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PAWU
PAWU
Inspiring
February 5, 2018
Answered

QR Code overprint.

  • February 5, 2018
  • 4 replies
  • 3084 views

By using the QR code option in Indesign, I can change the code colour, but I did not find an option for doing overprint. How can I get my QR code colour which is black to overprint?

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

QR Codes are Postscript Pictures so you can't set their Overprint. You can set them to Multiply, which would have the same affect as overprint for black.

If the background is a solid CMYK fill you could imitate an overprint by mixing CMY with the black. Here the background is 100% magenta, so the QR code fill is 0|100|0|100, which forces the OP:

4 replies

Jongware
Community Expert
JongwareCommunity Expert
Community Expert
February 7, 2018

So tempting to promote my solution as the superior one: [Ann] QR Code for InDesign CS4 and up

It also generates an external object, but rather than an unwieldy EPS, it's an (embedded) bitmap TIFF file. That means you can apply any color you want after generating it, including overprinting black.

InDesign CC:

InDesign CS4, bitmap TIFF:

with the QR code selected both left and right.

    PAWU
    PAWUAuthor
    Inspiring
    March 8, 2018

    I think that I used your great tool before Adobe decided to incorporate QR codes into Indesign. Before I used QR code generator web sites. But it is not always clear, if the info is not used by data collectors. :-( It's a bad world...

    Stephen Marsh
    Community Expert
    Stephen MarshCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 7, 2018

    And once the vector object is in a PDF, tools like Enfocus PitStop can set the code to overprint.

    PAWU
    PAWUAuthor
    Inspiring
    March 8, 2018

    Enfocus PitStop is not for free. That's good for the developers, but I need more to justify such a tool. ;-)

    cinziamarotta
    cinziamarotta
    Participating Frequently
    February 5, 2018

    You can copy and past the QR code into Illustrator document, then in InDesign to convert it in vectors

    Manage printing attributes from Attributes panel (Window > Output > Attributes)

    PAWU
    PAWUAuthor
    Inspiring
    February 6, 2018

    It's quite an operation... I will try.

    rob day
    Community Expert
    rob dayCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    February 5, 2018

    QR Codes are Postscript Pictures so you can't set their Overprint. You can set them to Multiply, which would have the same affect as overprint for black.

    If the background is a solid CMYK fill you could imitate an overprint by mixing CMY with the black. Here the background is 100% magenta, so the QR code fill is 0|100|0|100, which forces the OP:

    PAWU
    PAWUAuthor
    Inspiring
    February 6, 2018

    https://forums.adobe.com/people/rob+day  wrote

    QR Codes are Postscript Pictures

    Hm, someone told me that Postscript (well EPS) is old technology... ;-)

    rob day
    Community Expert
    rob dayCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 6, 2018

    Hm, someone told me that Postscript (well EPS) is old technology... ;-)

    Scripting lets you get the class of an object:

    alert("Selection is:" + app.activeDocument.selection[0].getElements()[0]) 

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