What conversion probs should I expect -...

I've done some testing in converting InDesign v. 4.01 files to CS4 and the only problem so far I have found is how Black is handled. Read numerous threads here but those do not apply to our work flow. I will give some description of how we use CS2 and would love any hints on issues that might come up or other hints about testing, before we trust the Adobe sales pitch that they have handled all/most conversion issues.



Our small office has several 1000 Indd and PSD files operating on XP SP3. We had significant conversion problems (placement of text on page) when we converted from PageMaker to InDesign, but this conversion seems like it'll be easier. Our typical Indd file is for grayscale booklet. File has threaded text, several layers, test wrapped around objects, but in general only uses basic functionality of Indd. There are many linked graphics that were created in CS2-PSD and all of those were converted to grayscale before creating TIF that we linked to in Indd. Color swatches in Indd are black, and ocasionally a 5% black tint behind some text. Nearly always Paragraph Styles have been assigned to text in a consistent manner, however local overrides are sometimes also applied.



We interface with our two print vendors (one uses Mac, and the other is PC based) via PDF - currently using Acrobat Pro 7. We create the PDF from Indd, based on agreed upon setting with print vendor.



We also create PDF versions of many of our Indd booklet files for website publication and hence many of the Indd files have lots of bookmarks and hyperlinks in the file before it is converted to PDF.



While I have not yet done a test PDF file with our two print vendors, all of the other InDesign testing I have devised and done has gone smoothly and only the Appearance of Black issue has turned up. While this feels great, I don't want to be naive and assume that there are not gross or more likely subtle problems that I should be aware of.



Thanks for any assistance in cutting my learning curve.



Edward
What conversion probs should I expect -...
Appearance of black is handled as a user preference. I still don't

understand why anyone would want it to display or print inaccurately but

that's just me.



Bob
What conversion probs should I expect -...
CS4 wraps text slightly differently from CS2. You won't see it until you

begin editing or save to INX and open that. Even then, you won't see it

until you compare a few hundred line endings. In a 300-page book, the

differences are enough to gain or lose a line on maybe 10 pages.



--

Kenneth Benson

Pegasus Type, Inc.

www.pegtype.com

Are you sure you are dealing with ''appearance of black'' issues, which only apply to RGB output, or are you talking about your plain vanilla 100% black objects, like type, becoming a 4-color rich black?



The latter is a profile conversion problem based on your color management settings. For this type of conversion you will want to convert to to profile and preserve numbers. If the files have color elements, colors will shift (assuming the profile is different), but for black and grayscale it is not an issue.



Of course, the best course of action is not to convert at all, but to use the existing profile in the document.



Peter