White Line Appears Under PSD with Transparent Background in Exported PDF

[julia_0743]

Hey, everybody!
I'm preparing a booklet for printing. The booklet has a photo of a girl in PSD format with transparent background. I have added this image as a link in the layout on top of a brown coloured frame, I want the girl's hand to be on top of the frame. But when I export the PDF for printing (PDF/X-1a:2001), the part of the frame that is covered by the girl's hand becomes white. I'm using the latest version of InDesign. Why is this happening? How can I fix it? Thanks in advance

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[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @julia_0743,

Thanks for reaching out! I understand how frustrating it is to see the area behind your image turning white in the exported PDF, especially when you're preparing a file for print. 

It sounds like the issue could be related to how transparency is handled during export. The PDF/X-1a:2001 preset flattens transparency, which can sometimes result in unexpected white areas. A quick fix would be to try exporting your PDF with a different preset, like PDF/X-4, which preserves transparency.

Could you also let me know which operating system you're using, along with your InDesign version? That will help ensure we’re covering all bases.

If you need more assistance, feel free to ask. 

Thanks, 
Abhishek Rao

[julia_0743]

Hi! Thank you for your reply. I am using the latest version of InDesign (version 19.5). Unfortunately, using ‘PDF/X-1a’ was a requirement of the printing house. But I tried to save in PDF/X-4 standard. When viewed in the standard PDF viewer for Mac, PDF/X-4 looks as it should, everything is fine. But PDF/X-1 doesn't. Both PDFs look fine in Acrobat, though. Strange thing:)

[BobLevine]

How can you fix it? Stop using an ancient PDF standard and export as PDF/X-4. Stitching artifacts won't print on a high resolution device but there is almost nothing you can do to stop them from appearing on screen.

[julia_0743]

Unfortunately, using ‘PDF/X-1a’ was a requirement of the printing house.

[julia_0743]

And I also use the PDF/X-1a:2001 standard to make my preset work, which converts all text and stroke to outlines. I created this preset using the ‘Transparency Flattener Preset Options’. I don't know of any other faster and easier way to convert text and stroke to outlines in a large multi-page brochure inDesign. This preset only works when exporting in PDF/X-1a:2001. Maybe you know?

[leo.r]

Normally, there's no need to convert fonts to outlines and it's not recommended. But if you still do need to do this, you can use the "Convert fonts to outlines" preflight profile in Acrobat Pro.

[rob day]

Hi @julia_0743 , The problem you are showing in your capture where the stroked frame color is inverting is not the same as the "stitching" artifacts sometimes associated with PDF/X-1a flattening. Looks more like some kind of Blending Mode effect? Are you viewing the PDF in AcrobatPro or Reader? Does the problem show in InDesign if you turn on Overprint Preview? Can you share the ID file?

[julia_0743]

Hi!
In Overprint Preview mode everything looks as it should, no white streaks on top of the girl's hand in the photo. The screenshot with the white line on the girl's hand on the photo was taken when viewing the PDF for printing in the standard PDF viewer for Mac. Everything looks fine in Acrobat. I wonder why this is the case? Unfortunately can't contact the printer right now to see how they see it

[rob day]

Everything looks fine in Acrobat

The MacOS Preview application is not a reliable PDF reader for prepress work. Use AcrobatPro with the Output Preview open.

[rob day]

Can you share the PDF?

[julia_0743]

Thank you very much for your help! But unfortunately I can't publish the whole page or brochure online. Copyright. Sorry 😞