Flattening gradients with transparency issues * CS4

Hi guys,
I've invested far too much time trying to figure this out.
I have three squares (two gradients and one white) on different soft light values intersecting each other.
I need to flatten this transparency for production purposes and I'm getting two intersections as clipping
masks of images instead of paths (this is the problem, I need them to remain as paths).
Some screen shots:
What do you think?
Thanks in advance.
Best,
Gus

Flatten transparency will either give you rasters, or no change at all, that is how it works for blend modes like soft light.
How about using pathfinder >> divide to get your shapes, and recoloring them without transparency.
Is it just transparency, or blending modes you have to remove? Not sure why you would have to do this, do you have an old imagesetter that won't take a newer version of postscript. Are you putting this into another program. Reason I ask is there may be a better solution than rebuilding your files without transparency.

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Flattening PDF with transparency becomes large PDF

Hi,
I have an issue with a PDF file created from Photoshop. The PDF file contains transparency settings.
When I create the PDF from Photoshop with a setting that flattens transparency (such as PDFX1a2001), the resulting PDF is flat and fairly small in size.
If I create the PDF from Photoshop with a setting that preserves transparency (such as High Quality Print), the file is also small in size. However, if I use this same PDF and flatten it, by printing it once more as a PDF with a setting such as PDFX1a2001 (PDF to PDF), the file becomes enormous. And Acrobat even rasterises embedded fonts which I don't understand!
I believe the problem has nothing to do with Photoshop, but Acrobat is the culprit (the same thing happened with Illustrator instead of Photoshop).
Has anybody come across a similar issue, and/or what do you suggest I try as a workaround?
Thanks.
PS: My initial goal was to use the PDF with the transparency as a watermark into a second PDF and then flatten the resulting PDF into a new PDF. This last, flat, PDF becomes very large in size and even has fonts rasterised.
But the problem can be isolated to the operation of flattening the PDF containing transparency, as described above.
Update:
The problem described occurred with Acrobat Distiller 9.0.0.
I tried using Acrobat Distiller 8.1.0, and that worked! The watermark with transparency got embedded in the pdf, and the resulting pdf had a standard file size. I do see a very thin border around the watermark however which appears and disappears depending on the zoom.
1- Any solution on how to fix this problem for Acrobat Distiller 9.0.0?
2- Is the thin border appearing around the watermark (with Distiller 8) an artifact or will it be seen on print?

hi, I've just come across this looking for an answer to a related issue. You may have already found your answers, 1 year later, but in case you're still curious:
the small hairlines around the flattened watermark are what Adobe calls "atomic regions." For transparent type, or any vector shape with a transparency effect (e.g. drop shadow) to be flattened into the artwork behind it, it needs to be rastered into a bitmap to burn it into a single object. The atomic regions are small slices of image where that vector-bitmap rastering happened. In virtually all cases you will not see that in print. (If you zoom in and it gets larger, then you may. It typically stays the same size or disappears.)
There's a host of settings in both versions of Acrobat (more in 9) wherein you can determine how much "extra" information gets carried into your file. Even after flattening within Acrobat, you can still optimize the file size by tossing all of that extra info. (go to Help menu and enter Reduce File Size)
What I suspect is happening is, when outputting a flattened X-1a from Photoshop, it's taking care of rastering the watermark into the image, creating a flattened file. (this is assuming you're not applying the watermark in Acrobat.) This is a single bitmap image.
If you're flattening say, an X-4 (unflattened) PDF with live transparency, or burning in an Acrobat watermark, Acrobat is creating more than a couple atomic regions (likely very many). These are several bitmap images, probably along with some other vector type—even if the glyphs stay vector (no transparency affecting them) they are no longer type, but vector objects, if any other part of the copy was rasterized. Acrobat may even be doing you the favor of keeping the text it converted in an invisible layer above the image. (It does this with OCR conversions.)
Text is text, with font attributes applied, and takes up very little room in a document. Text partially converted to bitmaps and vectors can no longer be read in the file as text (exporting, assistive devices, etc.). If, as I suspect, Acrobat is rastering some of the type, it's preserving the text in the file so it can still be read and exported. (This is just a hypothesis on my part.)
All of the various little images in the atomic regions, partially rastered type, plus any overhead garbage Acrobat saw fit to add to your file can increase the file size drastically.
My advice? Either create a PDF and leave the Acrobat watermark alone (there are reasons), or if you have to flatten it—because you're submitting a PDF/X-1a-compliant file for press that needs to have a transparent watermark—flatten the image in Photoshop, then export your PDF.

