Text rasterising round wrapped images in Affinity Publisher

[LizC]

Hello. I've just started using Publisher, and noticed that when I use text wrapping around images the text immediately next to the image is rasterised when exported to PDF. Is this usual or am I doing something wrong? This is a screenshot of a blown-up example. It does look ok at normal size, but it's bothering me that it does this at all - is it to do with the wrap settings? I've used 'tight' and shunted the text over to the left for a space between the text and image. I format books, so do want the end product to be as good as possible. Many thanks!

[Hangman]

Hi @LizC and welcome to the forums,

Do you have any FX applied to your image as this can potentially cause any objects 'covered' by the FX's bounding box to become rasterised?

If not, are you able to upload the page in question so we can take a look...

[LizC]

Thank you for your reply. Here is a document with that one page in, although it's happening with all the pages with wrapped images in the book. No FX, but I did crop the images within Publisher. This happens when I export to PDF/X1a2003 which I need to for printing purposes.

Rasterised text example.afpub

Edited January 2 by LizC

[Hangman]

Hi @LizC,

I'm assuming you're exporting to either PDF/X-1a or PDF/X-3?

If so the issue is a result of the transparency in the radio PNG file since neither PDF/X-1a nor PDF/X-3 support transparency which means when exported the transparency is flattened and rasterised so any text that falls within the bounding box of the radio graphic will also be rasterised which is what you are seeing, i.e., the text that sits inside the blue bounding box in the image on the left is rasterised.

Transparency support was introduced with PDF 1.4 so when exported as a PDF 1.4 and higher e.g. PDF/X-4 the text won't be rasterisated...

If either PDF/X-1a or PDF/X-3 is essential as the output format then removing the transparency from the PNG by saving it with a white background and then manually adjusting the bounding box for the radio graphic so it no longer overlaps the text using the 'Edit Wrap Outline' would likely be the easiest option, though it makes pinning the illustration a little tricky...
 

Change in the Bounding Box (Right) to Avoid Text Rasterision

Page 2 - Left | Page 3 - Right
 

 

Sample Files

Rasterised text example.afpub

Page 2 PDF X-1a.pdf Page 2 PDF X-4.pdf Page 3 PDF X-1a.pdf

[lacerto]

As you have a gray-based document color mode, I would recommend exporting using these kinds of export settings:

Compatibility version [PDF version numbers supported within Affinity apps, i.e., from 1.4 to 1.7 -- and now also 2.0] could basically be anything (all they support transparent raster images, so PDF/X-4 or "higher" is no requirement; it is just that PDF/X-1 and PDF/X-3 force flattened transparency and Affinity apps only can flatten by rasterizing, causing this unwanted side effect).*

Exporting explicitly to gray and using the document color profile, as well as forcing conversion of image color spaces, should allow you to keep the exported document in mono color space. Exporting to CMYK (e.g. PDF/X based formats) would just convert your RGB based 0, 0, 0 in text (basically same as Gray 0 in Affinity apps), and RGB-based gray images to four-color black, which you most probably do not want.

Rasterised text example_gray.pdf

* The terminology I am accustomed to use is Adobe-based where PDF version number determines the "compatibility level", and PDF/X method the "standard".

[LizC]

Thank you so much to both of you. I'd not realised PDF/X1a didn't allow for transparency and so that was the reason for this. Great workarounds (I have to use this type as the printer specifies it) - thank you very much for this.

[Hangman]

Hi @LizC,

That's no problem at all and good luck with your project...

[lacerto]

2 hours ago, LizC said:

I have to use this type as the printer specifies it

Just beware of the color conversion issue, so if your printer expects a black ink only job, using PDF/X-4 will convert all black (RGB 0,0,0 or Gray 0) text in your job to CMYK. PNG images will stay RGB grays, and if retained as RGB, will typically be also converted to CMYK grays on RIP.

If PDF/X-1 or PDF/X-3 is really required, it might be easiest to just process images in batch and flatten them and place in the back (without pinning them inline), or crop / create wrap arounds. Depending on the amount of images, it may be a bit painful so there might be point in consulting the printer. They often recommend PDF/X-1a specifically because it makes sure that everything is in single color space (CMYK), and that gray values get interpreted as K values (not converted to four color, as they do in Affinity apps).

[Hangman]

Assuming the entire book is black text with illustrations similar in nature to that of the radio then it would make more sense to convert the document to CMYK and the illustrations to K only in Publisher, assuming they're suited for that, then make the text and swash below the heading K100 before exporting to PDF/X-1a so you only have a black plate...

[lacerto]

Your printshop might be willing to run two simple routines on a kind of a grayscale PDF that you can produce with settings I described above without making any changes in the document, and make your production file fully PDF/X-1a-compatible, keeping text as text and as K-100 and images true grayscale. 

Rasterised text example_gray_to_konly_pdfx1a.pdf

UPDATE: The file above was created with Adobe Acrobat Pro 2020 conversion routines, but I now tested PDF Tools by Tracker Software (only for Windows, perpetual license about USD82), and it can do it, as well. RGB (e.g. PNGs with transparency) images can be effectively auto-masked with 1-bit raster images and optionally converted to grayscale or target (four-color) CMYK. Verifies 100% PDF/X1a-compliant with Acrobat Pro preflight tools.

Rasterised text example_PDFX1a_pdftools.pdf

[LizC]

Thank you so much! It's actually for Ingram Spark, the Print on Demand book company, so there's no wriggle room at all on the file type - they're renowned for this. But this is really helpful as I'm learning more about how the whole CMYK setup works - bit of a newbie to all of that. Thanks for the video help as well, I'm so grateful that you've taken the time and will play some more.