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Transparency for Print Output in Adobe Creative Suite 3

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Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. New transparency features in CS3
  3. The Adobe Print Engine
  4. New technology
  5. Creating transparency
  6. Transparency: live or flattened?
  7. Designers Guide to Transparency
  8. Creating and viewing transparency effects
  9. Best practices for working with transparency
  10. Transparency effects in Illustrator CS3
  11. Transparency effects in InDesign CS3
  12. Importing and placing files with transparency
  13. Building effects with transparency
  14. Saving and exporting files with transparency
  15. Printing files with transparency
  16. Delivering files with transparency to your print service provider
  17. Transparency-related resources
  18. Transparency: A Print Production Guide
  19. Best practices when flattening
  20. Flattening basics
  21. Advanced Flattener controls
  22. Flattening controls in Illustrator CS3
  23. Flattening controls in InDesign CS3
  24. Flattening controls in Acrobat 8 Professional
  25. Transparency and color
  26. Troubleshooting
  27. Glossary

Transparency: A Print Production Guide

Introduction

Adobe® Creative Suite® 3 has the tools print service providers need to get consistent, high-quality output from files containing transparency created in Adobe® professional publishing products. Getting the correct output from designs with transparency while minimizing problems during processing (called flattening) is the goal of quality print output.

It’s important to keep certain principles in mind when designing with transparency—and when processing it before printing—for the best results and the most efficient processing and workflow. For print providers, the challenge with transparency in high-end prepress environments is the need to reproduce these effects in printed output or in exported file formats that do not support live transparency. To reproduce transparent effects, transparent objects and those that interact with them must be flattened before printing.

Newer technology—including the Adobe PDF Print Engine, enabling technology available from third-party vendors—has minimized the problems related to printing and handling of transparency at print time. Plus, the latest Creative Suite 3 transparency features and built-in options for print and web publishing in Adobe® Photoshop® CS3, Adobe® Illustrator® CS3 and Adobe® InDesign® CS3, make it easier than ever to create transparency and control how it’s printed.

Here’s what print service providers—and design professionals, customer support specialists, and OEMs who want to know more about transparency in the print production process—need to know about reproducing transparency accurately while minimizing processing and undesired results. Topics cover:

For information on designing with transparency and software-specific controls, download A Designer’s Guide to Transparency for Print Output. For information specific to print providers on reproducing transparency accurately—and for those who want to know more about the print production process, download the Transparency in Adobe Applications: A Print Production Guide. For more information on CS3 features, see online Help in Adobe Creative Suite 3 components.

See also

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