SVG to PDF/AI gradient and transparency issues

This is probably quite off topic for these forums, so apologies for that up front, but I can't seem to get answers in more appropriate places.
I am trying to use inkscape or rsvg-convert, which both use cairo, to convert SVG to PDF.
Firstly, when I open the SVG in Illustrator directly, everything works as expected, but the cairo converted PDF has a couple of problems.
Typically I get "An unknown shading type was encountered" and the offending shapes are un-editable "images" with a clipping mask over them.
There are two circumstances that result in problems for me.
1) A gradient with only 2 stops.
In the following example I have duplicated the offset="0" stop which fixes things and means that the resulting shape that is filled with this gradient works fine. Without the duplicate declaration, the gradient is converted to an un-editable image with a clipping mask when the PDF is viewed in Illustrator.
   <linearGradient id="ian_symbols_b8a58aafc1f12e74492e9e865b7f569b" gradientUnits="userSpaceOnUse" x1="113.7275" y1="136.9414" x2="197.0259" y2="136.9414">
    <stop offset="0" style="stop-color:#927A62" id="stop1472" />
    <stop offset="0" style="stop-color:#927A62" id="stop1472_dup" />
    <stop offset="1" style="stop-color:#93866F" id="stop1474" />
   </linearGradient>
2) A shape that has an opacity that is less than "1". I don't know how to fix this one and still maintain the look of the original. I understand that there are some issues with transparency and the PDF format, but obviously the full AI version of the PDF format these days supports transparency.
Does anyone have any experience doing server-side conversions of SVG to PDF and have managed to create a PDF which contains gradients and transparency that are actually editable once opened in Illustrator?
Or does anyone know if there is something more I can do with the original SVG code to make the opacity work ok in the final PDF?
Thanks

Works fine for me as .ai with pdf comptible turned on. You may have input transparency in the wrong location in Illustrator. Change opacity in the gradient palette, and not tint in the color palette.
Opacity is 0 here, anything less tha 100% will create tranaprency. To proof in Illustratopr do a Shift Command D to change your background to a checkerboard pattern.

How to fix issue with saving flattened PNG32 with transparent background?

Using CS6 on a 15 inch MacBook Pro. When I save a layer as a flattened PNG file, the transparency is not preserved and I see a white background. Tried using the export option with the same result.
I originally switched from CS5 to CS6 to address this issue itself. It worked the first time after fresh install. However has stopped working since then. Seems like a bug in the software.
Can anyone help find a way to address this?
Thanks

I have the same issue with CS6, Can't export transparent PNG 32 or transparent PNG 8, can't go back to CS5 because then I can't use the CSS generation tool... So I need to use CS5.x to create the transparent PNG and I need to use CS6 to create the CSS... Bah this is an awful workflow. I don't know why Adobe has never been able to get transparent PNG's correct. Between photoshop and fireworks there is so much confusion with the PNG 8, PNG 24, PNG 32, what is transparent, what isn't transparent.... It's a joke. Fireworks is such a better program for web design than Photoshop yet this is the one thing that has been holding Fireworks back and it's still doing it. GIANT PITA!

