Preflighting the document
InDesign has a built-in Preflight command that automates the process of inspecting documents for missing or incorrectly prepared components, such as fonts, or linked graphics and images.
When you Preflight a document (choose File > Preflight), a Summary panel appears. If the document contains problems that require attention before you output the file, you’ll see warning icons
( ).
To view more detailed information, click the panel names to display the Fonts, Links and
Images, Color and Inks, Print Settings, and External Plug-ins panels.
Fonts panel
The Fonts panel displays output-related details and warnings about fonts used in a document.
When you preflight an InDesign document that contains missing fonts (including fonts missing from linked EPS and PDF files), the Fonts panel tells you the first page where the missing font is used. When viewing font information, Embedded fonts are used in EPS files, Incomplete fonts are screen fonts without a corresponding printer font, and Protected fonts can’t be embedded in PDF or EPS files due to licensing restrictions. You can select Show Problems Only to view a concise list of the missing fonts; clicking Find Font opens the Find Font dialog box so you can gather more information about the missing fonts, or replace missing fonts with available ones
(keep in mind that you cannot use the Find Font command to replace missing fonts that are included in imported graphics—they must be obtained or the graphic’s font changed using the application that created it). For more information, see “Managing missing fonts” on page 31.
Adobe InDesign CS2 Printing Guide for Prepress Service Providers
47
Links and Images panel
The Links and Images panel displays output-related details and warnings about linked files in a document.
Using the Links and Images panel, you can review the status of the document’s linked graphics, images, text files, and placed PDF files. You can also verify the links for nested DCS or TIFF files inside an EPS graphic if the Read Embedded OPI Image Links option was selected when you placed these EPS files. (Note: Adobe Illustrator doesn’t include OPI comments in EPS files when linked graphics are missing. Before customers save EPS files from Illustrator, they must verify that the Links palette in Illustrator is free of missing links.)
If the linked files have been modified or if they contain RGB image data, a warning appears in this panel, because such files are not suitable for 4-color process separation workflows. (Note:
InDesign can’t detect RGB color data embedded in EPS or PDF files; customers must check for
RGB data before saving files in those formats. RGB data can be detected in Photoshop raster EPS files.)
This panel also includes two resolution indicators to the Links and Images panel. Actual PPI
(pixels per inch) displays the resolution indicated in the original file. PPI is written into the file by the application that created the image. Much more useful is Effective PPI, which indicates if the resolution is sufficient for high-resolution output. If it’s different than Actual PPI, it usually means the image has been resized in the InDesign document. Both resolution indicators contain a pair of values representing horizontal and vertical resolutions, which can help indicate whether an image has been scaled disproportionately. You can quickly check the resolutions of all images by selecting the first image and holding down the down arrow key while watching the Effective
PPI indicator, or by generating a report.
Adobe InDesign CS2 adds a Layer Overrides indicator, to indicate that layer visibility overrides are applied to the selected file. This indicator is a useful reminder to verify that the graphic’s layer overrides appear correctly on the page, before final output. N/A means this indicator is not applicable because no layer overrides are applied. In Adobe InDesign CS2, warnings in this panel are easier to see.
The Preflight command in Adobe InDesign CS2 now indicates comp images downloaded from
Adobe Stock Photos. Comp images don’t have the necessary resolution or rights clearances for final output. The Comp Images icon only applies to Adobe Stock Photos, which are specially tagged to indicate comp status.
Update/Relink: The Update option enables you to select an individual link that is missing or is modified, and then resolve the link status by simply clicking the Update button. If the original path or file name has been altered since the document was last saved, click Relink to locate the missing link.
Adobe InDesign CS2 Printing Guide for Prepress Service Providers
48
Repair All: The Repair All option provides a convenient way to resolve all missing or modified links. If the original path or file names have been altered since the document was last saved,
InDesign displays the Find Link dialog box so that you can locate the links and globally resolve missing or modified links.
Note: Links in multiple folders are relinked or updated when each folder is opened using the
Relink command.
Colors and Inks panel
The Colors and Inks panel displays press-oriented details about color usage in a document.
In the Colors and Inks panel you can view the inks specified in the InDesign document, including inks specified in placed EPS and PDF files. The Angle and Lines/Inch values displayed here are based on the optimized screens for the current PostScript printing device selected in the
Print dialog box.
Note that all swatches available in the document are listed, including those in placed graphics.
To list the colors and inks actually in use, delete all unused swatches from the Swatches palette before preflighting (choose the Select All Unused command on the Swatches palette menu and then click the palette’s Delete button).
Print Settings panel
The Print Settings panel displays the settings of the Adobe InDesign Print dialog box applied to the document.
Adobe InDesign CS2 Printing Guide for Prepress Service Providers
49
