Transparency, Print to PDF & Metadata Issue

[#1]

Hello, I was hoping for a little guidance on an issue I am having. I have art that has some overlapping blending modes that is being used in our collateral.

Option 1: When I file: print to PDF, the art displays correctly but I can find no way to maintain the Metadata with this option.

Option 2: When I file: export to PDF, the art displays correctly only using PDF|X standards and I can maintain the metadata but the art displays incorrectly when I take that exported PDF and try to create a jpg from it or embed it in another program.

I have been tweaking things trying to find a way to use the export with the meta and keep the art displaying correctly but no luck so far. I just came to Indesign from Quark so I am a bit new here. In Quark, we could print to PDF and maintain metadata which was handy.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, any advice is appreciated. 

[#2]

Hello, I was hoping for a little guidance on an issue I am having. I have art that has some overlapping blending modes that is being used in our collateral.

Option 1: When I file: print to PDF, the art displays correctly but I can find no way to maintain the Metadata with this option.

Option 2: When I file: export to PDF, the art displays correctly only using PDF|X standards and I can maintain the metadata but the art displays incorrectly when I take that exported PDF and try to create a jpg from it or embed it in another program.

I have been tweaking things trying to find a way to use the export with the meta and keep the art displaying correctly but no luck so far. I just came to Indesign from Quark so I am a bit new here. In Quark, we could print to PDF and maintain metadata which was handy.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, any advice is appreciated. 

[#3]

Normally for print you'd Export a PDF/X-4 and Export from InDesign or via Photoshop if you want a JPG.

[#4]

Hi Derek, thanks for responding. This collateral is being used online which is why I need to maintain the metadata and why I have to file export rather than file print.

Reiterating my issue... the art we are using (triangles) has multiple blending modes. When I try to export a PDF, the art looks fine only if I used PDFX standards. If I then take that PDF and open/embed it into another program or try to create a JPG... the art gets distorted. I attached an image below of what happens to the art when it displays incorrectly, the left is the correct representation.

[#5]

The PDF/X presets are for press output and are not the best choice for PDFs that will be viewed in a browser. There are also some cases where certain combinations of blending modes and transparency blend spaces will break with PDF/X-4.

For PDFs where the destination is screen viewing the Standard can be set to None. Set your Output tab to convert all color to sRGB, and flatten live transparency (Acrobat 4). Like this:

[#6]

Hi Rob, thanks for taking the time to respond.

I did try your suggested settings but I get the same result. The only time it looks correct is when I have a PDFX standard set which is why I used it knowing full well it is not best suited to the end application. There is something about the PDFX standard that displays the art correctly, I just can't figure out what after quite a bit of trial and error. Any other suggestions?

Thanks again!

[#7 · Accepted solution]

The PDF/X standard includes an Output Intent profile, which by default displays the color inside of your document’s assigned CMYK space. If you are viewing with Overprint Preview turned on in InDesign and the object color is RGB, try checking the Simulate Overprint box in the Output tab.

If that doesn’t work can you share the ID file?

[#8]

My stress level just went down about 50%... can't thank you enough for that checkbox troubleshooting Rob. Ill have to dig a little more into the subject in the future! Much appreciated!

[#9]

The Simulate Overprint also forces all the color into the CMYK space the way the X Standard’s Output Intent Profile does.

If you are working for screen display, an alternative is the set your Transparency Blend Space to RGB. In that case you can work in the full RGB gamut and export with Simulate Overprint unchecked to get matching color.