In this article, you will learn
- which prerequisites are required for this Fixup, and
- how to apply this Fixup.
1. Introduction
The Fixup Set overprinted Objects to Knockout is available in the Workflow. The purpose of this Fixup is to set overprinted vectors, texts, and/or gradients to Knockout.
2. General
The Fixup Set overprinted Objects to Knockout can be used to set overprinted objects, such as vectors, text, or gradients, to Knockout. Spot Colors that are output as Separations (e.g., White, Varnish, Primer), Technical Colors, and selected Spot Colors can be excluded from the Fixup and will therefore remain set to overprint.
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 Color in the area Category,
- activating the option Change or Reduce in the area Action,
- activating the option Overprint or Knockout in the area Property.
3. Description
This Fixup allows you to set overprinted objects to Knockout. Selected Spot Colors and Technical Colors can be excluded from the Fixup.
3.1. Prerequisites and Functionality
For the Fixup to perform as intended, the following requirement must be met:
- The file must contain overprinted objects.
Figure 1: Left: The dialog of the Fixup Set overprinted Objects to Knockout; Right: The values found in the selected field for the option Apply to
To Set overprinted Objects to Knockout, please refer to the following options:
- 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] – use the dropdown menu to select which objects should be set to Knockout. The following options are available:
- Vectors only – all vectors are set to Knockout. Text and gradients remain unchanged.
- Text only – all text is set to Knockout. Vectors and gradients remain unchanged.
- SmoothShades only – all SmoothShades (e.g., gradients) are set to Knockout. Text and vectors remain unchanged.
- Text and Vector – all text and vectors are set to Knockout. Gradients remain unchanged.
- Images – all images are set to Knockout.
- All Objects – all objects in the Print Item are set to Knockout.
- Variable Content [7] – for Variable Content [7], select the desired placeholder – Database Field or User-defined Field – from which the value for the selection of object types should be retrieved. The following values must be present in the selected field for the object type to be selected:
VectorTextSmoothShadesVector_TextImagesAll
- Exclude Spot Colors marked as Output as Separation (White, Varnish, Primer etc.) [3] – enable this option to exclude all Spot Colors that are output as Separations (e.g., White, Varnish, Primer, etc.) from the Fixup.
- Exclude Technical Spot Colors [4] – enable this option to exclude all Technical Spot Colors (e.g., Dielines, Creases, etc.) from the Fixup.
- Exclude all other Spot Colors [5] – enable this option to exclude selected Spot Colors from the Fixup as well. In the dropdown menu Exclude selected Spot Colors [6], select the Spot Color that you do not want to set to Knockout.
3.2. Before / After
To experiment with this function, refer to the example file "Sample_Set overprinted Objects to Knockout.pdf". The file contains overprinted vectors, text, and gradients. The Technical Spot Color "Dieline" and the Spot Color "White", which is output as a Separation, have also been added. The text was created in the Spot Color "Spot_Black".
The Fixup should set all objects to Knockout. Only the Technical Color "Dieline", the Spot Color "White" and the Spot Color "Spot_Black" should be excluded from the Fixup.
After applying the Fixup, the file "Sample_Set overprinted Objects to Knockout_End.pdf" is created. In this case, all objects except for the described Spot Colors were set to Knockout. The values from Figure 1 were used for this.
Figure 2: Left: Original file; Right: Edited file in which all objects have been set to Knockout
Article update: Workflow 1.19.2 – 03/2025