AI CS3 "link images with transparency" issue

i created .AI file with CS2 everything works perfectly.
when the file opened with AI CS3 some link images (.PSD files with image transparency) not appear
and gives me a error saying it cannot find or link the images.
when i replace with new link or i ignore it, still can't display the missing images
but if i opened the file with AI CS5 everything okay
how to solve this problem ?
is there any patchs for AI CS3 ??
NEED HELP

Open it in CS5 and do a save as to overwrite the older file
or save it from CS 5 as a CS 3 file.
Then try to open it in CS 3

Changes to appearance of repeat swatch and gradient (both with transparency applied) when .ai saved in PDF 1.3 compatibility

I need to send a complex vector print to a commercial printer who requires my .ai file to be saved as 1.3 PDF compatibility. All the graphics display & print correctly bar two elements:
1. A gradient with transparency applied
2. A repeat pattern swatch with transparency applied
Both of these elements are layered between a solid colour background and a complex array of vector art.
The gradient displays as solid white when converted to 1.3 PDF. The pattern swatch displays partly white, with some elements of the pattern repeat visible as a watermark.
1. I have tried to rasterise these elements within the a@rt, and while they both display correctly while in .ai format, as soon as I convert to PDF the appearance changes as above.
2. I have tried to apply the transparency to the paint buckets on the gradient slider instead of applying it to the shape with gradient fil
3. I've fiddled with the Transparency Flattening presets, Document Raster Effect Settings, and everything I can think of in the 'Save as PDF' dialogue box
4. I've tried to rasterise the full file with an even worse outcome (all colour information lost, appears only on grey scale with fewer elements visible)
Could this have something to do with spot colours or overprint? Any help would be most appeciated!
I'm using:
Illustrator CC 18.1.1 (doc colour set to CMYK)
on a Macbook Pro OSX Yosemite Version 10.10.1
Apple Preview Version 8.0 (859)

Hi Mike,
Thanks for taking an interest! I tried rebuilding my gradient as suggested to see whether it would make a difference, but was still having issues. Tried to save every which way with the save as PDF options in 1.3 profile. Finally went back into the file to unpack each layer and see what I could adjust to save the appearance.
Found this fix in my swatches palette: for some reason the swatches I was working with had converted to "Book Colour", something I never use. I changed the dropdown back to CMYK and changed the colours from spot to process, which fixed the file Relief after hours of searching and late nights!
Thanks again!

Indesign CS4 to PDF 1.3 transparency issue

We submitted an ad to the local newspaper that we created in Indesign CS4 and Acrobat 9. The ad was exported as a press-quality Acrobat 4 PDF.
It is a fairly simple layout, with type and a logo.
The headline and logo have a drop shadow applied with multiply blend mode. All colors are CMYK.
When the ad prints, the headline and logo have 1% black-filled boxes around them.
I know this is a transparency issue. However, we've done the same ad in Indesign CS3 and Acrobat 8 with no problems as long as we were CMYK and Acrobat 4.
Has something changed in CS4 that I don't know about? Could it be the multiply blend mode rather than normal?
Problem is, the newspaper can't give me a proof -- we have to wait and see what happens when they print. I can't simulate the problem on my end. The ad prints perfectly on my HP5000N in b/w and on my Phaser 8560 in color.
One workaround suggested was to export the file as a JPG or EPS and save as a Photoshop PDF. We did that on one ad that will run Monday, so we'll see. However, that makes the files with photos enormous -- like from 4 mb to 26 mb.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. We're in the middle of an ad campaign and we're resorted to the old-fashioned manual drop shadow out of desperation!
mev

Has something changed in CS4 that I don't know about? Could it be the multiply blend mode rather than normal?
Something did change. In some cases (maybe all), the flattener in CS4 will put the shadow behind the background rather than in front. In both cases, though, using a RIP and/or viewer which is set to honor overprints will avoid the problem, and allow the artwork to render correctly.
You say that all colors are CMYK. Are you absolutely certain that the background (whatever the rectangular shadow-containing "boxes" knock out) is not a spot color? Your problem description would be more easily explicable if it were.
One workaround suggested was to export the file as a JPG or EPS and save as a Photoshop PDF. We did that on one ad that will run Monday, so we'll see. However, that makes the files with photos enormous -- like from 4 mb to 26 mb
This in itself suggests that these folks do not know what they are doing (though I know that's not terribly helpful to you if you need to advertise with them). I must say that given current economic realities in the newspaper business, it's hard to image a paper refusing to cooperate with a paying advertiser - especially one who has been previously bitten - if not by the newspaper's own incompetence, at least by their unwillingness/inability to provide a proof.

