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A
Anonymous
March 30, 2022
Answered

Font becomes bold with PNG or PSD images in page

  • March 30, 2022
  • 5 replies
  • 6847 views

Hello there,

I've notice this problem when working on multiple projects with Adobe Indesign 2022.

Whenever I add transparant images ( PNG or PSD ) into my Indesign page it seems to make the text bolder.

The difference is quite subtle but It's definitely visible.

This happens when previewing the document but also after I've exported the document to PDF.

Is there any way to circumvent this problem?

Correct answer Eugene Tyson

This is due to Transparency and should only affect the screen viewing.

 

This is called transparency flattening for older printers and is typical of Acrobat Version 4. You could try exporting PDF/X-4, and of course your printer has to be able to handle this - so you may need to contact your printer manufacturer to get the correct print driver.

 

A workaround:

Go to Edit > Transparency Blend Space change to RGB.

Now export your PDF and check how it prints for you.

 

5 replies

Todd_Morgan
Todd_Morgan
Legend
May 9, 2022

I am seeing this issue too, BUT it happens also with native graphics within ID where they have a transparency applied. It does this on all my machines, each with different video cards. IT IS NOT A PDF EXPORT ISSUE. It is a bug within the software asI have never seen this before in earlier versions. Create a simple ID file with a text block and a colour fill square. Then give that square an opacity of whatever, and you'll see the text changes slightly. Doesn't matter which colour space you are in, it is more subtle in RGB but still there.

 

Here is my thread posting about same issue: Re: Weird font issues rendering to PDF... and it's... - Page 3 - Adobe Support Community - 12924047

rob day
Community Expert
rob dayCommunity Expert
Community Expert
May 9, 2022

Looking at the captures in @9848143 ’s original post, it looks like the OS is Windows. The attached PDF samples view correctly on OSX—this is the in latest AcrobatPro on OSX Mojave:

 

E
Community Expert
Eugene TysonCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
March 31, 2022

This is due to Transparency and should only affect the screen viewing.

 

This is called transparency flattening for older printers and is typical of Acrobat Version 4. You could try exporting PDF/X-4, and of course your printer has to be able to handle this - so you may need to contact your printer manufacturer to get the correct print driver.

 

A workaround:

Go to Edit > Transparency Blend Space change to RGB.

Now export your PDF and check how it prints for you.

 

    A
    Anonymous
    March 31, 2022

    Wow, thank you so much! This was the way for me to fix it!

    I didn't even need to change the transparency blend space.

    I just needed to export it in PDF/X-4 and that seemed to make the documents look exactly the same.

     

    Thank you very much!

      Brad @ Roaring Mouse
      Community Expert
      Brad @ Roaring MouseCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      May 9, 2022

      "I just needed to export it in PDF/X-4 ..."

      The reason that now works in Acrobat is because of this setting:

       

      Acrobat's defalt is "Only for PDF/X files". This renders all your text the same, so yes, your PDF/X4 export will look fine.

      If you change this etting to "Always" all of your PDFs will render the same, whether they are PDF/X or not. Try it on your original test PDF you sent us.

       

       

      Brad @ Roaring Mouse
      Community Expert
      Brad @ Roaring MouseCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      March 30, 2022

      Can you share PDFs of both versions?

      J E L
      Community Expert
      J E LCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      March 30, 2022

      Here's mine, Brad.

       

      Added two test images for you to place into any InDesign document to see how the text color darkens with a PSD transparency. Thank you!

      J E L
      Community Expert
      J E LCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      March 30, 2022

      This has been happening on my documents for some time and nothing I try will fix it, other than to not use a transparent PSD file. Happy to share this test document if needed.

       

        A
        Anonymous
        March 30, 2022

        It's honestly such a shame, I'm glad I'm not the only experiencing this issue though. It has been quite a hassle to try and figure this out. None of my coworker could figure it out either.

          D
          defaultl2dcn3pi5o8u
          Inspiring
          March 30, 2022

          Are the image assets you use the same color space as the indesign document? I know display discrepencies can happen if you mix RGB with CMYK elements.

          Willi Adelberger
          Community Expert
          Willi AdelbergerCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          March 30, 2022
          1. Probably a screen issue. Does it also happen when printed?
          2. But anyway, take care that text is above the images with transparency. Make different layers and the layer with text above all images.
          3. Avoid PNG files in InDesign. Use PSD, PDP or PDF instead.
            A
            Anonymous
            March 30, 2022

            Thank you for your reply!

            I have indeed tried to print the page(s) and it does have the same issues.

            I've also placed the text above all transparant layers but that didn't seem to work either.

            And when I try to import PSD images instead of PNG images I get the exact same problem 😞

            I've been able to recreate this exact problem on atleast three different devices with three different documents, so I'm not quite sure what's the problem.

            D
            defaultl2dcn3pi5o8u
            Inspiring
            March 30, 2022

            anti-aliasing tells me it's some kind of compression treatment when you export it out - you when from text optimized to image optimized compression.

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