CS1: images in one layer interfering with text on another layer

[chasg]

Hi All,

I've got an image in a layer that is interfering with semi-transparent text in a higher layer.

The background of the document is black and the image in question also has a black background (to blend in with the background of the document). I've put some semi-transparent text in a higher layer, and it lies over only the black part of the image. The problem is that the part of the image that is under the text is causing that part of the text to look sort of embossed (it's like it's changing the transparency of the text), and is quite obvious when I produce a PDF of the document.

Any ideas as to how I can avoid this problem?

Chas

[AdobeAce]

Hi chasg,

I'm not sure what may be causing your transparency promlem. When I try what you're describing here, I have no problem. It might have to do with the way the type rasterizes where it falls over the image. Or there's something else in the layout that you have not mentioned in your post.

But try the following to see if it helps --

Turn off all Layers except for the Black Background and Photo Layer.

Save these Layers as a High-Resolution Acrobat.

Save your layout with a different name as to not lose the original.

Place this new PDF as an image.

Delete your existing Black Background and Image.

Hope this helps!

Ace

[GuyB]

Like Adobe said, we might be missing some informations like : is there some transparency applied to your image layer ?

You say that : "the image in question also has a black background (to blend in with the background of the document)". Why don't you simply take off that backround (the backround of your image) if it's relevant to do so, of course ? In Photoshop, make the backround transparent, save as .psd and place in ID.

[chasg]

Hi AdobeAce and Guy,

Sorry to not reply earlier, I've been buried in work (not least this project).

AA, really great tip, and I'll be sure to try it out if I can overcome my latest problem: when I export a PDF, the black background of the photos no longer looks the same as the black of the ID document background, even though I sampled the CMYK values and made sure that they were the same. I may start a new thread on this issue, 'cause it's even more glaring than the one I started for this thread!

Guy, there is no transparency applied to the image layer. It's basically:

top: semi-transparent text
middle: photos
bottom: big black rectangle taking up whole page (plus bleed)

Masking out the photos from their black backgrounds is not practical, I'm afraid (there are 36 of them, all with hair and wispy dresses). Thanks anyway for the suggestion.

Thanks again to both of you for taking the time to help me out.

Chas

[chasg]

Well, I'm burning the disc for the printer, and I think my issues are solved.

Here's how I adressed them:

images on another layer interfering with semi-transparent text
-since the text was being transparent on the black background of the document (a big black rectangle as the bottom layer), I duplicated the text in question, made it black and fully opaque, and then put it directly under the semi-transparent version. This way the black text was between the semi-transparent text and the images, so no more problems (sort of like AdobeAce's suggestion, but a bit simpler). Still don't understand why the problem existed in the first place though.

The black of the photos not matching the black of the ID document
-tougher one, and I won't know if it worked until I get the proof back from the printer, but basically I took each image, added a Curves adjustment layer in PShop and bumped the white point of the Curve waaay up until I could see what part of the black background wasn't actually black. I then used the burn tool to manually burn every bit of the photo's black background until it was completely black. Then I turned the curve off, of course.

If you hear screams of agony in a few weeks, you'll know something didn't work.

Thanks again for your help and suggestions,

Chas