If you regularly print or export documents that contain transparency, you can automate the flattening process by saving flattening settings in a transparency flattener preset. You can then apply these settings for print output as well as for saving and exporting files to PDF 1.3 (Acrobat 4.0) and EPS and PostScript formats. In addition, in Illustrator you can apply them when saving files to earlier versions of Illustrator or when copying to the clipboard; in InDesign you can also apply them when exporting to SVG format; in Acrobat, you can also apply them when optimizing PDFs.

These settings also control how flattening occurs when you export to formats that don’t support transparency.

You can choose a flattener preset in the Advanced panel of the Print dialog box or of the format-specific dialog box that appears after the initial Export or Save As dialog box. You can create your own flattener presets or choose from the default options provided with the software. The settings of each of these defaults are designed to match the quality and speed of the flattening with an appropriate resolution for rasterized transparent areas, depending on the document’s intended use:

[High Resolution]

is for final press output and for high-quality proofs, such as separations-based color proofs.

[Medium Resolution]

is for desktop proofs and print-on-demand documents that will be printed on PostScript color printers.

[Low Resolution]

is for quick proofs that will be printed on black-and-white desktop printers and for documents that will be published on the web or exported to SVG.