Just as an FYI, and because I’m a stickler for accurate terminology, the flattening I’m referring to is Transparency Flattening, not flattening layers. In Photoshop, the 2 are linked – if you flatten layers, you flatten transparency. But in InDesign, flattening transparency refers to rasterizing effects like drop shadows, blend modes and opacities less than 100%. Adding a layer in ID does not add transparency.

OK, I downloaded their prepress specs PDF and looked it over (sorry it took so long – I’ve been on vacation for a week). For the most part, everything looks reasonable, but I did notce 2 things (actually I noticed 3 things, but the third one is just a typo – they misspelled the word “Positioning” on the headers of pages 8 & 9. No big deal, but shows a lack of attention to detail. If they don’t check their own work, why would they care about yours?)

1. Page 6 mentions supplying flattened PDFs. This is a red flag – there should be almost no reason to recommend this setting these days. Using PDF 1.3 (flattened) often causes more problems than it solves.

2. Page 12 shows a screenshot of a warning, and it mentions ApogeeX as the RIP. I’ve worked with Apogee (not ApogeeX) in the past for 2 years, and it is a very capable and modern RIP. However, I think the “X” on the end (ApogeeX) indicates an older version, so that might be the source of the problem. But, when I look at their website they refer to Apogee Prepress, which is the name of the newer versions. There is a possibility that you are dealing with a prepress person (or even the entire department) who has modern tools but is stuck in some old ways of working. If that’s the case, good luck!

I’ve worked in prepress for almost 20 years, and it sounds like maybe the RIP being used by the print shop is way out of date. If so, then I could see where these things might cause the RIP to crash or to not render properly, but I don’t see it being a problem during the PDF export from ID step. I don’t think I’ve ever had an ID file crash during PDF export. Ever!

Is it possible that you can export the PDF yourself and give them that? That would at least eliminate the InDesign crashing scenario she describes, although if her RIP is really that bad they still might have problems processing the PDF.

The weird lines and boxes are the result of areas with transparency effects being improperly flattened. I would bet money that they are using an older PostScript-based RIP instead of a modern APPE (PDF-based) engine. A modern APPE engine doesn’t do any flattening until the last possible stage, and they do a better job of it.

Unfortunately, you’re pretty much at the mercy of the print shop’s workflow. RIP upgrades or changeovers are very expensive (and involve retraining staff and revamping the entire workflow process, along with the growing pains that come along with it), so don’t expect them to change just for you. Your options are to either give them what they say they need to successfully produce your project, or find another printer (there are plenty who can handle your files easily).

Given that choice, I’d choose the latter!

Didn’t the printer show you a proof before printing and binding 5,000 copies? If they did and the proof looks correct, the printer is on the hook because they didn’t match the proof. If they showed a proof and the problem is evident in the proof, whoever approved the proof is on the hook. If no proof was provided, why not?

*edit – I just reread the posts above and see the answers to these questions.

One caveat to be aware of when placing images that have super-high res (like the aforementioned 947ppi example), you will lose sharpening when you let ID downsample to 300 upon PDF export.

I dislike “soft” images, so I always like to apply my sharpening at the actual size the image will be used. It does take extra time and effort, but to me it is worth it in order to get a better finished product for my clients.

I’ll second the recommendation to contact the print house before you go making 2 versions. Most print shops can simply take your full-color PDF and with the click of a button RIP it as black only. The thing to keep in mind with this option is that anything that is color will not necessarily convert to 100% (solid) black – in fact, most colors will convert to a shade (screen) of black.

If you need all your colors to convert to solid black, ask if the print shop can do that – many shops have special PDF editing software that can make such a request very simple and cost-effective.

As I write this, I thought of yet another way you could do it yourself and still maintain 1 document and maximum flexibility: Build your book in color, and make sure every color swatch you use is defined as a Spot color (normally this would be taboo, but in this instance it is called for). When you are ready to export your B&W PDF, first visit the Ink Manager dialog and once there you can alias each color to Black. When you are ready to export your full-color PDF, simply revisit the Ink Manager and undo the aliasing. (Aliasing takes a particular ink and puts onto the same “plate” as another ink).

(The only potential downside I see with this solution is if you have color images it won’t affect them the way you’d want.)

I agree with the others – this is a great price.