PDF woes revisited

[WendyWelton]

I know I saw a post about this, and very recently, but now I can't find it.

I'm having the same problem somebody else posted about - I print to a PDF, it looks just fine on screen, when it's opened with Acrobat, it leaves off the last 2 or 3 inches. When I print from PDF Factory, it comes out fine. Unfortunately, people that I send PDF files to are more likely to have Adobe, so I'd kind of like to figure this out. Did anybody else make any progress on this problem?

Wendy

[pintodesign]

Hi Wendy
the pdf factory file can be read with adobe...or am I missing the question?
I control the lineweights (you asked about in your other post) by setting the dpi to a minimum of 600.
hth
Barb

[Deastman]

Wendy that would be me, I haven't figured it out yet except that 995 wouldn’t print anything at all at full size and eDoc looses a few inches. Both printed fine when I reduced the paper size to 24 x 18. I tried all the scaling options but got the same results.

I was able to print the entire layout directly to the plotter from Chief with no problem so I don't think it is a memory issue. The only thing I can think of right now is that the layout was not created for the PDF printer and I did not check scale to fit when I opened the layout after changing the printer to the PDF printer.

If you need to print badly enough check the setting for print as image. That did work for me but it takes forever, like 30 minutes per page.

BTW my Dad was from Meredith and I have three cousins up there one still on the farm.

[WendyWelton]

I can print to a 24x36 PDF with PDF Factory just fine.

I can open that same PDF in PDF Factory and print it to my HP 500 just fine.

Since I'm able to create a PDF, and then print it, with PDF Factory - my in-house printing is all set.

But, I can't print the same file from Adobe!!!

When I open that same 24x36 PDF in Adobe Acrobat 6.0 or with Adobe Reader 6.01 - it looks complete in the on-screen preview, but doesn't print the last 4 or 5 inches.

Another interesting clue: If I use the rotate tool and flip the whole thing over, it still leaves off the last 4 or 5 inches, but now it's from opposite side of the drawing (because I flipped it).

I'm only concerned about this because I want to be able to use PDF files to distribute my drawings, and everybody else is going to use Adobe products to open and print.

I know this isn't a Chief problem, but I was hoping greater minds than mine had encountered, and possibly solved, this problem.

P.S. Deastman, (is it Danny?) - with 995 and edoc, do you get a full image on screen at least? And are you trying to print directly from them, or use them to create a file and then print from Adobe? I am at least able to create and print 24x36 with PDF Factory, so maybe that's a help for you for your in-house needs.

Wendy

[WendyWelton]

It's not printing the FIRST 4 or 5 inches, not the last. That means it's not a printer out-of-memory. When my printer runs out of memory it leaves off the last part.

Sigh

Wendy

[Bill]

Hi Wendy,

Did you download the correct version of Adobe Reader? Make sure you d/l'd the one for your operating system.

The latest version is 6.02, that is the one I am using with pdfFactory Pro and Fine Print 5.7 and I am not experiencing any of the problems you are having.

I ship PDF's all over the country and if they didn't print out correctly, you can sure bet I would be hearing about it.

[DJKArch]

Hi Wendy,

Open the properties for PDF Factory in your Printers folder, select the Setup tab, in the Metrics section select Emulate printer and then select your hp500 in the drop down. That "should" work.

Dan

[Bill]

Originally posted by DJKArch
Hi Wendy,

Open the properties for PDF Factory in your Printers folder, select the Setup tab, in the Metrics section select Emulate printer and then select your hp500 in the drop down. That "should" work.

Dan

Dan,

I don't think that will work......unless everyone you send the PDF to has the same printer.

I set up my pdf Factory margins as follows:
Left =0.179
Top= 0.68
Right = 0.197
Bottom = 0.68

Settings are in inches.
DPI setting is 600

HTH

[WendyWelton]

Dan, I'm not having any problems printing from PDF Factory to my HP500. My concern has to do with sending drawings out and the people getting them not being able to print from Acrobat.

