Exporting to PDF results in four plates
With the release of CS3 many people have been having issues where their PDFs result in 4 plate separations when they are expecting just one or two. This is usually due to two main reasons, those preferences you set years ago when you first got CS2 and then forgot all about.
Reason 1: You have your blacks set to export all blacks as ‘rich blacks’. This will cause all output, whether it be to pdf or a printer, to give you a nice rich black. And, of course, that nice rich black isn’t made by using 100% K but using a special mix of C, M, Y, & K. This is the default for InDesign. To change it go to Preferences > Appearance of Black and change it to output all blacks accurately. Problem solved.
Reason 2: When exporting to pdf you are leaving an unwanted color conversion on, most likely converting the document to the destination color space, probably u.s. web coated (swop) v.2. Simply adjust this setting in output color conversion when chosing your export features.
Reason 3: Something funky’s going on. In this case, you’ll probably have to do some trouble shooting. In the mean time; print to pdf and have output set to separations. It’ll be a flattened pdf but it’ll do in a pinch.
