I have been running into issues with dropshadows, bevels, transparencies and gradients for years now, it seems like every time I think I have my issue fixed I run into something new.
I am REALLY hoping that there is a certain printing format that I can just export as and be done with it, but that never seems to be reality.... :(
The big problem I am facing now is to get drop shadows printed correctly... They seem to always have this funky box print around them and I have tried to 'Convert to Bitmap', .tiff files, etc etc etc.... I am currently running CorelDRAW X6 and my RIP software is Roland Versaworks. I typically print .eps files but I have just recently been printing PDF/X3 files with decent luck. However, I had to remove all the neat effects from a retractable banner just to get the job out on time... I know this is a common issue, but I am crossing fingers that someone else out there knows exactly what is going on and can point me in the correct direction..... THANKS in advance!!!!
The EPS format does not support transparencies (drop shadows for example) and therefore the export filter has to convert them, usually to a bunch of bitmaps. Same thing for PDF versions prior to 1.4 (Acrobat 5.0).And even if we use PDF 1.4 or later, there is no guarantee the RIP can handle the transparency anyway. There is always a risk that the printed result looks different than the original file when using transparencies, no matter if we use EPS or PDF. So the safest way is to "flatten" the drawing, create a bitmap from all objects affected by transparencies and if possible leave unaffected vector objects on top as vectors. Make a copy so you don't destroy the original file.
I use versa works 4.1.1 everyday, the problem is the RIP itself does not handle transparency well, it also has issuers with Illustrator PDF files with layers. We resolve these issues by rasterizing the file and printing as a TIF.
Corel files are easy you just convert the shadow in the file to a bitmap, AI files are worse for two reasons, the conversion to TIF process takes allot longer as you need to do the entire file and two AI will cause color shifts with all vector content some times with layers and I have been unable to identify the trigger that causes it.