Expert: Ken Black - 10/16/2009

Question
Hello Ken, I am working on a 28 page 2-color program and am using InDesign CS2. A lot of the advertisers in the program have sent me PDFs using Pantone 1795 and Black only. But when I pull them into InDesign and check them with Separation Preview, the PDF shows up on all layers. So my question is: Is the PDF being saved wrong on the advertisers end? Or when I place the ad, is there some option not set up right on my end. One advertiser is using FreeHand I know, but I have no idea about the 25 or so others. I appreciate any help! Thanks!

Answer
Hi Shelly,

All too often I deal with this very same scenario. Chances are that the pdf files that have been supplied to you do not match the color space you are trying to output. They may be rgb or cmyk, even if they are to be black only. This happens when the pdf or the original document was made and depends heavily on how that document was produced.

Assuming that your advertisements are all to be black only, you could open the pdf files in Photoshop and convert them to grayscale. This is a quick fix and not a perfect one at that. You may need to alter the levels a bit in order to achieve proper contrast and density. Be sure when converting that you set the dpi to at least 300. Again, while not a perfect solution, it will work in a pinch so long as the advertisers are not overly critical about the end result.

Another solution is to convert the colors within the pdf itself. This will require a pdf editor such as Pitstop to accomplish the task, since Acrobat itself cannot perform this.

The perfect solution would be to go back to those advertisers and have them supply the file to you in the proper format you need. This can be difficult, especially when dealing with the non-graphic inclined general public. A lot of times things of this nature have been created using programs such as MS Word or another non-standard graphic application. Achieving the proper color space in these can be trying if not near impossible for most.

Thanks,

Ken Black

www.bestprintingonline.com