Removing white box effect in documents with transparency

In some instances, a white box or ghost border appears where a transparency effect is applied, usually in documents that contain drop shadows or gradients. This problem may occur if the transparency effect interacts with a spot color.

To fix this problem, you can either avoid using spot colors with transparency or you can turn on overprinting.

To view and print a PDF document without the white box effect, in Acrobat 9, choose Advanced > Print Production > Output Preview, and then choose Simulate Overprinting.

If you’re sending the document to a printer that’s experiencing this white box effect, ask the service provider to turn on PostScript Overprint at the RIP. If this doesn’t work, you can flatten the transparency and select the Simulate Overprint option before you send the file. In InDesign, this option is found on the Output panel of the Print dialog box when you select the Composite CMYK option.