EPS Import: UnmatchedMark error

[adrianb58103430]

This pops up when copy/pasting a vector image from Illustrator to InDesign. Only from recent update.

Needs to be fixed ASAP. 

 

[Brad @ Roaring Mouse]

You should PLACE the file. Why are you copy/paste-ing it? 

[adrianb58103430]

You have got to be kidding me. Do you not ever grab a logo or shape from Illustrator and paste into InDesign?

Give me solutions and fix the problem. Just shows how far Adobe doesn't understand.

[Brad @ Roaring Mouse]

Literally, NO. There is no upside to doing what you're doing. There are few instances where this could be useful, like you can grab a shape and paste it in so you could use it as, say, a custom photo/text frame shape.

Of course, dragging a file from the desktop into an InDesign file is different, as that invokes the Place routine to do so, so that's valid.

[Mike Witherell]

Nobody in this user-to-user forum is kidding you, Adrian. You should consider refining your workflow. Nonetheless, if you adjust Preferences in both AI and INDD to favor AICB and not PDF, you should be able to get it functioning. Bear in mind that AICB stalls out at artwork with a max of 500 anchor points, so keep it simple if you opt to do that way.

[Gavin31332558259u]

Been copy/pasting elements between Illustrator and InDesign for years - never been a problem til the latest downdate.

Seems to be that with every 'update' Adobe manages to break something that users have been able to do for years

[Eugene Tyson]

I get ya - but doing it for a long time doesn't mean it's right or works forever. 

We all do things outside the norm - the general advice is not to do this, or limit it to certain scenarios. 

I gave some advice and got no feedback if working or not. 

[Gavin31332558259u]

The reason for doing it is that it saves having to have possibly multiple links to assets that could get lost or broken - though with the option to embed assets rather than linking them this is less of a problem.

Nonetheless it is 'a thing' that I'm sure many a seasoned designer has done for a long time and has always worked well for us.

[Eugene Tyson]

That's fine. You still haven't told me if you tried any of what I have suggested.

Everyone works differently.

[Brad @ Roaring Mouse]

You do you, but it's really not a good way to work. There is something about whatever specific graphic you tried to copy/paste that did not carry through the clipboard process.

[Angus Hume]

Try helping answer someone's question. Being able to copy and paste from Illustrator directly was originally shown as a feature. I can think of plenty of legitimate reasons to do this. And regardless, I do not need to be told I'm doing it wrong when an advertised feature is broken unexpectedly.  People come here for help. I certainly did, and I can tell you there is nothing more infuriating than reading a bunch of people posting that you are doing it wrong instead of actually helping. If you cannot or do not want to help, maybe just stop typing. 

[jilljamgd]

I've been copying/pasting from Illustrator into InDesign as long as ID has been around. Now, all of a sudden, I get this EPS IMPORT: UNMATCHED MARK ERROR with the latest upgrade to 21.01. I only get this error when trying to copy/paste a gradient from Illustrator; flat colors work OK. It sounds like many of us designers do it this way. So, why would Adobe take this feature away from us? It is the quickest way to get an element from Illustrator to ID, especially if you are on deadline and your client is cost conscious! And, if this is the WRONG WAY to do it, why has it been working for years? Please don't tell us we're doing it wrong; please just fix the problem. I have tried all the Clipboard Handling suggestions and none of them work. I use this method all the time and now can't. I'm speaking for many of us who will be soon paying $70 for your software and while you are whiddling away the features we need.

[Willi Adelberger]

1. Don't use EPS in modern times.
2. Place files <8File > Place…)
3. Use AI or PDF/X-4 or Illustrator native PDF.

[Laubender]

@Willi Adelberger said: "Don't use EPS in modern times."

Hi Willi,

as far as I can see this new error stems from copying selected Illustrator objects to an InDesign page.

That should work without that error; in case InDesign is not able to paste something from Illustrator because it might be too complex it can happen that InDesign converts the complex objects internally to an EPS object to preserve the pasted elements as far as possible ( as @rob day  showed ).

This functionalit seems to be broken in the OP's case.

My guess is that it's InDesign 2026 that is broken.

Now, @adrianb58103430 , what is the exact version of your InDesign and Illustrator?

Maybe one could avoid the error if a different version of Illustrator is used…

What's your operating system?

Kind regards,
Uwe Laubender
( Adobe Community Expert )

[mharmonv2x0]

"Don't use EPS in modern times." is pretty myopic, Willi.

Not that I'm an "expert" or anything (just 30 years in design and printing), but sometimes EPS is the best format for the job. Like, when it's the asset the client gives you to get the job done. Or, beacuse it's the only format a 3rd party vendor can/will work with.

Not saying .ai isn't a better format for any number of reasons, but if the workflow and/or client are calling for EPS, I'm using EPS. Also, dare I say without getting struck by lightning, not everyone out there is quick to adopt an Adobe-based format or system. My job as a designer isn't to convert them, it's to get the job done.

[Eugene Tyson]

I get clients handing over whatever they happen to have in the drawer. We have all had that moment where someone drops a dusty EPS from 2004 on the desk and says make it sing. You work with what you are given, because the job has to ship. No argument there.

