OPI QuarkXPress

Brief Description

OPI (Open Prepress Interface) also known as image-swapping technology, this is the process that allows low-resolution copies of images inserted into a page-layout program for some prepress tasks, and then swapped with the high-resolution versions for output.

The idea is to use placeholder files (usually a low resolution TIFF) during production of a job to avoid using the actual much larger files. An OPI comment is actually nothing more than an instruction found inside an EPS file that instructs a RIP to insert a specific graphic image file from a certain location.



What your issue is

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How to fix this issue

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More details

OPI may have an influence on PDF's quality. All the OPI XT does is add comments to the flow of internal code indicating that there's an image that needs to be swapped. But that little bit of code can cause random, inexplicable problems in output if there's no high-res image waiting for its turn in the spotlight.

To turn off the OPI XT, just uncheck it in Utilities -> XTension Manager and restart the program. Also you can just remove the OPI XT completely, that way you don't have to keep remembering to check its on/off state in the XTension Manager. Go into the QuarkXPress 6.x program folder on your hard drive and drag OPI.xnt out of the XTensions folder into some other place. (Don't put it into XTensions Disabled, that's the same as turning it off in the XTensions Manager.) You may need admin privileges to do this in OS X or XP.

NOTE: If you're creating PDFs from Quark layouts with Acrobat Distiller, be sure to turn off "Preserve OPI Comments" in the Advanced panel of your Distiller settings as well.

Also turning off the Scripts XTension also makes QuarkXpress 6.5 more stable. But this XTension allows QuarkXpress to have access to a built-in AppleScript menu.

References:

QuarkXpress 6.5 XTensions

DesignGeek

Quark Forums: OPI