Can't expand gradient fill w/ transparency? (cs4)

I'm very glad they added the ability to set the opacity of gradient markers in cs4. However, when I expand a fill with a partially transparent gradient, the opacity is lost (everything goes to 100%). Am I doing something wrong, or is this simply a known or expected limitation?
For now, I'll go back to using opacity masks if I need to expand.
Thanks.

Not sure if this is what you are after.
Create a gradient with a 100% fill of cyan to 100% fill of cyan. Change one gradient slider to have an opacity of 5%.
If you put a solid colored object below it you wil see that 95% of that object shows throught the 5% side of the gradient.
You now have two options under the Menu / Object / Flatten Transparency dialog box.
1- Select object / Object / Flatten Transparency. Choose "Preserve Overprints and Spot Colors" and you will loose the transparency effect (the colored object below will not show through) but the gradient go from 5% cyan to 100% cyan.
2- Select object / Object / Flatten Transparency. If you choose "Preserve Alpha Transparency" you wil retain the transparent properties of the gradient.
This does change the object to an image and is no longer editable as a vector object.
Is this what you are looking for?

Importing .psd file with transparency in Premiere Pro CS4 titler

I am trying to import a psd file with transparency into the Premiere Pro CS4 titler and the transparency will not come in. I've tried psd, png, jpeg, gif, targa and none will preserve the transparency. What I'm trying to do is create a custom lower third using a image without having to build it inside the titler or drop the PSD directly onto my timeline. This seems like an easy task, but I'm not having any luck. Please help!

Boy you guys are quick. I did not find this thread until after you'd sorted it out. You know how much I like to work on PS to PrPro problems!
Jeff,
You might want to move this thread to the PrPro sub-forum, as it will likely help others with PSD Transparency issues, and might never get seen back here.
Like you haven't been busy doing the housekeeping already. You moved one post WHILE I was replying to it. Imagine my surprise, when I replied and ended up in the other sub-forum - as if by magic!
Hunt

Transparency Issues with PSD files in FCP 7

I'm having some weird file layer transparency issues with FCP 7. I'm working on a project that's made up entirely of graphics drawn in Photoshop CS5. They Photoshop settings were done to match an HDTV 1080i (16:9) sequence in FCP. In FCP, the pixels were set to square, field dominance to none, frame rate to 29.97 and compressor is Apple ProRes 422.
I exported my PSD files out of Photoshop, with each layer being exported to its own file. In general, things were fine, but there were a few files where you could see the outline of the character against the background, but mind you that this is only visible once the video is rendered out in the FCP timeline. Nothing is visible in Photoshop, nor is it visible while viewing from the Browser in FCP. I told this to the artist and he went back and made corrections, making sure everything was on a transparent background, but the result was still the same - once I rendered the graphics out in FCP, these edge lines were visible.
I then went back into Photoshop, opened all the files that were giving me trouble, clicked on the "foreground color" and changed it to a color other than white, then back to white and hit ok. That seemed to work - even when rendered out, I was getting no artifacts, until I tried enlarging the graphics over 100%.
Also, with some of the same graphics, I was trying to layer them so that a guy was in the foreground with other people and a van behind him in the background. Once again, no problem in Photoshop, but once brought into FCP, the background people were actually being displayed over the main foreground character.
I'm pretty baffled - what to do? I'll attach a photo of the weird lines around the characters. It might be hard to see at this size, but if you download and enlarge it to 300% or so, you'll see what I mean.

Just saw that Adam's original post was an older one. Will keep this here anyway to maybe help the most recent poster.
Sharon
Adam, did you try what David said about pointing to the root folder? Did that work?
When I copy the SD card, I name a new folder on my hard drive something specific, like Smith Wedding. Then I copy everything inside the SD card to that new folder. The first level inside my new folder now has folders for
AVF_INFO
PRIVATE
and on down from there. When you open Log and Transfer, point it to the Smith Wedding folder (of course whatever you have named yours).
ClipWrap2 also works great to convert the files beforehand if you want.
What camera are you using? I have the Sony NX30 and it was giving me fits because the .mts files don't ingest if the clips are longer than 11 min. My problem is that I'm still on FCP 6.0.6. I think 7.0.3 fixed that. But I did find enough work-arounds to keep the camera.
This is a link to the full discussion if you are interested.
https://discussions.apple.com/message/19085158#19085158
Sharon
Message was edited by: SSteele

Can Anyone help with an Illustrator transparency issue?

