Skip to main content
L
lianne3001
Participating Frequently
January 16, 2023
Answered

Transparancy problems with exporting PDF's

  • January 16, 2023
  • 4 replies
  • 7290 views

We encounter huge problems with transparancy when exporting PDF files from InDesign server. It seems to occur since the lates update to the new InDesign server version 18. 

 

Sometimes transparent objects are not picked up and give a white or black box in the PDF file. All settings of the joboptions are correct. When transferring to another InDesign server or reinstalling the joboptions it will fix the problem temporary but it will alway come back later on one of the servers. 

 

I'll include a sample page where this is happening with (in this case with a drop shadow). It is hard to reproduce because when we reinstall everything it seems to work again too (but this is not a workable solution). 

 

 

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

    Hi Rob,

    You did understand that the transparency problem did not occur in the nov '22 files?

    They where exported to PDF/X-4 too. So I don't think the problem lies there.

    Thanks very much for looking into this.

    Kind regards, Marike


    They where exported to PDF/X-4 too.

     

    Right, all the PDF/X-4s have live transparency, and when they are placed in the magazine layout, the live transparency seems to be creating a problem. I’m suggesting you preemtively flatten the transparency before you place the PDF in the magazine layout and eliminate the possibility that the X4 live transparency is causing the problem. You could do that via a PDF/X-1a export with the ISOnewspaper profile as the Output Intent.

     

    Also make sure the Transparency Blend Space in any document you export to a PDF/X standard is set to CMYK. A PDF/X export will change an RGB blend space to CMYK, which can cause transparency appearance problems.

     

    4 replies

    L
    Community Expert
    LaubenderCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    January 17, 2023

    Hi @lianne3001 ,

    you should be able to enforce 1.3 with:

    app.pdfExportPreferences.acrobatCompatibility = AcrobatCompatibility.ACROBAT_4;

     

    Source:

    https://www.indesignjs.de/extendscriptAPI/indesign-latest/#PDFExportPreference.html#d1e324717

     

    Regards,
    Uwe Laubender
    ( Adobe Community Expert )

    Graphic Fruits
    Graphic Fruits
    Participating Frequently
    March 20, 2023

    Hi @lianne3001 , @8626899 

     

    Unfortunately I've got exactly the same problems. Although it worked fine under InDesign 18, november last year.
    Same add used in november gave no problems, now suddenly it does not keep its transparency while exporting to pdf.
    No warnings on fonts or spot colours or anything in preflight.
    The strangest thing is, I also use ISOnewspaper26v4 joboption.

    - I create the adds in Indesign 18.2.1
    - Generate pdf with ISOnewspaper26v4 joboption

    - put the adds (pdfs) in the newspaper, which is also an InDesign 18.2.1 document

    - generate a total pdf for print, again with ISOnewspaper26v4 joboption
    All of a sudden in some adds transparency disappears. Strangely enough, it does not show in acrobat and in the first made add. Its shows in the newspaper when preview is set on high quality and after generating the final pdf for print.

    There is no problem when i generate the add with SheetCmyk_1.v4.joboption and place that in the newspaper. Generate a ISOnewspaper26v4.pdf, then the transparency is oke.

     

    Any suggestions why it does not work with using twice the ISOnewspaper26v4 jobobtion?

    Kind regards, Marike Braakman

    rob day
    Community Expert
    rob dayCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    March 20, 2023

    Hi @Graphic Fruits , looks like all of the PDFs you posted have been exported to PDF/X-4. Does it happen if the ads are exported as flattened PDF/X-1a and then placed in the magazine?

    L
    Community Expert
    LaubenderCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    January 16, 2023

    Hi @lianne3001 ,

    can you go back to a version of InDesign server where you cannot see the issue?

    Could be a bug. With my desktop version of InDesign 2023 18.1 I have no problem at all.

     

    Please do a bug report at:

    https://indesign.uservoice.com/forums/601180-adobe-indesign-bugs?category_id=345091&filter=top&page=1

     

    Provide some sample documents packaged and the script you are running to export the documents.

    Also list some setup details like OS, machine specs and so on…

     

    Regards,
    Uwe Laubender
    ( Adobe Community Expert )

    L
    lianne3001Author
    Participating Frequently
    January 17, 2023

    Hi @Laubender

     

    We cannot go back to an older server version. We have too many pages running on the servers that will break when we go back a version.

     

    We just found out that the problematic PDF Files are exported as a PDF version 1.4 in stead of version 1.3. Really strange because the joboptions are setup with version 1.3. Maybe we can Find a solution here when we force version 1.3 in another way then the joboptions.

     

    Regards.

      L
      Community Expert
      LaubenderCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      January 16, 2023

      Hi @lianne3001 ,

      please provide also the PDF Export Options file with suffix *.joboptions.

       

      What kind of export are you doing?

      With method export() or with method asynchronousExportFile() ?

       

      FWIW: You already posted this in a different thread here.

      I can remember your sample InDesign document.

       

      Regards,
      Uwe Laubender
      ( Adobe Community Expert )

      L
      lianne3001Author
      Participating Frequently
      January 16, 2023

      Hi Uwe,

       

      I posted this within another community area but someone placed it back here. But still facing the problem and still no solution. We have thousands of documents running through our servers every week, so the problem is quite big for us. 

       

      Our method is export(). I tried to upload the joboptions file but the file type is not supported.  Can you open it like this? https://shared-assets.adobe.com/link/bc9c70cb-b2c7-4d74-57e0-49c5350b74f4 It is a standard ISOnewspaper26v4 joboption. 

      kglad
      Community Expert
      kgladCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      January 16, 2023

      <moved from enterprise&teams>

      Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
      Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices