How to Flatten Transparency in Adobe Illustrator

This tutorial shows you how to flatten transparencies in Adobe Illustrator. We flatten transparencies to avoid any unintended effects they may cause during the printing process.

Here are the steps to follow to flatten transparency.

1. Select > All
2. Object > Flatten transparency…
3. Change settings to look like this this:

1. Click Okay
2. Save as… > PDF
   1. Choose the PDF/X-1a:2001 from the first dropdown