Why does Illustrator artwork have a white box around it in InDesign?

One of the most frequent questions I receive is "Why does my placed Illustrator .AI or .EPS file have an opaque white box behind or around it in InDesign?" In the picture below, the left-most cartoon exhibits this behavior.

A quick workaround that will solve this problem in most cases is to choose View > Display Performance > High Quality Display. This will usually make the box disappear on the screen. If this doesn't work, or if you want to make the box disappear without having to enter High Quality Display mode, follow these instructions.

There are three possible explanations for a white box behind an AI or EPS graphic, and each has a simple solution:

1. The placed graphic is an EPS file. Solution: When you place the graphic, be sure to select the Show Import Options checkbox in the bottom left corner of the "Place" dialog box. When this is selected, you will see the dialog box below after you choose the graphic you are placing. Select the Rasterize the PostScript option, and the white box will not appear in the placed graphic.

2. The placed graphic is an AI file. Solution: When you place the graphic, be sure to select the Show Import Options checkbox in the bottom left corner of the "Place" dialog box. When this is selected, you will see the dialog box below after you choose the graphic you are placing. Select the Transparent Background option, and the white box will not appear in the placed graphic.

3. The placed graphic AI or EPS file really has a white box behind it in Illustrator. Solution: Open the graphic in Illustrator and remove the white box.