Transparent box turns opaque when layered over tiff or eps background

[BRosengren]

I placed a box filled with white over an image and wanted the image to appear ghosted under the box. So, I set the white box to be 50% opaque. It looked great. Then I made a pdf. It still looked great on screen, just the way it was supposed to. When I send it to our prepress service for a high rez proof, some times it looks the way it is supposed to and sometimes the ghost turns to 100% white.

I've tried everything. 1. Making the background a tiff instead of an eps 2. deleting the eps logos that were layered above the white box to see if maybe one of the logo files were corrupt. 3. deleting the white box and duplicating another one that has worked properly every time and moving it up into place and making it the size of the one that doesn't work. 4 Saving the pdf in all the choices (high quality, prepress, 1X, lowest file size etc) 5. Made pdf's right out of InDesign, then also in print dialog box as a ps file first, then made the pdf in Distiller.

I can't figure out what the problem is, so I opened the background image in Photoshop and built the transparent boxes in the Photoshop file, in place, then placed the flattened photoshop file in InDesign and just deleted the white boxes that were built in InDesign.

It frustrates me because of the great features that could potentially save designers a lot of time, but quite often they just don't Rip properly. I've had similar problems ever since I've added InDesign to my application choices a couple of years ago.

I'm on a G-5 with OS-X (10.4.3) InDesign CS2 and Acrobat and Distiller 7.0

Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks, Brek Rosengren

 

[jmgalvin]

Every time something works then doesn't work, it's real hard to figure out what's wrong.

There are a couple of things you can try. In either the press quality or X-1a pdf exporter or the print dialog for making a PS file, click on Advanced tab and make sure that Transparency flattening is set to High. It should be that automatically if you select the Press or X1a pdf export setting in ID. You could also try making the pdf compatible with Acrobat 5 as opposed to 4 as 5 has better transparency support.

You can also open the transparency window, select the white object and see if "knockout group" is checked, If so.you can have problems with objects below.

I wasn't quite sure exactly what you were doing but guessed that you were puttin a white box over an image and adding transparency to the white to give that "ghost" appearance.

I tried the opposite. I put a pic over a white box and added 50% transparency to the pic. I also put a white box over a clone of my pic, with no transparency for the pic. I then made the white box overlay 50% transparent as you described. I could not see any difference between the 2. You might try that, if possible, and see if it works. I'm always scared of using white over anything because it's essentially zero color.

Another thing you could do would be to create a Library (File menu/New) and add the white box that slways works to the library and use that as necessary in subsequent documents.



Using OSX 10.3.9 on a G4

 

[BRosengren]

I just thought of something. And, I've thought of this in the past. Is there a way for me to attach a pdf to my post so that anyone could see exactly what I'm talking about? jmgalvin, I think you guessed what I tried to explain, but it would help to see exactly.

 

[jmgalvin]

No you can't attach. The only option is to post it to a web site and put the link in the post.

You might try selecting the white box that always works and opening the transparency window so as to compare to the iffy boxes.

Also you could try a local print on you printer - directly out of ID - to see if the problem occurs, Then make the pdf and do a local print to see if the problem occurs there. If ID prints and the pdf is problematical, the problem most likely lies in the pdf settings. If the ID one is problematical, then the problem is with the white box.

One othoer thing to try is to create a new swatch with only 2 to 5% black - making it the faintest of gray. Then the print is calling for some ink as opposed to none. A RIP might understand that trasparenct better than the white overlay.

Using OSX 10.3.9 on a G4