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skibulk
Participating Frequently
September 20, 2018
Answered

InDesign PDF Export: Drop Shadow Effects are 200 DPI Low-Res

  • September 20, 2018
  • 4 replies
  • 7065 views

Using Adobe InDesign, I create a new document, draw a rectangle, and apply a drop shadow. Then I export the document as an Acrobat 6 PDF with "Create Acrobat Layers" enabled. The drop shadow effect is rasterized in the PDF as a 200 DPI graphic. My printer requires a minimum resolution of 300 DPI.

I realize that Acrobat 4 uses "Transparency Flattener Presets" to set the resolution of effects. We cannot use Acrobat 4, because our printer requires the "Create Acrobat Layers" feature which is only available starting in versions 5.

As a workaround, we have been adding drop shadows to images using Photoshop, but this is not ideal since the extended bounding boxes cause alignment issues and the drop shadows cannot be multiplied over the background in InDesign.

How can I use InDesign drop shadows and export them at 300 DPI?

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer rob day

See #24-30 in this thread:

Transparency without Flattening

The resolution of drop shadows when transparency is kept live is relative to the gradation of the shadow and doesn't follow the 300ppi image rule of thumb. With drop shadows there are no details or edges to resolve so 300ppi would never be needed to reproduce the gradation

4 replies

S
stevet50923449
Participant
February 26, 2019

The Output to pdf is affected by the Transparency Flattener Preset - If you are having issues with an effect ( Drop Shadow for example ) being of a lower resolution than required - lets say 300dpi for press supply reduce the Raster Vector Balance to 16 & select this Preset when exporting..
The values I use are
Raster Vector Balance 16
Line Art and Text Resolution 1200

Gradient and Mesh Resolution 305

this should resolve the issue.

Cheers Steve

    BobLevine
    Community Expert
    BobLevineCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 26, 2019

    There should be zero need for transparency flattening.

    S
    stevet50923449
    Participant
    February 26, 2019

    The majority of Printers & newspaper press centres still want a Pdf/x-1a:2001 file which is 1.3 and doesn't support layers..

    John Mensinger
    Community Expert
    John MensingerCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    September 21, 2018

    As a workaround, we have been adding drop shadows to images using Photoshop, but this is not ideal since the extended bounding boxes cause alignment issues and the drop shadows cannot be multiplied over the background in InDesign.

    Just for the record, placed images do respond to InDesign's Blend Modes; you can indeed set a drop shadow of Photoshop origin to Multiply.

    rob day
    Community Expert
    rob dayCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    September 21, 2018

    Hi John, I think the OP might be referring to Photoshop drop shadows set to multiply on a transparent background. If you place a transparent Photoshop object set to Multiply in InDesign, ID will ignore the PS blend mode and set it to normal.

    The lower res gradations are a feature not a bug. 300ppi shadows would simply bloat the PDF file size with no improvement in quality.

    rob day
    Community Expert
    rob dayCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    September 20, 2018

    See #24-30 in this thread:

    Transparency without Flattening

    The resolution of drop shadows when transparency is kept live is relative to the gradation of the shadow and doesn't follow the 300ppi image rule of thumb. With drop shadows there are no details or edges to resolve so 300ppi would never be needed to reproduce the gradation

    S
    skibulkAuthor
    Participating Frequently
    September 21, 2018

    This is just what I needed. For anybody else who may find this thread, the solution is temporarily select acrobat 4, choose the high res flattener, then switch back to acrobat 6. The flattener is grayed out, but it's still sets the resolution of the effects.

    This feels very hacky and unreliable. I wish they kept the setting in acrobat 6 and just renamed it to Transparency Preset or something, rather than hiding this functionality. I worry that this could be removed in future updates to InDesign.

    rob day
    Community Expert
    rob dayCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    September 22, 2018

    Yes, it definitely boils down to the preflight warnings and yes, I was referring to Photoshop drop shadows set to multiply on a transparent background.


    Why can't the printer ignore the effect res flags? Doesn't seem like you should have to add work in order to solve your printer's preflight problem.

    Willi Adelberger
    Community Expert
    Willi AdelbergerCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    September 20, 2018

    Drop Shadows are always in a lower resolution and if you have live transparency it is not problem as It is not visible in print.

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