I created a logo in Illustrator which includes an imported Photoshop psd file with a transparent background. The transparency behaves properly in Illustrator, but as soon as I place it in In Design or open it in photoshop the graphic shows up on a white box/background (the rest of the elements in the logo remain transparent, as they should be). And btw-the greyscale version of this same logo has no transparency issues.

function(){return A.apply(null,[this].concat($A(arguments)))}
it is part of an entire suite of logos that are all vector based Illustrator files
No, it is not. It contains a raster image, so it is not "all vector" regardless of its being assembled in Illustrator.
function(){return A.apply(null,[this].concat($A(arguments)))}
The EPS file will not handle transparency.
EPS supports "transparency" in 1-bit raster objects. It also supports clipping paths, which is how this particular logo would have been handled in earlier times (assuming one insists on the simple grads being raster).
function(){return A.apply(null,[this].concat($A(arguments)))}
What kind of file do you save and place in ID - should be an AI - is it?
InD doesn't really import AI content. It only imports PDF content of an .ai file (if any).
function(){return A.apply(null,[this].concat($A(arguments)))}
I'm on a time crunch
Take Scott's earlier advice. Especially given that you are compiling a collection of (presumably) reuseable logo files, this should be re-created as entirely vector content. That mark should take no more than a few minutes to redraw. Simply by including the raster element (which is primary element, by the way), you are obviating the core advantage of vector artwork (resolution independence) to begin with. So if you insist on that element being raster, then the whole thing might as well be, and your workflow is needlessly convoluted.
JET

Exporting to PDF with Vector/Transparency issues? (huge file)

Hi folks
I have a 36 page magazine in Indesign which has a lot of illustrator images placed in, some of which have transparency applied. The images are xmas icons and there are 10 or so on each illustrator file so there are only 3/4 illustrator files placed but they are done many times over within the Indesign file.
When I export to PDF the file size is huge. 154mb. I am sure it is to do with the vectors/transparency, but dont know how to correct this to bring the PDF file size down. Any ideas?
Thanks

To echo Peter's response, 154 MB for a 36 page magazine is not necessarily all that large, especially if the content is graphically rich.
There is some information you are not providing us. For example, how are you bringing in the Illustrator artwork? And with what settings are you exporting PDF?
In the first case, the most efficient way to bring Illustrator content into InDesign is to save the Illustrator artwork as PDF/X-4 and place the resultant file into InDesign. InDesign is more likely to reuse the content for PDF export if the content is placed in that manner.
In the second case, content with transparency can yield very bloated PDF if you export PDF with flattened transparency such as you would get with the PDF/X-1a or PDF/X-3 export settings from InDesign (or for the Illustrator-based imported content, PDF saved from Illustrator with such settings). Again, we recommend PDF/X-4 for PDF export maintaining live transparency and original color spaces with ICC profiles and avoiding the bloat caused by transparency flattening and conversion of RGB to CMYK.
- Dov

Installing Transparency Flattener Preset for Indesign Server CS4

I'm trying to figure out how to install a transparency flattener preset for InDesign Server CS4.
I can see how they are installed for the InDesign app. Edit -> Transparency Flattener Presets...
But I'm not sure which directory to install these on for the server.
I've seen a post that mentions:
C:\Documents and Settings\<UserName>\Application Data\Adobe\InDesign\Version 6.0\en_US\Transparency Flattener Presets
/Users/<UserName>/Library/Preferences/Adobe InDesign/Version 6.0/en_US/Transparency Flattener Presets
for the Desktop version. But when I place files here even for the CS4 Desktop, they don't seem to show up in the UI.
Any help would be appreciated,
Thanks,
Dennis

