PDF from InDesign looks correct but prints bounding boxes around effects and transparencies on SOME printers

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When I export my newsletter from InDesign to PDF, the resulting PDF, including all transparent graphics, rasters and effects look great on screen.

When I print the PDF to a plotter (Canon IPF8300), there are no issues and the printed results looks great. However when I print to my office printer (Canon ImageRunner c5045), every graphic raster that has an effect (shadow) or is transparent, does not render correctly and I clearly see bounding boxes around these objects.

The entire document and all source graphics are CMYK. This happens whether i run the flatterer or not.

The problem is that the print shop we are using to produce the final product also sees these anomalies. I have no clue as to why the PDF looks fine when printed on a printer A but not on a printer B and C. The only workaround is to export to image and completely rasterize the entire design.

Any ideas?

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Answer

Thanks everyone for you input. Seems that the printer I am using is not capable of correctly rendering effects and transparencies whether they are flattened or not. I’ve turned every effect on the driver off and the only improvement was that it was able to render effects and transparencies correctly only if the object was positioned over no colour (paper) or over another raster (image, tiff).

Unfortunately, the same anomalies I am getting on this printer is the anomalies we see at the print shop we are using to have the final product produced. (we have to use this particular shop). This is partially why I was using this above mentioned printer to QAQC the press PDF.

Since I was not able to eliminate the problem I decided to look an older Indesign file that was done by an external design company in hope of some idea. I noticed that they used tiff files for both solid and textured backgrounds. Once i switched to this technique, the files print correctly and there is no significant file size increase.

In short, the workaround that works for me is not to use vector fill below any objects that are transparent of have an effect (i.e. shadow). This is easily accomplished by placing tiff images if that particular CMYK colour in the frames.

Attribution
Source : Link , Question Author : Jakub Sisak GeoGraphics , Answer Author : Jakub Sisak GeoGraphics

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