been closed for replies.
      Correct answer Monika Gause

      JUst forget the QuickLook. If you want to do prepress, use Acrobat. Nothing else counts.

       

      If you need your gradients to be visible in Quicklook for some reason, you will need to rasterize it.

      5 replies

      Larry G. Schneider
      Larry G. Schneider
      Community Expert
      June 10, 2023

      You haven't tried to set the background paper color have you?

      A
      Alexander30407442qmuxAuthor
      Participating Frequently
      June 10, 2023

      I haven't done that and I'm kinda newer to illustrateor so I'm not entirely sure how to do so.

      Monika Gause
      Monika Gause
      Community Expert
      June 10, 2023

      Is that a frefform gradient?

      Are you viewing the PDF in Acrobat or some other viewer? Other viewers don't export the full PDF options.

      A
      Alexander30407442qmuxAuthor
      Participating Frequently
      June 10, 2023

      It is a freeform gradient and I learned that when I download the PDF on my phone it shows my background and I'm just using apple's finder after downloading the design.

      Monika Gause
      Monika GauseCorrect answer
      Community Expert
      June 10, 2023

      JUst forget the QuickLook. If you want to do prepress, use Acrobat. Nothing else counts.

       

      If you need your gradients to be visible in Quicklook for some reason, you will need to rasterize it.

        Brad @ Roaring Mouse
        Brad @ Roaring Mouse
        Community Expert
        June 10, 2023

        If the gradient is on layer to itself (i..e. it's the ONLY thing missing), the first thing I would check is to make sure you haven't accidentally set that layer's options improperly, e.g. you have Print unchecked, or you have made the layer a template layer by checking Template. Your layer's name will also be italic if either is the case.

        If that doesn't solve it, we'll go on to other possibilities.

        A
        Alexander30407442qmuxAuthor
        Participating Frequently
        June 10, 2023

        I will try this when I get access to my computer again and let you know thanks for replying!

        Peru Bob
        Peru Bob
        Community Expert
        June 9, 2023

        I've moved this from the Using the Community forum (which is the forum for issues using the forums) to the Illustrator forum so that proper help can be offered.

        A
        Alexander30407442qmuxAuthor
        Participating Frequently
        June 9, 2023

        Note: not entirely sure what computer I am working on so I just put mac

         

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