[ApertureFoto]

Hello everyone,

I am a novice Illustrator user and have designed a file (IllyCS2) to have printed as a card.

When I sent it to the printer he told me to go back and flatten the transparencies, thus I went back into Illustrator and tried to do that.

No matter what I did it kept giving me an error "PSpt"...stating that the transparency could not be flattened???

I am puzzled and hope one of the Illustrator genius' here can help me out :-)

Thanks,

Kris

[nycdunz]

i dont understand that transparency thing in ILL either, why do you have to flatten it? ive always printed fine w/o flattening, so im not sure why ppl say to flatten it b4 printing?

[ApertureFoto]

Who knows...they were set on making me flatten it...then after I told them I kept getting errors when I tried to flatten it...they magically decided to sent it to print w/o me flattening it

go figure!

[Thorzdad]

I suspect that your printer did not want to deal with the transparency effects in Illustrator. By "flattening" the transparency, your printer probably meant that he wanted you to convert the effects to an image...a .tiff or something.

I've run into a couple of printers that can't deal with some of the transparency effects (outer glow, drop shadow, etc) in Illustrator, and prefer to have those effects set into an image.

[nycdunz]

how do you flatten transparency in illustrator cs 2?

[Thorzdad]

You don't. You convert the file to bitmap. Tif, gif, jpg...whatever.

[KeriVit]

Originally Posted by Thorzdad

You don't. You convert the file to bitmap. Tif, gif, jpg...whatever.

now that doesn't seem right.

[Thorzdad]

I guess I was just continuing with what I believe the printer was really asking for.

There are, of course, several controls that effect transparency (and the flattening thereof) The main one is the Raster/Vector balance contol. After that, there are various settings to control the resolution of the rasterization that takes place in flattening, especially the Gradient/Mesh Resolution control.

In my experience, though, you can play with these controls until you hit the balance that makes your printer happy. Or, as I've suggested, just convert the art to a raster image...if practical.

For instance, I recently did a large banner for a trade show. I did some ornate type design and applied some outer-glow and drop-shadow effects to the type in Illustrator. The print house producing the banner balked at the transparency effects, referring to some obscure "problems" they'd had in the past with such files. So, I punted. I exported the effects to Photoshop and merged them into the underlying tiff image. So, I had a background image that had shadows and glows, but no type. In Illustrator, I placed the tiff in the background and layed the vector type design in their proper places over the shadow/glow effects. Everything looked the way I wanted and the printer didn't have to worry about transparency "problems".

Yeah, it was a minor hassle. But, in the end, everyone was happy and the results were great.

[nycdunz]

whats up with transparency in Illustrator? why is it such a hassle? whats the proper way to set em up before sending off the files to print?

i usually send my finish artwork as EPS files and create outlines so i wont have no font issues...

[d.fine]

I've had no problems with exporting to PDF for the press. Once you get the settings right, you're good to go in 2 minutes...
No need to create outlines, and they can change something should they need to. Also lets you work the file on a later date.

[godzookie2k]

because transparency in pantone colors screws up when its an EPS. thus, transparency in illustrator was the worst idea ever.

[carterartist]

I work Large Format printing, and I can tell you that illustrator can be a headache to go to print with.

Pdf's out of illustrators, is a roll of the dice. Transparencies, and such are just as inclined to create difficulties.

So, do this. Select all objects (ensure nothing is locked) and use the roll out bar on the Layers pallette.

Hit Flatten Layers.

Now, go to effects, change the Raster Effects to 300 dpi.

With all selected go to Type/Create Outlines.

Select all, again.

Object/Flatten Transperencies... Ensure you select HIGH!!

Save (EPS works good)

[carterartist]

Okay, we finally found out how to fix this problem. Ensure that the box marked "Preserve Alpha Transparencies" is marked. That should eliminate most problems. that's when you flatten the transparencies.

[siMac]

Originally Posted by carterartist

Pdf's out of illustrators, is a roll of the dice.

This is simply not true. Export as PDF/X-1a for reliable prepress exchange.

Originally Posted by carterartist

Transparencies, and such are just as inclined to create difficulties.

Only if you don't know how to use them. Ever read the manual?

Originally Posted by carterartist

Hit Flatten Layers.

Now, go to effects, change the Raster Effects to 300 dpi.

With all selected go to Type/Create Outlines.

Select all, again.

Object/Flatten Transperencies... Ensure you select HIGH!!

Save (EPS works good)

All these steps are done automatically if you save as EPS (except 'create outlines') and for print work you need to set the Raster Effects resolution to 300dpi before you start to work in your document, changing it afterwards will screw up your effects. Again, see the manual.

[almaink]

http://www.ideastraining.com/PDFs/In...arencyTips.pdf

[carterartist]

siMac,

Why are you a jerk? maybe I'm reading your post wrong, but you seem to come off pretty arrogant and pushy.

first off what manual are you talking about. I'm sorry if I pissed you off, but you are talking about a manual. Which program came with a manual?

And by default, the flattening process in saving an eps doesn't save it as a High... and according to what "manual" i did find on adobe, You can change the raster effects after you start the document, but before you save as an eps to 300 to allow your system to handle the file... the effects will change when you change the r.e.r.

