Adobe InDesign CS5 - Manual (Page 467)

461 USING INDESIGN
Transparency effects
Last updated 11/16/2011
• If you create a high-resolution print piece that you’ll also publish as a high-profile PDF document on a website, you
may need to switch the blending space back and forth before final output. In this case, be sure to reproof the color
on every spread that has transparency, and avoid using the Difference and Exclusion blend modes—these modes
can change the appearance dramatically.
Type
When type is close to transparent objects, it may interact with transparent objects in unexpected ways. For example,
type that wraps around a transparent object may not actually overlap the object, but the glyphs may be close enough
to interact with the transparency. In this case, the flattener may convert the glyphs to outlines, resulting in thickened
stroke widths on the glyphs only.
If this happens, do either of the following:
• Move the text to the top of the stacking order. Use the Selection tool to select the text frame, and then choose
Object > Arrange > Bring to Front.
• Expand all text to outlines for a consistent effect throughout the document. To expand all text to outlines, select
Convert All Text To
Outlines in the Transparency Flattener Preset Options dialog box. Selecting this option may
affect processing speed.
Image replacement
The flattener requires high-resolution data to accurately process a document with transparency. However, in an OPI
proxy workflow, placeholder or proxy images are used, for later replacement with high-resolution versions by an OPI
server. If the flattener doesn’t have access to the high-resolution data, then no OPI comments are produced and only
the low-resolution proxy images are output, resulting in low-resolution images at final output.
If you work in an OPI workflow, consider using InDesign to substitute images before saving the document as
PostScript. To do this, you must specify settings both when you place the EPS graphic and when you output it. When
you place the EPS graphic, select Read Embedded OPI Image Links in the EPS Import Options dialog box. When you
output, select OPI Image Replacement in the Advanced area of either the Print or Export EPS dialog box.
Color conversions
If a transparent object overlaps a spot color object, undesirable results may occur when you export to EPS format, and
then convert spot colors to process colors upon printing or create color separations in an application other than
InDesign.
To prevent problems in these cases, use the Ink Manager to convert spot colors to process color equivalents as
necessary prior to exporting from InDesign. Another way to prevent problems is to make sure that your spot inks are
consistent in both the original application (for example, Adobe Illustrator) and InDesign. This may mean that you’ll
need to open an Illustrator document, convert a spot color to process color, export it again to EPS, and then place the
EPS file in your InDesign layout.
Adobe PDF files
Exporting to Acrobat 4.0 (Adobe PDF
1.3) always flattens a document with transparency, which may affect the
appearance of its transparent objects. Nontransparent content is not flattened unless Simulate Overprint is selected in
the Output area of the Export Adobe PDF dialog box. Therefore, when you export an InDesign document with
transparency to Adobe PDF, do any of the following:
• Whenever possible, choose Acrobat 5.0 (Adobe PDF 1.4), Acrobat 6.0 (Adobe PDF 1.5), or Acrobat 7.0
(Adobe PDF 1.6) compatibility in the Export Adobe PDF dialog box to preserve transparency in a live and fully
editable form. Make sure that your service provider can handle Acrobat 5.0, Acrobat 6.0, or Acrobat 7.0 files.