Re: FN-FORUM Illustrator to pdf ?

date posted 29th January 2003 09:50

> I tried setting the preferences in distiller so I could print from
> illustrator. The results I got were the same: jagged edged lines. No
> smooth lines at all. Ya best bet is opeing the file in photoshop using
> the place function then saving to pdf thru the photoshop pallet. I tried
> it that way before writing and I got perfect results

This sounds bonkers to me so I did a little experiment.

I opened an A3 drawing I had done recently and printed direct to pdf from
Illustrator (v8.0). The file size was 20k with all fonts embedded. The lines
and text were sharp and the document could be scaled with no loss of
quality. Thats because it is saved in its original vector format.

I then placed the same drawing in Photoshop and saved as pdf. The file size
was 744k and all the lines and text were anti-aliased. Scaling up would just
make the quality worse. Doing it this way saves the file as a raster image
that cannot be compressed as efficiently.

I'm puzzled as to how you got a pdf looking crap by doing it the "normal"
way. When you zoom in to the "jagged" lines do they appear smooth at maximum
enlargement? If this is the case, then the poor quality you mention is just
due to the way your screen renders the file, and has no bearing on the final
printed quality.

HTH

Best regards,

Ray

------------------------------
Ray McGinty Information Design

Specialising in design for data-driven websites
e-commerce and design for print.

http://www.rmid.co.uk