Check Trapnets for PDF/X

Belongs to

What it does

Checks whether trapnet information in a PDF is compliant with either PDF/X-1 or PDF/X-3 standards.

About trapping

In printing, even the slightest misregistration of the plates can cause gaps or color shifts between colored objects to appear. Trapping is a technique that compensates for misregistration by expanding adjacent colored objects so that they overlap. Trapping can be performed by the source application, in the PDF, by dedicated trapping tools, or during the RIP-process.

If the traps in a document were added before the PDF document was created, they are included in the PDF file as trap networks. A page may have more than one trap network, e.g. one for each intended output device, but all the different trap networks are stored in the same trap network, also called trapnet annotation. When printed, the trapnet annotation provides all the required trapping information for the page.

About the PDF/X Requirements for trapping

When trapnet annotations are found in the document, PDF/X-1a:2001 requires that:
  • The trapped flag in the document is set to either True or False (Unknown is not allowed).
    • If the trapped flag is False, the document does not contain trapnet annotations.
    • If the trapped flag is True, the document is completely trapped, and the document contains trapnet annotations.
  • Font substitution is not used.
  • The CMYK color space is used.
When trapnet annotations are found in the document, PDF/X-3:2002 requires that:

Related Actions