Expert: Amy - 1/9/2009

Question
QUESTION: When I create a drop shadow using the filter menu and print out the file I can see a colour shift in all the areas around the applied shadow (it appears as a box of different colour around the the object) I think this is a resolution problem but all my fiddling in this area doesnt seem to fix the problem. Can you suggest how I should be applying drop shadows so I don't get this problem.
Thanks

ANSWER: Hi Suzanne,

I don't know what version of AI you've got but it shouldn't matter too much. The issue is simply the nature of the drop shadow itself. It uses transparency and your printer cannot handle it.
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Ideally, you should be flattening the artwork before sending it to the printer but this never works for me during the design process - it can be time-intensive and cannot be undone once saved. See the Adobe help section on flattening for CS3 because flattening is important to know about.

http://livedocs.adobe.com/en_US/Illustrator/13.0/help.html?content=WS788F4D71-AD

See the part under Printing and Saving Transparent Artwork
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WORK AROUND If you've got a later version of AI, when you go to print, you'll see some options on the left, one being "Advanced." In Advanced, you'll see an option to Print as Bitmap. Check this and select High Resolution and it should give you a decent result on an inkjet. This print option is also in older versions of AI but I can't remember where, exactly.

If this doesn't do anything for you, you can try saving as a PDF and print that. Does the shadow look okay now?

Please let me know!


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks Amy, thats fantastic! I have tried the "Advanced" option you have suggested and it has worked. Saving as a PDF works also.
If i need to supply this artwork to my client it would be better to give them a PDF option and an EPS option as I cannot guarantee this effect will not come back when used elsewhere? There is no way to guarantee appearance in the EPS version (unless, as you say, I flatten the artwork?)
The artwork is created in CS3. It is to be used in a newspaper advertisment.

Answer
Hi again,

I would send a PDF and I would flatten it, or you might see weird artifacts in the artwork. Make sure you flatten it correctly, following the guidelines in that help doc I pointed you to.

But printers differ in the level of complexity they will accept and you might be able to call the newspaper and speak with their art department. Ask whether they require submissions to be flattened. Maybe it's even in their online specs.

I have found that there is still a bit of variety in the way different print shops and publications deal with transparency. I work with one company, for example, who I give non-flattened artwork which they place into InDesign, I believe, and print from there. It's always okay to ask them what they prefer. You'll learn a lot from them.

If you do happen to work with a printer who accepts transparency files, you should be creating the Drop Shadow using the Effect and not the filter menu. It's about resolution.

Anymore questions, just ask!
Amy