PNG with a transparent background shows black frame when printed.

[Greener]

Hello, 

I have exported a png image from Affinity Photo and Photoshop. 

After placing them in the Publisher file (version 1.8.3) I have exported them into the pdf format using print ready present with PDFX/4 option selected. 

The images are being printed with black box. 

I think it is a bug in the software. 

I have attached the original projects. 

 

cab_test2.pdf borelli_cabernet_high_res_glare_fixes.afphoto borelli_cabernet_photoshop.psd test cab background.afpub

[thomaso]

An issue with print transparency black was reported already quite a few times and, in my experience in some cases, APub-PDF do print PNG transparency for some users and doesn't for other with the same file. So I don't know a solution here. – But your files make me wonder what they do show before printing:

1. Your .aphoto shows transparency for all layer thumbnails – but on canvas I don't see transparency for the unnamed (Pixel) layer: It appears as white rectangle on canvas (and in channels panel, too).

  <–> 

2. Your .afpub has 2 PNG files linked (missing), which are reported in Resource Manager both as CMYK but with (different) RGB profiles:

I can't reproduce this color space / profile conflict in APub, when I export your .aphoto as PNG with its document profile; it appears correctly in .afpub as RGB color space + Adobe RGB profile:

 

So I don't understand yet what info exactly I get presented in resource manager, maybe wrong info, maybe because of missing resources, or maybe because of the white layer in .aphoto?

Or is there anything you have done with the PNG to force them to CMYK? – Note that the PNG file format can have 3 channels only + alpha (transparency). Would it be possible that somewhere in the workflow this PNG alpha channel gets used for the 4th color channel of CMYK? Perhaps it converts white to black this way, because of the conversion between additive and subtractive color space, which have opposite appearance for the color value 0.

[Greener]

Hey Thomaso, 

Thank you kindly for your reply. 

1. The aphoto file I posted I was experimenting with different scenarios while exporting to png format. 

The CMYK version in Publisher file it was my mistake when I was setting up prior images. 

I will re-export the PNG in RGB and see if the Publisher accept it. 

Chris

 

[thomaso]

> The aphoto file I posted I was experimenting with different scenarios while exporting to png format.
> The CMYK version in Publisher file it was my mistake (...)

How did you achieve the mixture of CMYK space but RGB profile?
When I convert your .aphoto into CMYK + export a PNG with documents color space then I don't get CMYK but RGB as space + profile in the exported PNG.

EDIT: And how comes that the thumbnail in APhoto for the unnamed layer "(Pixel)" shows transparency – but appears as full white on canvas and in channels panel?
(Sorry, this thumbnail's transparency actually occurs only around a white rectangle. It's just the narrow canvas format in the square thumbnail which let me think...)

[Greener]

To be honest, I am not sure. I might have declared my document as CMYK in the photo application. Thank you for pointing it out. It was helpful.  I was able to avoid a black frame when set a printing profile to PDF/X-3:2003. 

Really strange. 

I have to be careful next time; wasted a lot of ink testing. 

 

[thomaso]

> I might have declared my document as CMYK in the photo application.

That's what I did, too, but the PNG did not result in a CMYK space. Therefore I am really curious what workflow caused this for you, because CMYK for PNG should not be able, and this contradictory combination of cmyk + rgb neither at all. – Possibly a misinterpretation in APub/Resource Manager?

Can you upload such a PNG file to have a look what might have been going on?