New in Adobe InDesign 2025 is the ability to set math content using MathML. When you create math content this way, equations are inserted as SVG anchored objects. Since SVG is a web format, it does not support CMYK color. This means that math content will be rendered in RGB black, which will separate into rich black on press, potentially resulting in poor commercial print quality.
You can see that math content will print in all four inks in the Separations Preview panel (Window > Output > Separations Preview).
If there is any misregistration on press, other inks besides black will be visible, resulting in a less than crisp appearance of the math content.
One way to prevent this from happening is to use a FixUp in Adobe Acrobat.
Using Adobe Acrobat to Fix RGB Math ContentÂ
To confirm the presence of RGB math content in a PDF, open the Output Preview Panel from the Print Production Tools in Adobe Acrobat. Choose Object Inspector from the Preview pop-up menu, then click on an equation.
In the Print Production tools, click Preflight. Click the wrench button to select a single FixUp and type RGB to filter the list down to just the FixUps with that term in the name. Double-click the FixUp for converting RGB Black to CMYK Black.
You will be prompted to save a new copy of the PDF. You can go back to the Output Preview to confirm the problem was fixed and be assured that your math content will print in black ink only.
Tip: When using a FixUp, I always recommend testing on a few pages to confirm its working as intended.
This article was last modified on October 22, 2024
This article was first published on October 18, 2024
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