Knockout Black Type??

[signal49]

I'm having problems outputting a customer's file to plate. It has black type and a greyscale image on a spot background. I need the text to knockout so the red spot color doesn't kill it. The image knocks out, but the type keeps overprinting. Here's a quick sample of what I mean. The actual artwork is much more complex.

I converted the text to outlines and unchecked Overprint Fill under Attributes but it still overprints. I couldn't find anything helpful in the Help menu or on the Adobe support page (and it doesn't come with a book anymore). When I searched "overprint" and "trapping" it kept bringing me to info about Transparency settings (so I also tried grouping the type and choosing Knockout Group which didn't help either). I can't change the black to a different spot color because of the image. It's an .ai with embedded bw tifs. I don't have the actual tif files, so I don't think I can change the color in Illustrator. (Maybe I just don't know how; that may be an option.)

I guess as a last resort I can make the type white to send the Spot plate, then undo and send the Black plate, but I shouldn't have to do it that way. I have a number of pieces with this particular artwork so that would be very time-consuming, and easy to make a mistake. In Quark, you just select the type and tell it what to do. There must be a way in InDesign! You can't always overprint black type...

 

[apepp]

...i refer to CS2, there is the option under 'preferences > appearance of black' to either overprint 100% black swatch or knock it out, this will of course effect everything in the document that uses the indesign document...

...an alternative is to make a new black at 99%, this will knock out then...

Andrew

 

[apepp]

...the other is of course to not use the pre-define black in indesign and create your own black, then the preference for black overprint is ignored...

Andrew

 

[jmgalvin]

You might check Indesign Preferences/General and make sure that Overprint Black is not checked.

In the Print dialologue you can set Black to not print by checking the box next to black after you select separations as the output. If you click on Ink Manager in that window, you can set black to transparent and or play with other settings.

Sorry I can't help more but I'm not in teh printing end - only worked with some printers when both they and I were getting used to Indesign when version 3 came out.


Using OSX 10.3.9 on a G4

 

[signal49]

Thank you both for your quick responses!

The preferences thing is exactly what I needed. I wonder why that didn't show up in any of my searches! (I would have changed everything to another spot color but I couldn't change the stupid image.) Good trick with making it 99%, too... I may have to do that in the future.