Layer order is reversed when exporting PDF from AD2

[jdm pedals]

Hello!

I am working on files for a Roland UV printer, and the order is critical. For example, white layer is printed first, and then color layer second. So if I want white text, for example, it is printed in a white layer, and then color is printed *over* this, leaving the white to appear where it is not printed over. This is the way the Roland UV printer works, white layer first, so I must have the white layer on the bottom.

This is also how I view the layers when working in AD, as I need to see the white "shine through" the color, not cover it up. So when I export the AD2 session to a PDF, the order is somehow not maintained

I get a white layer on top, and then color below that... precisely the reverse of what is needed. Is this a bug, or is there a workaround?

cheers

joe

[Callum]

Hi JDM,

When I export to PDF here the layer order is maintained correctly. Which app are you using to check the layer order? If you reimport your PDF into Affinity does the layer order match the original project?

Thanks
C

[jdm pedals]

Hi C,

Thanks for the reply.

I open it to check in Adobe's Reader. The order should be COLOR then under that WHITE, as this is required for the UV print service I use. If I reimport it to AD2, it seems to be OK. The odd thing is that if I have someone use Adobe Illustrator to export a PDF from my .svg file, then the layers display correctly in Adobe's Reader, and I can then submit this to the print service, which also uses Adobe Reader to check the files...

I don't know of another PDF reader that might display layers... Preview on my Mac doesn't seem to show layers. Would you be so kind as to have a peek at the attached PDF? My layer order is (top to bottom) COLOR then WHITE. The Roland UV printer used prints white first, then color, then gloss (n/a in this case) and reads from the bottom up... so it's key that the order is correct when I submit the file.  The printer site has basically told me "*Please* use Adobe Illustrator, not Affinity Designer, as almost noone manages to get the format correct with Affinity Designer". But I am determined! Haha

Thanks so much - maybe this post will also be useful to other guitar pedal designers using Tayda Electronics drill & print service for their artwork!

best regards

joe

Vines Design WHITE layer should be under color.pdf

[Cromerty]

Any solution to this? I am on Windows and get the exact same issue - layer order reversed when exporting to PDF. My printers are insistent on the correct layer order as there is a cut contour on top. Submitted to another designer to check in Illustrator, and she found this is an error with AD2 only…

[Meliora spero]

The issue likely stems from differences in how Affinity and Adobe Acrobat interpret PDF layer structures. Affinity may export PDFs with a different internal order or grouped layers, which Acrobat then displays based on rendering order rather than the original layer hierarchy. When reopening the file in Affinity, the software reconstructs the layers correctly using its own metadata. This discrepancy occurs because PDFs are primarily designed for display and printing rather than maintaining an editable layer structure.

And that would explain why Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Reader interpret layers the same way, as well as printers using Adobe software experiencing issues with PDFs from Affinity rather than Adobe.

But just a working theory. PDFs are quite complex, and for that reason alone, the most predictable results are achieved by sticking to the same software as the printer uses.

It’s like realpolitik - what works in practice is what actually succeeds, not idealistic expectations of compatibility.