[carterartist]

However I have found some help, maybe this is the Manual, we were just told to look at:

http://www.adobe.com/products/creati...e/pdfs/dgt.pdf

funny, usually when I have a manual, it comes with the program, not buried on the manufacturer's site.

[siMac]

@carterartist

I don't think I am being a jerk by correcting you on certain points and offering advice on others.

I get tired of people slating Illustrator (especially its transparency) when they don't fully understand it. All Adobe software is supplied with a manual, although these days it's only in electronic form (feel free to slate them for that!). The Creative Suite is professional software and I'm sick of hearing people who pirated it from the web* complaining about how difficult it is to use or how they don't understand its output.

And I don't think you should come in here stating as facts what are simply your opinions based on a limited understanding of the software.



(* I don't mean you, you said you use Illustrator for work so I imagine it's a proper licensed copy)

[siMac]

Originally Posted by carterartist

funny, usually when I have a manual, it comes with the program, not buried on the manufacturer's site.

Yes, it is very well hidden. First whilst in Illustrator you have to press F1, then... oh wait, no that's it. Just F1.

If that's too hard to remember, you can move your mouse to the menubar > Help > Illustrator Help. Frankly if you can't find the help files I'm not surprised you're having trouble with transparency.

[Thorzdad]

Geez, siMac...there's a difference between offering help and advice and being a condescending snot about it.

While all of the advice you have given is correct, you poison your own credibility by consistently tagging on insults and ridicule for no apparent reason other than to browbeat the poster. Your very first post in this thread drips with disdain for the poster, for no good reason. You may be the world's most knowledgeable Illustrator user, for all we know, but your knowledge is for naught if you deliver it with a big dose of attitude.

I, for one, welcome expert teachers and users to this forum. It works to make this place a valuable resource and community, especially for the neophytes. Please take a moment, before you post again, and consider whether the tone you take is justified.

[siMac]

Whilst I am certainly going out of my way to be a jerk in my last two posts I still don't think I was out of line in the first one. Someone came here asking for advice and got wrong answers presented under the pretence of expert advice. I was just trying to point out the errors and recommend the manual as a good source of reference.

However, start calling me a jerk for doing so and I can quickly become one, as you have seen.

Edit: same goes for unjustified Adobe-bashing, expect some unjustified you-bashing in return.

[siMac]

Originally Posted by godzookie2k

because transparency in pantone colors screws up when its an EPS. thus, transparency in illustrator was the worst idea ever.

While I'm here, can I just point out that spot colours don't represent a problem for transparency as such, it's just that you need to be very careful how you set them up.

The only spot colour swatches in your pallette should be those that represent actual inks to be used on press. Problems with spot colours and EPS only occur when said colours are converted to CMYK after the EPS stage (this results in large 'holes' in areas of the artwork).

Many EPS-related 'problems' are completely erradicated by using PDF for document exchange. Either Illustrator's default 'save as' PDF setting (for the more competent service bureaus) or PDF/X-1a (for the rest) will make things easier and more reliable.

[siMac]

Originally Posted by carterartist

according to what "manual" i did find on adobe, You can change the raster effects after you start the document, but before you save as an eps to 300 to allow your system to handle the file... the effects will change when you change the r.e.r.

Ok, try it. You'll see what I mean. You can change the effects settings at any time you like, but your effects will change with them. A 25 pixel blur at 72dpi is not the same as a 25px blur at 300dpi.

[eyevaan]

I only offer another option...

IF the piece is to be printed in 4C by this we assume (CMYK with no GCR, UCR or other RIP dependent breakdown (see hexachrome); copy/paste the ILL art into PS and take readings, smart object or raster, it doesn't matter. PS will give you the 'flattened' converted values. Recreate gradients and blends as necessary and RIP. This is probably achieved by the aforementioned suggested solutions, I am just offering another AND it does not apply to spiffy ILL art from artists, in which case I recommend exporting a JPG or TIFF method.

I am asking to clarify it for me. Let's suppose there is a 4c + two spot file (I did not create it, I received it from an agency - I work in prepress therefore everything I receive is "wrong".

back on topic
4C+2 spots: the ILL file is set with transparency in the spot colors to create a VERY pleasing blend with the 4C. I have had good results with high end RIPs (CREO, Rampage) separating these files correctly BUT on lower end RIPs is there a good work around? I have my own ideas and solutions, I am looking for new techniques.

I am going to read the PDF, it looks amazingly helpful - thx for the hookup..

[siMac]

Originally Posted by eyevaan

I work in prepress therefore everything I receive is "wrong".

ROTFLMAO Sad but true.

I recommend reading up on PDX/X and asking clients where possible to supply files in this format. I worked for ten years in prepress and was happy to receive and output PDF/X. I now work as IT manager for a design studio and we supply all files for print as PDF/X, very successfully. This eliminates problems of fonts, linked files and application compatibilty. From the prepress side of things this offers the same advantages, as well as putting resonsibilty for the flattening process in the hands of the artwork's supplier and potentially eliminating the costs of having to keep a copy of every version of every major desktop publishing software package. Software such as Pitstop Professional can help users to generate proper PDF/X files from any artwork file, whilst the recent Adobe apps offer native export to PDF/X.

Unfortunately there will always be stubborn clients on the prepress side and antiquated service bureaus on the print supply side, but the more people who accept/supply this format, the better the situation becomes.