Bill, I definately have 6.02, and I definately selected the correct operating system. I'm hoping it's something else screwy here on my machine only. I sent a 24x36 to an engineer this morning - the same one that wouldn't print from Adobe here - and he printed it just fine.

I've filed a bug report with Adobe, and I'll keep an eye on other forums. Especially since I'm not the only one experiencing problems, I'll keep everybody posted if I find out more.

Wendy

[Deastman]

Wendy, I have the exact result as you the first 4-5 inches don't print with edoc and nothing prints with 995. Both preview the complete plan on screen. Interestingly when I first tried I was using Acrobat 5.0 and it printed the whole plan and title block but the text was missing from the title block. I removed 5.0 and downloaded 6.02 "I think" and now it cuts off the first 4-5 inches. Maybe it's a 6.02 bug. I have'nt tried to print from eDoc or 995 just Acrobat.

And it's David as in my signature. Tommy is my Play Station alter ego. I can't wait till I can ride a motorcycle around in a Chief house and up the stairs.

[DJKArch]

Bill wrote: " I don't think that will work......unless everyone you send the PDF to has the same printer."

No, not at all. Emulating the printer creates the PDF as though it was being created on that specific plotter. Sometimes this will result in a smaller file size without a drop in quality. This is actually the best setting if you plot to paper and want the same output in your pdf.

Wendy - Actually it might be a memory problem in your plotter. Plotter memory is not just a first in-first out buffer. The plotter processes the entire image to be plotted and calculates a bitmap of sorts, more accurately a "droplet-map" of inkdrops using the firmware in the plotter. What is remaining in your situation is the end of the plot, because firmware had to push out of memory the beginning of the plot. I think in a prior post you said you have several printers. Try printing, in Acrobat or Reader, to the other printers at 8.5 x 11 (or any convient size) or try printing to the hp500 at 18 x 24 or 12 x 18. If you get a complete drawing then there is a memory shortage in the plotter. You can reduce the dpi in PDF Factory metrics from 600 to 300. Then create the pdf in PDF Factory and try printing full size to the hp500 from Acrobat and/or Reader.

Hope this helps.

[Bill]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by DJKArch
[B]Bill wrote: " I don't think that will work......unless everyone you send the PDF to has the same printer."

No, not at all. Emulating the printer creates the PDF as though it was being created on that specific plotter. Sometimes this will result in a smaller file size without a drop in quality. This is actually the best setting if you plot to paper and want the same output in your pdf.

"Metrics tab

Emulate Printer - this mode ensures that the PDF has the same line breaks and page breaks as printing to the selected printer. This mode will use the resolution and margins of the selected printer. If you want to set your own margins and resolution, uncheck this option and use the Margins and Resolution controls."

The above is from the help section of pdfFactory Pro.

Wendy can print to her plotter just fine. Her problem lies in the output from Adobe Reader.

[WendyWelton]

Bill,

I think you're correct. I've got 160 mb of memory, and the same file prints just fine from PDF Factory. It may be memory related - something to do with how Adobe does things, but it's not quantity.

Deastman,

Let us know if you are able to print full sheets from either PDF995 or edocprinter?

Danny,

Although I don't think it's memory, I definately appreciate you're thoughts. I've just starting using PDF Factory, and you've pointed in the direction of exploring it more fully.

Wendy

[DJKArch]

My point is that the method of creating the PDF is among several factors which determine how the pdf is printed from Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader. The less dense the pdf (in dpi) the smaller the file and easier to print. The difference between printing from PDF Factory is that the file is going directly to the printer. By opening the file in Acrobat or Reader, the file is being interpretted by the Adobe print engine.
Since you have 160mb memory, that means you have the hpgl/2 card option installed. There is an known problem from HP and printing large documents from Reader. I'm pasting part of the problem and solution here and the url to the page below.

From HP:
Large-format printing of PDF files from Acrobat Reader can often result in unexpected problems.

