Transparent layers disappear when printing or exporting from ArcMap

Description

Transparent layers disappear when printing or exporting a map from ArcGIS ArcMap 8.2.

Note:
This article pertains to ArcGIS versions 8.x only. Later versions of ArcGIS may contain different functionality, as well as different names and locations for menus, commands and geoprocessing tools.

Cause

Transparency has been set on a polygon that is included in a Group Layer.

Solution or Workaround

This is a known issue with ArcGIS 8.2. Currently the only known workaround is to move all transparent layers out of the Group Layer and into the primary layer.

Note:
It is highly recommended to use ArcGIS Pro for printing and exporting, especially when experiencing issues caused by the limitations of the ArcMap display engine. More specifically, ArcGIS Pro is not restricted by the graphical device interface (GDI) limitations that some users experience in ArcMap. For example, transparency is natively supported in ArcGIS Pro, preventing the rasterization of layers. Additionally, ArcGIS Pro supports transparency in layout elements.