About composite printing

When you print a color PDF, all of the colors used in the file print on one plate. This process is called composite printing. The options available in the Output panel of the Advanced Print Setup dialog box depend on the selected printer.

Artwork that will be commercially reproduced and that contains more than a single color must be printed on separate master plates, one for each color. This process is called color separation. If you’re creating color separations, you can print a color or grayscale composite proof to check your work.
Note: To create color separations, you need Acrobat 8 Professional or Acrobat 3D Version 8.

Consider the following issues when printing composites:

  • Any overprinting options that you select print correctly only on a printer that supports overprinting. Since most desktop printers don’t support overprinting, you can simulate the effects of overprinting by selecting Simulate Overprinting in the Output panel of the Advanced Print Setup dialog box. Be aware that selecting Simulate Overprinting converts spot colors to process colors for printing. If you intend to use a file for final output, do not select this option.

  • When you print to a black-and-white printer, a grayscale composite version of the pages is produced (unless you select Print Color As Black in the main Print dialog box; this option prints all nonwhite color as black). If the document contains color, visually correct grays are used to simulate that color. For example, the gray that simulates a 20% tint of yellow is lighter than a 20% tint of black, since yellow is visually lighter than black.

    Note: Remember that, like monitors, color printers vary greatly in color reproduction quality; thus, proofs from your service provider are the best way to verify how the finished piece will look.
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