What is overprint in printing?
Overprint means an object is printed on top of the colors beneath it instead of leaving a gap for it, so the inks mix.
What it means for your file
It’s right for small 100% black text, where it hides tiny misregistration. It’s wrong for white, which disappears because white is no ink at all, and for light colors, which mix with what’s underneath.
An example
Small 100% black text set to overprint prints straight over a colored background, so if the plates shift slightly, no white gap shows around the letters. InDesign overprints the [Black] swatch by default for this reason, and many printers’ systems do too. A yellow logo set to overprint on a blue background, though, prints green.
A common mistake
Setting white to overprint. White is no ink at all, so a white object that overprints simply disappears on press, even though it looks fine on screen. Turn on View → Overprint Preview in Illustrator or InDesign, or Simulate Overprinting in Acrobat Pro’s Output Preview, to see what the press will do.
How to fix it
If your printer sent the file back saying “There’s white set to overprint,” the fix page has the step-by-step way to do it yourself, and a fixed price if you’d rather have it done.
Where else it comes up
All print terms in the glossary, or run your file through the free print-ready checker.
Free download
The print-ready file checklist
The seven checks every file goes through before it leaves us. Useful whether or not you ever send us a job.
Your print-ready checklist.
We’ve emailed you a copy too. If it isn’t there in a minute, look in promotions.
Not sure what your file needs?
Ask a question or send the file in the chat. A designer usually answers within minutes with a fixed price, and nothing starts until you say yes.