Need Help Losing details in background when reprinting files

[White Haus]

Long story short, we did some window graphics for a convenience store back in 2021. One window got smashed so we needed to replace just one panel, and thought while we were at it we'd replace panel below it since it was curling a bit.

Reload EXACT same PDF into Onyx, print, laminate, install. Only to realize the text in the background didn't print. (Yes I was rushing, and Yes this should have been caught sooner. My bad for assuming we could reproduce a job with previous files, which we do all the time without issues) I CANNOT for the life of me get that damn text to show in Onyx, let alone print. We're using same profile, and as far as I know all settings are the same in Onyx.

I've tried going to back to the original PDF, flattening in Illustrator, exporting as new files etc etc and nothing will allow the background text to even show in Onyx. I'm at a loss here and am completely stumped.

Any ideas? Anything in Onyx that would somehow mess up how a PDF like this would be interpreted? Input profiles?

Screenshots and installed pictures attached for reference. It's the all the random words in the background that are mysteriously disappearing.

 

[netsol]

was it not flattened?
i just did that to myself yesterday
i was printing something for a "friend of a friend" (should have taken a minute)
suddenly i notice the text is missing, because the wrong layer is up front

 

[balstestrat]

What if you select "all ICC profiles off"? Does it look any different, more visible?
Not really a solution, I'm just curious.

 

[White Haus]

was it not flattened?
i just did that to myself yesterday
i was printing something for a "friend of a friend" (should have taken a minute)
suddenly i notice the text is missing, because the wrong layer is up front

I believe it was flattened originally....and I just tried again to start fresh from the originally provided .ai file. Flattened, exported as pdf and same issue. Super weird.

 

[White Haus]

What if you select "all ICC profiles off"? Does it look any different, more visible?
Not really a solution, I'm just curious.

That actually does allow the background text to display on screen.............. going to try printing it and see if that works. Colors look a bit weak but I can maybe just play with color adjustments. I told the customer I'll reprint the whole job on the house if it means getting this done for their client.

 

[balstestrat]

I think we can then conclude that not all your settings are the same as 2 years ago.

 

[White Haus]

I think we can then conclude that not all your settings are the same as 2 years ago.

You are correct. Your suggestion to try "All ICC profiles off" was great - thank you.

Colors look really dull and washed out but look seem to look more like what is on the windows. Side by side comparison (attached) looks similar to the old vs new prints on the windows. (Prints get matte lam which dull the colors even further) I've reprinted them and will swing by site tonight to confirm it's a closer match.

I suspect what happened when we originally printed this job was that I loaded files in Onyx, saw that text wasn't displaying, eventually tried "ICC profiles off" setting and just ran with that. (And of course didn't document it)

Thanks again for the quick suggestion, hopefully we can put this thing to rest now.