Use Effects Carefully

Visual effects such as drop shadows, glows, and transparencies can enhance design appeal but may complicate automated analysis or introduce rendering inconsistencies.

Best Practices

• Flatten non-essential decorative effects before export to simplify rendering.
• Avoid invisible text tricks such as white text on a white background, which can interfere with extraction or readability.
• Keep essential text and compliance details on visible, printable layers only.
• Verify transparency blending modes to ensure consistent rendering across different viewers and proofing systems.

Why this matters for proofing?

Complex visual effects may render differently across platforms or obscure text intended for comparison. Flattening and organizing effects ensures that proofing tools can accurately detect visual and text-based deviations without interference from non-essential design elements.