In this article, you will learn
- which prerequisites are required for this Fixup, and
- how to apply this Fixup.
1. Introduction
The Fixup Set Black Objects to Overprint is available in the Workflow. The purpose of this Fixup is to set black objects – vectors, texts or both – to overprint.
2. General
Use the Fixup Set Black Objects to Overprint to overprint black objects and avoid the risk of a "flash" in e.g. the offset.
You can find this Fixup on the tab Data Preparation of an Article, Order or Production Job by:
- entering the name of the Fixup in the area Filter,
- activating the option Object in the area Category,
- activating the option Change in the area Action,
- activating the option Overprint or Knockout in the area Property.
3. Description
This Fixup sets the overprint status for pure black objects – 100 % greyscale and 0/0/0/100 CMYK – (vectors and/or text) to overprinting. Please note that the objects must be black in the sense of the aforementioned black definition.
3.1. Requirements and Functionality
For the Fixup to perform as intended, the following requirements must be met:
- There is at least one black object in the file.
- Black objects are created in CMYK (0/0/0/100) or greyscale (100 %).
Figure 1: The dialog of the Fixup Set Black Objects to Overprint
Use the following option to overprint black objects:
- Templates [1] – settings selected in the dialog can be saved as a template and applied to other Articles/Print Items, as well as used within Fixup Chains and in the Operations Apply Fixups and Check Print Item and Apply Fixups.
- Apply to [2] – select the objects that should be set to overprint in the selection menu. The following options are available:
- Vector – only black vectors are set to overprint.
- Text and Vector – all black vectors and texts are set to overprint.
- Text – only black text is set to overprint.
- Variable Content [3] – for Variable Content [3], select the desired placeholder – Database Field or User-defined Field – from which the value for the selected objects should be retrieved. The following values must be present in the selected field so that the respective objects are selectable:
BlackLineArtBlackObjectsBlackText
Figure 2: Values in the selected field for the option Apply to
3.2. Before/After
To experiment with this function, refer to the sample file "Sample_Set Black Objects to Overprint.pdf". The file contains black text and black vectors. Both object types are set to Knockout and should be overprinted.
After applying the Fixup, the file "Sample_Set Black Objects to Overprint_End.pdf" is created. The Overprint state was set from Knockout to Overprint. The values from Figure 1 were used.
Figure 3: Left: Original file; Right: Edited file in which all black objects have been set to Overprint
Article update: Workflow 1.20.1 – 04/2025