How to Print Layered Images in InDesign
Layered images are images, created with Photoshop or Illustrator, that have information retained on separate layers. InDesign can import layered images from Illustrator and Photoshop natively. InDesign also has the ability to layer images on top of each other in the page layout view. Layering images gives a lot of options for complex and interesting page layouts, whether they're layered in a graphics application or handled in InDesign. InDesign's default print and PDF generation engine handles most of the layered information directly.
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Instructions
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Placing Layered Images
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1
Create a box object with the "Rectangle" tool in InDesign.
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2
Type "Ctrl+D" to pull up the "Place Image" menu. Click on "Show Import Options," then select the "Layers" tab. You can use this to select which layers of an imported Illustrator or Photoshop image are displayed in the InDesign document.
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3
Navigate to the location where the layered image is -- it doesn't matter if the image is an Illustrator document or a Photoshop document.
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4
Select the image, and click "Open." The rectangle you created earlier will have the image placed inside of it. If you want to re-size the image, right-click on it, and select "Resize Image to Fit Frame" or "Resize Frame to Fit Image".
Layering Multiple Images In InDesign
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5
Place multiple images in InDesign -- InDesign will show transparent image backgrounds if they're in the original source files.
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6
Drag the image files one on top of the other, to create multiple layered images from different source files.
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7
Click on the "Transparency" palette on the right hand side of the work area, and adjust the Opacity of each image, as needed, to get the effect you want.
Printing Layered Images
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8
Click on the "File" menu, and select "Print." A dialog box will open.
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Click on the "General" item in the left hand pane.
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Select the "All Layers" or "Visible & Printable Layers" option from the "Print Layers" dropdown.
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Tips & Warnings
If you lose a lot of "Transparency" effects in InDesign, this will make your document much larger, and may give unexpected results. Become familiar with the " Flattener Preview" dialog box, which can be found in the "Window" menu, under "Output."
