Remove Application Built-in Trapping if it has been disabled

[edy54443724]

Apparently Application Built-in Trapping has been disabled. Since version 16, printing to PDF/PS with this option has failed. There was a post about that here, and I see responses pointing to In-Rip Trapping as the go-to alternative. So In-Rip Trapping it is. Now my questions are:

1. Is it still necessary to assign a trap preset only to those pages that need it, or can we leave the default alone (applying the preset to all pages)?
2. To use In-Rip Trapping, should we Print to PDF/PS with this option, choosing only those pages that need trapping, or send a composite PDF the usual way (via File > PDF presets)?
3. If Adobe and the rest of the press community are recommending In-Rip Trapping, why does Application Built-in Trapping still appear as an option? Either disable/remove it or show a pop-up message recommending In-Rip Trapping whenever a user accesses this option. Although I would like it left as an option (and working) since I see some untrapped printed items, which means either the printer doesn't do trapping, or doesn't know how. 

[rob day]

So you are not using Distiller? I’m printing to .ps, but the PDF with traps in my capture was generated via Distiller.

[edy54443724]

[rob day]

If you want to share a .ps file I can run it through Distiller and see if that’s the difference.

Also note that for my test I setup a custom trap:

[edy54443724]

Nothing to send. Whether I print to PDF or to PS, I get an error

[rob day]

Share the file?

[edy54443724]

It's just a basic two- or three-objects overlapping. For testing, to see what works.

[rob day]

It must be something related to your system—I don’t get any print errors using OSX 10.4, MacOS Venura with CS6 thru CC2024.

[edy54443724]

My ID settings are the same through all versions. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Anyway, I'll monitor this page. Have to knock off. It's midnight in our part of the world.

[spaktacular]

Having spent 2-3 hours in 'support' with an Adobe senior tech, I will say that Adobe is aware of the problem but can't - or won't - fix it at this time. They came back to me 2 days later and told me that they're aware of this issue and  'it's something for us to fix', or some such word salad, 'in the future'.

I highly doubt they'll fix it. If I were wagering, I'd bet on the outcome of them eliminating the feature entirely.

[edy54443724]

It seems that way. They're focusing on developing and adding bells and whistles and don't have time for something that's already been in the app, though not working (at least for some of us). 

[rob day]

There is a bug report here:

https://indesign.uservoice.com/forums/601180-adobe-indesign-bugs/suggestions/42665791-cannot-print-w...

Only 10 votes in 4 years, which might explain the lack of urgency. I think now most printers expect PDF and are running trapped separations out of Acrobat.

[edy54443724]

Thanks for this. So I know the status, I won't bring it up anymore. I know the industry recommends leaving the trapping to the printer (Adobe In-Rip), but there are times when I need to do it in-app, like when the printer has a different workflow or doesn't or won't do trapping. I'll just have to hold on to ID v15 then. 

[Frans v.d. Geest]

Printing to PS 'a la Mac' as you say doesn't work, follow the steps Rob shown, use the Adobe 9 PPD in the print dialog from InDesign, not the Macs native one.

[rob day]

Hi @Frans v.d. Geest , I thought the problem was the traps were not getting generated, but  @edy54443724 ’s problem is the .ps file never gets saved—there’s a Printing Error. It isn’t clear to me if the other posters are also getting print errors.

[edy54443724]

@rob day I think the other posters are getting the same errors. I have seen their posts here elsewhere. As I have said, and it bears repeating here, I can't blame it on Windows, because the built-in trapping works perfectly in InDesign 2020. It seems I can't blame it on InDesign either, having seen your screenshots from v16 and v19. It could be how the later versions of InDesign are "interacting" with Windows.

[rob day]

I assume you’ve tried all of the regular trouble shooting—trashing your prefs, disabling all 3rd party extensions...

[edy54443724]

Everything. I even ran ID 2022 in compatibility mode for Windows 8. From what I gather from the other posters, this "problem" cropped up after ID 2020 (v15). If it works on Mac OS, then the problem is just in Windows. I think at this point Adobe should chime in and recognize the problem, find out what's wrong, and offer a solution. It's been over three years since v16.

[edy54443724]

@Frans v.d. Geest You misunderstand. What I meant was, I have done the Mac route, print to PS both using Adobe PDF and Adobe 9 PPD (because Adobe PDF is not installed as a printer). And I have done the Windows route, print to Adobe PDF. My steps are the same as Rob's, they worked perfectly on InDesign 2020. Both ways. My query here for the past two years is why either route fails in InDesign versions 2021+.

[Frans v.d. Geest]

@edy54443724 Ah, right. Got it 😉

[packaging specialist]

In-app trapping only supports ID up to version 16.0. In later versions only Adobe In-RIP.
I also miss this feature. I prefer to control the appearance of traps myself rather than leave it to random people.

[spaktacular]

What frustrates me is that the feature is still in the program and enabled/active. It's not my area of expertise to know/hypothesize what they did to create this issue, but if the feature is THERE it should FUNCTION.

They didn't leave the Pantone color swatches in the program and just have them create an error.....if this isn't going to function, take it out.

Crap like this is why Adobe is losing customers to Canva. $750 yearly for something that's constantly in flux, doesn't work properly, and I can't choose an older version that has the features that actually functioned.

Thank goodness I still have a functioning copy of CS3 installed on an old machine.