The people responsible for printing documents often prefer to receive files in certain formats. Ask your print service provider which file format to submit, as well as recommended flattener and resolution settings. Let the provider know if transparency is involved. Good communication between you and your service provider will help you achieve the results you expect.
CS3 and Acrobat 8 Professional users of the Adobe PDF Print Engine—enabling technology available from third-party vendors—can now print native PDF with no conversion to PostScript and thus no flattening of transparency. This technology uses native Adobe PDF and Job Definition Format (JDF), and incorporates the new PDF/X-4 standard, which supports transparent artwork and effects, as well as layers.
For those without this latest technology, transparency must be flattened for PostScript print output. In most cases, flattening produces excellent results when you use an appropriate predefined flattener preset or a custom flattening preset with settings appropriate for your final output. But flattening can alter colors and transparent objects in ways that can affect output quality.
Most often your print service provider handles flattening.
If you plan to provide your service provider with Illustrator CS3 files, InDesign CS3 files, or Adobe PDF files that include live transparency, you have several options. One of the main benefits of delivering Adobe PDF files to your print service provider is that everything required to print—including fonts and graphics—is contained in a single file. Native Illustrator CS3 and InDesign CS3 files also offer many advantages, including that transparency can be edited late in the production workflow.
Typically, you’ll be asked to provide one of these formats:
If your print service provider is not familiar with processing files with transparency, have the provider contact Adobe technical support or the ASN Print Service Provider Program to receive free training materials and other useful resources.