Thanks, to get this working in a server script, I ended up just programmatically creating the flattener preset, rather than worrying about the .flst files. (Java code below)
//Setup Transparency Flattener (if not in application)
FlattenerPreset flattenerPreset = app.getNamedChildFlattenerPreset("Test");
if (flattenerPreset == null) {
      flattenerPreset = app.addFlattenerPreset();
      flattenerPreset.setName("Test");
      flattenerPreset.setRasterVectorBalance(VariableTypeUtils.createLong(100));
      flattenerPreset.setLineArtAndTextResolution(2400.0);
      flattenerPreset.setGradientAndMeshResolution(400.0);
      flattenerPreset.setConvertAllTextToOutlines(false);
      flattenerPreset.setConvertAllStrokesToOutlines(false);
      flattenerPreset.setClipComplexRegions(false);
pdfPreset.setAppliedFlattenerPreset(flattenerPreset);

Graphics Card issues with Premiere Pro CS4

Hey there,
I've placed the screenshot of my problem at the bottom of this post.
I'm having lots of issues with premiere pro CS4 and editing videos since I upgraded to Windows 7. I have some .mpg and .MP4 videos. Both of which play fine in WMP, VLC, WinAmp, VirtualDJ etc. But when I load them into PPRO CS4, as you can see in the screenshot they go green and pink. And they don't move. I.e you see one still image and hear only audio.
Now a fix I have found for this is to uninstall my graphics card. But this is no way an option to edit videos, as the resoultion goes from 1920 x 1080 to 1024 x 768.
I should add that I am runnig the following system:
Dell Vostro 1000 Latpop
Windows 7 Ultimate 32Bit
2.00Ghz AMD Sempron Processor
2GB RAM
ATI Radeon XPress 1150 Graphics card
I have the latest graphics card drivers installed. I am just wondering what the problem is, and a potential fix. Would be great to hear any advice,
Regards,
Adam.

OK, here are some other things to think about:
ATI/AMD Catalyst seems to have an issue with one of the latest versions, maybe rollback to an earlier version.
Depending on your OS, check Hardware Acceleration (though this usually affect smoothness of playback) in Control Panel>System>Hardware>Advanced.
Check your OpenGL settings.
In Catalyst, turn OFF any GPU Acceleration
That's about all that I can think of for now, and those are shots in the dark.
Good luck,
Hunt

Transparency issues with INDCS3 and Pantone color

Running Windows XP, Serv Pk 2, Creative Suite CS3, All updates.
Heres the deal: We are having problems with PDFs printing and Ripping when using transparencies and drop shadows.
Issue 1: INDD CS3 file with transparent PDF placed as image. Separate frame filled with paper, stroke and drop shadow placed under trans PDF file. Filled frame areas of percentage tint using a PANTONE color used on same page. File re-PDFed (compat to v6) and file printed correctly to XEROX 7760 and HP color. PDF views correctly. Recommended ordering policy applied to all layers as to keep drop shadow below text. PROBLEM: User running Acro 7 to printing to same color printers, receives copy with color tint areas missing.
Issue 2: INDD CS3 file with solid Pantone color on background. Several text frames layered above. Under text frame a solid box with SOLID Drop shadow. PDFed using Acro 8. PROBLEM: User's RIP and DIGITAL presses do not recognize the drop shadow? White knockout box appears in this area.
It seems that CS3 is handling transparency issues differently and/or that Acro 8 (compat to v6) is doing something different. The Acro 8 users have no problem printing or PDFing.
Could this also be the "known issue" of transparencies and PANTONE colors? We are testing out converting all the colors to CMYK.
Please respond at your earliest.
KEN PANTHEN, Albany, NY

Ken,
If your final output is to the Xerox, which can't print Spot colors without converting them to CMYK, you should use process colors instead.
Also, read the articles from InDesign Secrets:
http://indesignsecrets.com/eliminating-the-white-box-effect.php
http://indesignsecrets.com/eliminating-ydb-yucky-discolored-box-syndrome.php
Peter

Flattening gradients with transparency issues * CS4

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