Weird lines on book cover

[DJP]

I created a dust jacket and case wrap for a book in Affinity Publisher.  I exported PDFs and then converted them to PDF-X using the PDF X-change editor (which I have done many times before with no issues).  When printed by Ingram Spark, white horizontal lines appear on both the jacket and the case; see attached photo.

I have looked at this file every way I can in Publisher and can find no cause for this.  The lines are not visible even under very high magnification either in Publisher or PDF viewers.   

We filed a claim with Ingram for the first sample, and they replaced it.  They can be fussy about files, and I assume that if they had spotted anything wrong with the uploaded files they would have told us.  We just received the replacement and it still has the lines.

I am flummoxed.  Has anyone ever seen anything like this?

 

IMG_0628.HEIC

[werfox]

Hi @DJP,

that looks strange for me too.

Could you upload the exported PDF and also the "converted" one to the forum?
Is the blue background just a rectangle with a colour fill or is it possibly an image?

(BTW: Is there a reason for this "conversion" to PDF/X using an external tool instead of just exporting a PDF/X file directly from APub?)

 

Best regards

[DJP]

Werfox, thanks for the reply.  Publisher can export PDF/X using the 2003 specification, but Ingram requires the PDF/X-1a:2001 version.  I inquired about this before and was told that the library that Publisher uses does not support the 2001 spec.  See the attached files.  The back cover and spine are blue rectangles and the front is an image with text on top of it.  Lines appear everywhere.

PAPERBACK_book1 70 lb Ingram PDF-X.pdf PAPERBACK_book1 70 lbIngram.pdf

[Alfred]

1 hour ago, DJP said:

Publisher can export PDF/X using the 2003 specification, but Ingram requires the PDF/X-1a:2001 version.

Have you tried submitting a PDF/X-1a:2003 file (or a PDF/X3:2003 file) to Ingram Spark?

 

[DJP]

56 minutes ago, Alfred said:

Have you tried submitting a PDF/X-1a:2003 file (or a PDF/X3:2003 file) to Ingram Spark?

I believe I did, but it was a while ago and my memory may not be perfect.  I do know for certain that the file creation guide from Ingram specifies 2001.

[Alfred]

25 minutes ago, DJP said:

I do know for certain that the file creation guide from Ingram specifies 2001.

The posts to the linked thread suggest that the 2003 version works equally well.

[werfox]

I took a look on the PDF/X-1a you provided and could see in the wireframe view mode of PACKZVIEW
that the title image is divided into multiple stripes which could be aligned with the ones from your picture.

 

I did a quick alignment and it seems to match:

In addition, your file has no bleed area defined and the ISBN code has a different frame size in comparison to the
one from your picture of the printed dust cover. I assume that the printing company edited your file
(at least adding bleed and chaghing the frame size adding a whitespace around the ISBN code) and something could have gone wrong.

Edited April 18 by werfox
typos/

[DJP]

Thanks very much for taking time to look at this.  I think I know how the strips got in there (long story I won't bother you with).  The lack of bleed is an Ingram thing.  If you create a 6 x 9 book in Publisher with bleed of .125" all around, Ingram rejects the file.  They want you to make a document of 6.25 x 9.25" and place your text and images where you want, taking the bleed into consideration.  It's weird, I know . . . . 

[Oufti]

8 hours ago, DJP said:

(long story I won't bother you with).

Though, we're curious…

[werfox]

On 4/18/2025 at 3:10 PM, DJP said:

I think I know how the strips got in there (long story I won't bother you with). 

I am curious too. Just for the record, if anyone should have the same problem…