Mysterious Drop Shadow Around Transparent PNG's When Exported to PDF

[KarenMurphy]

I'm importing transparent high resolution png's into a ppt presentation. I've imported a solid blue png that is the background for these png's. The problem is that when exported as a PDF - there is a slight drop shadow around the pngs. Can anyone help me understand how to stop the drop shadows from occurring? And where can I control the qmage quality of the PDF I'm outputting? I'm familiar with the Adobe Suite but not that familiar with PPT.
Many thanks for any help. BTW- have tried in both offisce 2004 & 2011.
Below is the original - with blue background:

Below - example of the strange dropshadow in exported PDF

 

[KarenMurphy]

I'm so used to the fabulous Adobe forums. Does anyone answer these questions here in this forum?

 

[Ian]

Yep, we do, I guess no-one knows the answer to this one though .

My only thought would be to add the blue background to the PNG outside of PowerPoint, but that's not ideal. Which method are you using to save as a PDF?

 

[KarenMurphy]

many thanks for answering! I've tried a few things.
Print > Save As PDF.
Print > Save As PDF-x Gives a better quality but not great -- and this way - you can only print 1 page at a time - not good for a 21 page document.
I think - also Save as & Export as PDF.

So one way to approach this is - do you know where the settings are for image quality -- compression etc?
I've also tried exporting the PNG's in MUCH higher res - that is somewhat better - but still great - and the shadow just seems to go white -- so now it's got an embossed effect instead of a drop shadow.
I's so used to InDesign>PDF - because I know the many variations of compression etc. But Can't see where they are - or even if that kind of attention to Print quality is part of PPT. Again, Many thanks!

Also - the Person I'm doing the project for wanted Transparent PNG's. So the blue background wasn't an option for this project. Excellent suggestion though.

 

[Ian]

Do you know which PDF printer you are using? I suspect that may be where the problem is. Is it Foxit PDF printer that you have installed?

 

[KarenMurphy]

I assume I am using Adobe Acrobat. I never downloaded Foxit -- and I did a search for it on my machine -- but no such thing turned up. many thanks again for your reply to this ongoing mystery!

 

[Ian]

You could try installing Foxit Reader (free) and try that PDF printer instead, it may work differently to the Adobe PDF export - worth a shot!

http://www.foxitsoftware.com/downloads/

If that doesn't work, I'm not sure what else to suggest unfortunately.

 

[KarenMurphy]

A good suggestion - but the problem is we can't control what PDF Printer the client-or the broader audience for these documents use - so that solution won't work in this scenario.

Can you tell me where in PPT the print & output quality / image quality etc has it's controls and settings?

Many thanks for all your help!

 

[Ian]

I don't have Adobe installed, but if you have an Adobe PDF printer listed, there should be a "printer properties" link under the printer selection dropdown (in 2013 at least). On my Foxit PDF printer, I can choose image resolution, compression type, etc... so I hope it is the same with Adobe.

 

[gkeddie]

I know it has been a while since this was posted but I had EXACTLY the same problem with small PNG icons I was placing in word documents and saving as PDFs. The solution was to open them in Illustrator and re-save (export) with no anti aliasing!