Strange export issue relating to place SVG

[pat292345676vuf]

Hi community

I stumbled upon a very strange problem yesterday. I exported a newspaper as a print-PDF. On each side I placed a QR-code (SVG). Everything was fine exept on page 30 the code wasn't visible.

I tried to replace the frame and the file but the problem still existed.

Strange thing is that when I export an interactive PDF the SVG is shown correctly.

I opened the page then in Ilustrator to take a deeper look. And actually the SVG was there but cropped to 0% with. When I realeased the clippig path the file was now spread all over the width of the page.

How the hell did this happen? Is this a common problem that a frame "auto-crops" during export? Did somebody stumbled over the same problem?

Best, Patrick

[Eugene Tyson]

No idea if the issue is related to the SVG - as that's a web format and doesn't support CMYK - it's only RGB.

It's hard to know what's going on here from the screenshots.

I'd just avoid using SVGs for print. 

[pat292345676vuf]

Hey Eugene

Thank you for you answer. Well, didn't know is RGB per se, thanks for this info. There are now more questions popping up ...

- Why did it work on the other pages?

- Doesn't ID convert everything to CMYK during (print-) export?

- What has the color space to do with this strange cropping?

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

Just echoing Eugene's suggestion... avoid SVGs for anything but web use, and be cautious/selective there. They are an endlessly problematic format because of erratic support by browsers and, even more so, any "reader" outside those.

There are undoubtedly precise answers to your questions, but it's unlikely knowing the details would improve the situation. Use PNG for web codes and JPEG or (best) PDF for print. Better yet, just use InDesign's code generator, since it's right there and 100% compatible. 🙂

[pat292345676vuf]

Thank you James!

I will avoid SVG in future projects, and use PNGs (I don't like the built in QR-code-generator, no bulk generation, no "name" for the final check).

But besides that, I replaced said SVG with a simple JPG-pic now and it still doesn't show up after export. So the SVG obviously isn't the problem here.

[rob day]

Hi @pat292345676vuf , Your screen captures are showing you are in Illustrator, this is the InDesign forum:

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

It's the preview of the PDF. Not sure if it would be any different in Acrobat/Reader.

[rob day]

Sorry I missed the part where @pat292345676vuf , was opening the PDF in Illustrator.

@pat292345676vuf , could you share the problem .svg?

[pat292345676vuf]

As I wrote above the .svg isn't the problem. It happened also with a .jpg when I tested 30 minutes ago.

[rob day]

It happened also with a .jpg when I tested 30 minutes ago.

I think you’ll have to share ID page and the placed JPG or SVG, otherwise we would be guessing. You can attach the ID page and placed files to a reply.

[pat292345676vuf]

I only used Illustrator to double-check why it isn't showing in preview since you can go very deep there.

[rob day]

Did you try opening the SVG in Illustrator and resaving it as an .AI file?

[rob day]

to double-check why it isn't showing in preview

Also, the problem could be using Preview as a PDF reader, have you tried viewing the PDF in either Acrobat Reader or AcrobatPro?

[pat292345676vuf]

Hi Rob, thanks! Please read my first post again.

[Eugene Tyson]

We'd need to see the file to know what's going on.

If a document is not behaving well then try 

File>Export 

Choose IDML

Open the IDML in InDesign
Save the file as a new InDesign file with a new name
See if the issue persists.

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

Have you tried the very simple step of copying that entire header from a working page to the faulty one? It looks as if the problem is somewhere in the structure/layering/organization of that element, and not necessarily in that specific graphic or its frame.

[pat292345676vuf]

Jep, first thing I did, also the header is a masterpage used on other pages where it works with the QR-code

.

Heres the package of the said page. Can't attach since it doesn't allow .zip. So here's a link:

https://dropover.cloud/92aea0

[pat292345676vuf]

Yes tried that, thank you.

Here's the package. Can't attach since it doesn't allow .zip. So here's a link to the file:

https://dropover.cloud/92aea0

[pat292345676vuf]

Yes I did, I have the same feeling. It must be something wrong in this area. The header is a masterpage though, underneath all other layers. I have the file attached.

[Willi Adelberger]

SVG is never good for print, only for screen, like interactive PDF or EPUBs or Pubblish Online. Convert the QR code to PDF/X-4 or use the InDesign QR code.

[pat292345676vuf]

Hi Willi, thanks. It has turned out that it happens also with .jpg so the .svg is not the problem here. See post above.

[rob day]

Hi @pat292345676vuf , I’m not seeing a problem when I export your page with the SVG using the default PDF/X-4 preset and viewing in AcrobatPro.

You might double check that the SVG link’s status is normal. The Qcode save as an SVG is going to place as an RGB object (it’s CMYK conversion values are not actually white). This is my PDF/X-4:

I’m not surprised that converting the SVG to JPEG would not work—JPEG is a flattened image format so the SVG converted to a flattened image would be a solid white square. The best format would be a CMYK (not RGB) .AI file—that works for me and I’ve attatched the 30.ai file to this reply. This is a PDF/X-4 export with the .ai file—you can see the Qcode CMYK values are 0|0|0|0:

[pat292345676vuf]

Thank you Rob for your effort. As mentioned and shown above the .jpg was a picture not a flattened svg.

And the QR-Code actually DID export the very first time. But it was cropped. That was actually my question in the first place in the first post - why was it cropped? (and not "why is there no svg?"). I never said that the .svg didn't export.

[rob day]

As mentioned and shown above the .jpg was a picture

JPEGS can not contain transparency

why was it cropped?

The SVG is not fitting in its parent frame—all graphics have a parent container. This is what I see when I open your page, and Direct Select the Qcode—I can see from its bounding box it is scaled larger than its container frame:

If I choose Fill Frame Proportionally from the Object menu or the Contol panel, the Qcode is fit to its parent frame

[pat292345676vuf]

JPEGS can not contain transparency

I know. What's your point here? It didn't show because it has no transparency?

The SVG is not fitting in its parent frame—all graphics have a parent container. This is what I see when I open your page, and Direct Select the Qcode—I can see from its bounding box it is scaled larger than its container frame:

Thank you but please refer to the screenshots and explanation in my firt post. I'm talking about the cropping where you couldn't see the graphic in the PDF.