NOTE: This issue is not limited to Acrobat Reader and may occur in other software applications such as Adobe Illustrator, PhotoShop when using the HP-GL/2 driver. The problem will not occur if using a PostScript driver from the Adobe applications.

Problems with Acrobat Reader usually occur when printing large page sizes at high resolutions, and can manifest themselves in different ways depending on the versions of the Acrobat Reader and the operating system:

* Missing objects

* Parts of the drawing not printed

* An error message pops up in Acrobat Reader telling the user that the printing operation could not be performed

The reason for these problems is that Acrobat Reader’s print engine is not able to process large page sizes (the size of the page is in terms of pixels).

This issue may not occur when using printer drivers that can only render up to 300 (or 360) dpi, or when using PostScript drivers. Adobe applications use an alternative path to print PS (not passing through the OS normal data structures) that avoids this problem.

Click here to download HP printer drivers at http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport...?locale=en_US.

For more information on Adobe PostScript, see Adobe's website at http://www.adobe.com/.

Resolution and page size concepts
o Document resolution - The resolution that the driver reports to the application and that will be used to render the data in the application to transfer it to the driver. It is completely independent of the printing resolution and it depends on the print mode selected in the driver (and on the driver itself).
o Rendering resolution - The resolution at which the driver places graphic objects using printer coordinates. In PCL3GUI, it is equal to the rendering resolution. In HP-GL/2 it can be different, although it tends to be the same.
o Page size - Once a page size is selected in the driver, it is reported to the application in terms of pixels. The page size in pixels is obtained by multiplying the physical page size by the rendering resolution (in both axes).

The cause of the problem

Problems with Acrobat Reader occur when the page size in pixels is too big for the application to handle. This page size depends on the document resolution, which, at the same time, depends on:
o The driver
o The print quality
o The optimization
o Having Max. Detail (Enhanced IQ) ON or OFF

So it is possible that the problem will always be observed with a particular driver, or that it can be solved by changing the print mode.

Workarounds

As the problem is caused because the page size in pixels is too big for the application print engine, the possible solutions involve reducing the page size. As the physical page size cannot be reduced, the parameter that has to be changed is the document resolution.
1. Use a print mode (print quality setting) that renders at 300 dpi (as the problems normally happen when the rendering resolution is set at 600 dpi). Use the resolution tables provided below for additional print quality setting resolution information.
2. Set ZoomSmart Scaling in the printer driver to 100%.

By scaling to 100%, the page and the drawing will remain unchanged. However, the ZoomSmart algorythm reduces the rendering and document resolutions by 2. So, by scaling to 100%, all the print quality parameters will remain unchanged (carriage speed, printing resolution, number of swaths, etc.) while the document resolution will be reduced by 2, reducing the page size in pixels and avoiding problems in the application. The only side effect is that CAD drawings with sharp lines and circles will show more jaggedness due to the lower rendering resolution. This will not affect images so noticeably.

Here is the url. This where the resolution tables mentioned above are.

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport...ctID=c00027917

Hopefully this will resove your PDF woes.

Dan

[WendyWelton]

Dan, "By George, I think he's got it"!

I was successful by first creating my PDF at 300 dpi. Then in my HP Printing Preferences, I selected "Fast" for my Quality setting, and under Optimize I selected "Images". I'm glad I didn't have to drop back to "Text and Lines".

The print quality is definately not as good, but I finally got the whole image. I had forgotten just how much faster "Fast" is - so I'll be using that for my check plots now as well. Bonus!

I'll write a little blurb to attach to drawings that I email telling people to use "Fast" if they have an HP/GL2 driver. Problem solved.

By the way, if anybody else can't find it, the "Zoomsmart" Dan refers to is in the button labeled "Fit to Page". I found it very counterintuitive to go to "Fit to Page" to tell it not to, but there you have it.

Thanks Dan, I'm a little slow sometimes, but very grateful. Wendy