Linked images in linked indd files do not print properly

When printing InDesign documents that have links to other InDesign documents that, in turn, have links to images inside of them, those images are not printed at full quality. Instead it appears that InDesign's printing engine pulls the preview during print.

It works fine during export, such as to PDF, which indicates that InDesign knows how to do this. It must use a different method during printing, which for some reason does not resolve links inside linked InDesign files.

Embedding the linked images inside the linked InDesign files causes things to behave normally. However, this is obviously not desirable when dealing with files with large numbers of images, as it causes the InDesign file to be multiple gigabytes in some cases.

Steps:

1. Create a.indd

2. Place img1.jpg into a.indd as a link

3. Create b.indd

4. Place a.indd into b.indd as a link

5. Print b.indd

Result:

img1.jpg is blurry/pixelated, as if a preview

Expected:

Document prints according to printing preferences and driver settings

Workaround:

Embed img1.jpg

Yes, the files all exist, are updated, and have no missing links.