But that doesn’t change the fact that EPS is a relic from another age. It was brilliant in the nineties when PostScript ruled the land. Today it has no transparency, no colour management worth talking about, no live effects, none of the safety nets that modern formats provide. It’s like insisting on using a cassette tape in a world where everyone else has moved to digital. You can do it, but you lose quite a bit along the way.

There are other workflows that are more accurate, more predictable and frankly far less likely to bite you, it’s not “myopic” to say EPS is outdated. It’s just acknowledging reality. You can still use it when forced by a client or vendor, but that is a workaround, not a best practice.

So no lightning bolts needed. Use EPS when the job leaves you no other choice, absolutely. But let’s not pretend it’s the equal of modern formats. It has had its time in the sun, and that sunset was quite a while ago.

For the record, I use EPS everyday, it's not an issue, if you're aware of the limitations and pitfalls. But if  the EPS is causing issues, then consider converting to other format.

There's nothing dramatic to get about EPS files, you can have a bunch of them doesn't mean you have to batch convert them all to another format. I'm just using as I go and if I run into issues (which I haven't ever) then I know what to do. 

But if you're creating files and artwork and not supplying them, then EPS could cause problems. 

[Eugene Tyson]

Good morning - advice from @Willi Adelberger and Brad @ Roaring Mouse  is completely true. 

I know you want to copy and paste EPS as before, but EPS is really outdated file format and has only been supported for legacy files for a long time. Do you have to keep EPS format - can you save as .ai? 

Besides the warnings above - here's the alternative advice if the above is not good for you and your workflow.

It looks like this is a latest InDesign update. The “EPS Import: UnmatchedMark” message is tied to how InDesign translates clipboard data from Illustrator. Illustrator places several formats on the clipboard (PDF, SVG, EPS, WMF), and InDesign chooses one to interpret. Something in that chain is breaking since the update.

A few practical workarounds until Adobe patches it:

1. Use “Paste as” → AICB

In Illustrator:
Preferences > File Handling & Clipboard

• Enable AICB (no transparency) (or with transparency if needed)

• Disable PDF clipboard temporarily

This forces Illustrator to send the older, simpler clipboard format. Many people report this avoids the UnmatchedMark error.

2. Try “Paste in Place” instead of “Paste”

Weirdly, for some users one works and the other triggers the error.

3. Roll back Illustrator or InDesign

If copy/paste is essential to your workflow, rolling back one version of either app restores the previous clipboard handling.

(I never update to the latest version of anything - including Adobe Software, I have the latest installed, but I use 2023 and moving to 2024 soon).

4. Report it as a confirmed bug

Adobe engineers do monitor the UserVoice/Bug pages more closely than forum threads.
Multiple reports help it reach priority.

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This is a valid workflow and it should work copying vectors from Illustrator to InDesign is used by loads of people. At the moment it might seem broken because of the update, not the workflow. Hopefully Adobe patches the clipboard interpreter quickly if it's the cause. 

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If you do roll back a versoin and test it - then you know it's your content not the version.

If you confirm the version post it here for review

https://indesign.uservoice.com/forums/601180-adobe-indesign-bugs

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[Karin31006744hq0g]

I 'killed' the older version of Indeign because many times the 'wrong' version opened. Now I have the trouble and can't copy/paste, drag and drop from Illustrator to Indesign. It used to put in Vektors, when 'easy' Illustration, only eps when more complex; now nothing goes. Now I habe to save in Photoshop ..... What a pitty, Adobe becomes Microsoft?

[leo.r]

I 'killed' the older version of Indeign because many times the 'wrong' version opened. Now I have the trouble and can't copy/paste, drag and drop from Illustrator to Indesign.

By @Karin31006744hq0g

If I understand correctly the conclusion of this discussion, the problem should be resolved if you revert to Illustrator 2025.

[leo.r]

Check the Clipboard Handling preferences in both InDesign and Illustrator and see if changing something there makes a difference.

Also, you mentioned that it's "only from recent update". Does it mean that you don't have this issue with the same Illustrator file when copy-pasting to InDesign 2025?

[Mike Witherell]

Agree. AI should copy AICB while InDesign might well turn off Prefer PDF when Pasting.

[Parksite Karl]

I get this same error as well.  I typically have a giant single illustrator file of icons and other vector elements that I paste into InDesign as necessary, rather than saving a million stupid little files that get lost or individually edited by someone else.  This no longer works for me.

None of these suggested fixes worked either.

And in this instance definitely less < 500 anchor points. 

[Eugene Tyson]

Share the file here - even that piece - and I'll see if I can get it to work one way or another. 

Hard to know at this stage without testing it. 

[Parksite Karl]

@Eugene Tyson Thanks.  I did rollback from 21.0.1 one update version and still get the issue.  Although I cannot say when it started.  I think my latest update occurred just three days ago, so I may have to go back further to test again.

[Eugene Tyson · Accepted solution]

Narrowed it down to this green gradient background - the dark green here is actually a gradient

Change the gradient to anything EXCEPT classic - turn on DITHER or change to Perceptual 

And it works. 

You can log a bug 

https://indesign.uservoice.com/forums/601180-adobe-indesign-bugs