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Adobe Illustrator/Printing issues with placed files

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Expert: - 5/18/2010


Question

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We are having a problem with images with a transparency element creating a lighter box when printed.

We print files sent to us from customers.  I don't always know exactly how the artwork was created, but the problem areas seem to be images brought into Illustrator.

The image that I'm attaching is a screen shot of the file with everything selected.  The boxes around the ice cream cone and burst are drop shadows. When this file prints, the boxes of the drop shadows create a lighter area.  When they are deleted, the background is solid. I've tried changing our printer settings, but so far, have not been able to find something that fixes it.  

Is there an Illustrator setting we can use or something we can tell our clients to avoid this?

Thank you very much for your help!

Answer
Hi Shira,

Im assuming you are using Illustrator CS3 or earlier as this was a known issue with using Illustrator with transparent objects. Be sure to use Effects to create your drop shadows and other raster effects instead of the Filters menu that causes this problem.

Thanks

Kevin  

Kevin Stohlmeyer

Expertise

I am an Adobe Certified Instructor. I can answer all your questions about Adobe Illustrator version 8 through the new Adobe CS5 versions.

Experience

I am an Adobe Certified Instructor for Adobe Illustrator and have been teaching this application to college students for the past 6 years. I now teach this as a corporate instructor.

Organizations
Milwaukee Adobe Users Group National Association of Photoshop Professionals C2 Graphics Productivity Solutions

Education/Credentials
BA - Graphic Design Adobe Certified Instructor - Illustrator Adobe Community Professional

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