Masking causing ghost in PDF

CA
Posted By
Courtney_Armbruster
Jul 21, 2004
Views
365
Replies
5
Status
Closed
I’m having a problem with masked areas showing up as ghosted lines when I make a PDF. Basically, I have an "i" where I used a mask to remove the dot and replaced it with another image. In PS, as a .psd, it looks perfect—zoomed in 100% you cannot see the removed dot at all. When I make a PDF of the file you can distinctly see a white outline of where the dot was. The mask is drawn much larger than the dot, so it’s not that it just isn’t fully covered. You can’t apply a mask to a text layer unless you rasterize it, which I don’t want to do. If I flatten the image before making a PDF (also not ideal), the problem disappears. My only other option is to draw a white area over the dot on another layer. Is there something I can do to fix this?

You can see the files here: PDF file <http://www.cscos.com/ghosting1.pdf> ..jpg file <http://www.cscos.com/ghosting1.jpg>

Thank you!

Courtney
Related Tags
ghost mask

Must-have mockup pack for every graphic designer 🔥🔥🔥

Easy-to-use drag-n-drop Photoshop scene creator with more than 2800 items.

MO
Mike_Ornellas
Jul 21, 2004
I just down loaded your file and processed it through a commercial RIP.

The file is fine.

Your preview in your PDF browser is not set to the correct settings.

Yes, the object is there. You can bring the file into Illustrator and delete it, but it’s a non issue.
CA
Courtney_Armbruster
Jul 21, 2004
What setting in Acrobat do I need to make the ghost disappear? The people I’m making the comps for are wondering about the ghost they see and I just keep reassuring them that they aren’t really there!

Thanks,

Courtney
AC
Aaron_Cramer
Jul 22, 2004
I see the ghost in Acrobat Reader. I only have 2 suggestions.

First try using a vector mask instead of a raster mask.

Or, if you don’t ever need to change the letter "I" to another letter, just go to Layer>Type>Convert To Shape. That will still allow you to scale it indefinitely. Also, you can then delete the circle at the top using your Direct Select Tool (A) on the path.

Q: Why is it not ideal to flatten your image before saving as a pdf?
CA
Courtney_Armbruster
Jul 23, 2004
Aaron,

Thanks for the tips on masks. As for the flattening, people I email the pdf to often want to print it at an enlarged size. Flattening it means that when it’s printed larger, it gets jaggy. Right now all of the components of the logo are type or vector shapes, so they scale beautifully when printed larger out of Acrobat—but only if the data isn’t rasterized first!

Courtney
AC
Aaron_Cramer
Jul 23, 2004
Well then, just convert your "I" to a shape (Layer>Type>Convert To Shape) and remove the dot at the top. then you won’t need a mask, it will still be vector, and life will be good. 🙂

Just save the original "I" as a text layer and hide it.

Master Retouching Hair

Learn how to rescue details, remove flyaways, add volume, and enhance the definition of hair in any photo. We break down every tool and technique in Photoshop to get picture-perfect hair, every time.

Related Discussion Topics

Nice and short text about related topics in discussion sections