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. 

 

[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

[Parksite Karl]

@Eugene Tyson That is some top flight sleuthing.

Appreciate the effort.  Thanks!

[Angus Hume]

I'm not sure why but that solution is not working for me. Changing to perceptual made no difference and checking dither places it as an embedded bitmap. Although I rarely copy/paste, I would always need it to be editable. I just used Illustrator 2025 to copy in this case and that is fine. I posted elsewhere that I tested multiple InDesign and Illustrator versions, and that the error from Illustrator 2026 persists with previous versions of InDesign. 

[rob day]

Hi @Parksite Karl , Might be worth noting that how you set your Clipboard preferences in AI and ID can affect what happens when you cut and paste between applications. If you set AI’s Clipboard to PDF On Copy and ID’s to Prefer PDF When Pasting, ID will paste an object which you can’t easily edit.

On MacOS the pasted object is a PDF and no swatches are added to the Swatches panel—I can’t edit this and there is no link that can be edited:

If I set the Clipboards to this:

I get editable vectors and color swatches in InDesign on a paste. This would be preferable for high end print output:

[Parksite Karl]

@rob day Thanks Rob!  I did play with all of that.  When I set to PDF in both applications, I could paste an uneditable vector.  But on my Windows platform, I cannot paste the editable vector.  That is until Eugene above found some color issue that made it work.  Replaced some offending gradient with a solid color and then the vector data pasted fine.  Seems like a bug that is not important enough to move the needle.  But thanks for the input!  Sometimes it takes an army to find the one weird thing 🙂

[Eugene Tyson · Accepted solution]

You're welcome. 

Hard to recognise the gradient,  very subtle. 

But all my tests show any gradient with classic applied invokes the error. 

So seems like a bug.

[crissie_6016]

How frustrating is the glitch!! Has anyone given you an response that works? I've tried everything in this post but no joy. 

[Eugene Tyson]

Have you tried my approach? Share your image file causing the issue and I can see if it's the same issue. Could be something else.

[rob day]

I've tried everything in this post but no joy.

It’s worth noting that even if you have your ID and AI preferences set to cut and paste AIBC objects, not all Illustrator objects will remain editable in InDesign—Illustrator’s drawing tools are more complex.

For example an object made with the Illustrator Mesh tool will not paste as editable paths in ID:

The Illustrator mesh pastes as a single object and no swatches get added

The flag drawing is less complex and pastes as vectors— its swatches get added to the Swatches panel and the path can be sellected

[Angus Hume]

I found the same paste error in InDesign 2025 and 2023 as well. But copy from Illustrator 2025 was fine. 

[Eugene Tyson]

What can we do? The software has its limits and sometimes a small change in one place ends up tripping something else somewhere down the line.

You can raise a bug report as mentioned earlier. That is always worth doing.

From what you are describing it seems to happen mostly with complex gradients, meshes or newer features that may or may not still be fully supported.

At the end of the day you just have to roll with it. Work within the limits, adjust your process where you can and keep things moving.

That is what we all do. Raise the bug and hope it gets sorted.

[Angus Hume]

Actually, my test was a simple classic gradient on a circle. Nothing complex. and it works from the previous version of Illustrator.  I also tested copying and pasting the gradient from Illustrator 2025 to 2026 and copying that back to InDesign. Which also trips the bug. So the object was created in 2025, no new features. I can take the same element pasted into 2026 and copy/paste back to 2025, then copy that to InDesign, just fine. Perhaps it is related to the new gradient features in 2026, even though the example asset does not use any new features, the new architecture is adding something to the legacy data. 

[Angus Hume]

I tried one last option to obtain a native element in InDesign. I saved the example as an AI file and a PDF and opened them into InDesign 2026 using that new option. Opening the PDF was horribly slow, and the gradient was embedded as a PNG. Opening the AI file worked; the gradient appeared as a swatch and was editable. However, some of the colour stops had been altered. The fill was also separated from the keyline. I wouldn't recommend this option. I'll use Illustrator 2025 until they fix it. If they fix it.  

[Eugene Tyson]

Opening a PDF in InDesign is not the same as copy/pasting from Illustrator. When you open a PDF, InDesign isn’t reading the Illustrator data directly it’s reading a PDF, which has its own internal representation of gradients and colours. That PDF gradient gets parsed by Acrobat, then interpreted by InDesign, so it almost always ends up different from the original in Illustrator.

This is why the gradient becomes a PNG or loses some stops, and why the fill can separate from the keyline. It’s essentially a different workflow with its own limitations, whereas direct copy/paste keeps it vector and editable provided the gradient type doesn’t trigger the bug we’ve seen.

[Angus Hume]

I didn't intend to imply that opening the files was the same as copy/paste. I just thought it would be useful for the community to explore all available workaround options for transferring an Illustrator asset to InDesign with editability intact, while noting any downsides. 

[Eugene Tyson]

I already gave the workaround. If there is no other example files to work from I cannot offer any more solutions. 

There are other workarounds - like put in the CC Libraries and import it that way.

Best workflow has always been to use File>Place

Even if you disagree with it - it avoids these issues.

[Angus Hume]

I don't lack experience, and I would never use copy-and-paste as a primary workflow. Only every so often, when it is preferable. I only came here to see if others experienced the error, if there were any workarounds and to offer my own findings. 

Yes, you gave a workaround. But it does not work for me. Appreciate the additional tip for CC libraries, but as far as I can tell, that just places a PDF. It's not editable and does not add the swatch. 

[Martin317148985aei]

Hello, I’m dealing with the same issue with Import EPS: error UnmatchedMark after updating InDesign and Illustrator to the latest 2026 versions. Previously, I was able to copy gradients between the applications without any problems, and they always appeared in the Swatches panel — for example, from Illustrator to InDesign. Now it doesn’t work. I also tried everything mentioned earlier in this thread, but without success.

[Eugene Tyson]

What specifically have you tried - can you please attach the file to download here for testing.

Thanks

[Martin317148985aei]

Dear Eugene, I need to get this gradient sample into InDesign.

[Eugene Tyson]

I can't help if I don't know what I'm dealing with - another user provided their files and we found the cause. 

Can you do similar?

[Eugene Tyson]

All I can do is keep asking you for the file so I can test it. Without the file I have no idea. 

Up to you. @Angus Hume 

[Angus Hume]

For my other tests, I created a circle and added a black keyline and a default orange gradient. It's a very simple example. However, where I have commented on this specific post, and commented that your fix does not work for me, I tested the file supplied by the OP. As I said earlier, I solved it by using Illustrator 2025. The error is present from Illustrator 2026 to InDesign 2026, 2025, and 2023 that I tested. 

[Eugene Tyson]

I'll take your word for it - if you are not supplying the files here for testing there's not much I can do. 

I tested in Illustrator 2026 to InDesign 2026 - got the same error and fixed it by altering the gradient - having it set to classic gradient (whatever that means) caused the issue repeatedly, even on new files with a basic gradient. 

If you want to supply files for me to test please do. Otherwise, all I can do is take your word for it.

[Angus Hume]

It's just a circle with a default orange gradient from the swatches.