Help! Computer Geek Needed

Maeniel · Joined: 22 Mar 2008 Posts: 1052 Location: Next to Waldo

Okay, my amazing forumites. I have a problem at work, and I'm not sure how to fix it.

Basically, I saved this annual report in Illustrator CS5. When I print from Illustrator, it comes out fine, like this:

But when I print from Acrobat 9 Pro, it comes out like this:

Our printer is a Konica Minolta C650 series. (I don't think that actually matters, but just in case!) I've compared the print settings in Illustrator to the print settings in Acrobat, and they're exactly the same - which leads me to think that this problem is somewhere else in the program. I get the same problem in Acrobat no matter what the file. Do any of my beloved forumites know what's going on? Thanks!
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Tinalles · Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 6:53 pm Post subject:

How did you create the PDF file? Or are you opening the illustrator file in Adobe Acrobat?
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Asa · Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 8:55 pm Post subject:

Also check the scaling in Acrobat. Sometimes you need to select 'None', or 'Fill Page', and make sure your advanced settings have the zoom at 100%. No more, no less. I messed with that once, and got the same result.
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jookadook · Joined: 21 Jun 2011 Posts: 22 Location: The TARDIS

Asa's got it right. Also, if it's a single image and you're running Windows (not really clear...) you can save it as a JPEG and print it with the Windows utility (right click, print). Just select "full page fax photo" or whatever it's called now.
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bluh.

Tinalles · Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 10:44 pm Post subject:

Adobe Illustrator usually generates vector graphics. If those have been exported in their original vector-based format, which PDF supports, then Mane won't be able to save them as a JPEG, because they aren't one. I ran into this very problem recently.

But since he's got the original image, he could of course jut print that page out directly from Illustrator ...
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Asa · Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2011 7:52 am Post subject:

But not if he needs to send it to people who DON"T have Illustrator. If it's an Annual Report, it needs to go out to all sorts of people, and that's what PDFs do best.
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Self-styled Forum Grandmother, because I hand out nicknames and hugs whether you want them or not. ^_^

Keeper of the Library and the Gateway to Haven

Nem: "It's the sort of face you just know is getting ready to poke you with something sharp."
BS: "...then insist you eat a brownie."
__________________
If we shadows have offended,
Think but this and all is mended...
Give me your hands if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends.

jookadook · Joined: 21 Jun 2011 Posts: 22 Location: The TARDIS

Good point, there...
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bluh.

Maeniel · Joined: 22 Mar 2008 Posts: 1052 Location: Next to Waldo

The file is a high-res vector pdf created in Adobe Illustrator. I hardly ever save as an ai because you can make pdfs editable and (to the best of my knowledge) there's no loss of information.

The reason I don't like to print from Illustrator is because there's artwork that stretches off of the artboards, and I haven't figured out how to make the printer crop the job to the artboards. I suppose I can just use clipping masks, but they usually end up being cumbersome because I like to group objects. It just makes another grouping that I have to drill through when I want to edit something.

The scaling for the print job is typically set to auto, but I've tried the manual 25% and 100% - either scaling produces the smaller print. Also, the fit-to-page, do not fit, and stretch to page don't work, and the paper is set to 8.5x11.

And while we might send the annual report to various people electronically, we're mainly going to be printing them in-house and mailing it to our large donors/board. We can get around this problem by having my boss print them off - but that doesn't solve the overarching problem. It's also a problem if I get a pdf from elsewhere and the person hasn't thought to outline the text - so if I try to open and print from Illustrator, the font might be substituted by something that's not-so-nice.

Tin: You can save as jpg directly from Illustrator if you hit export - but I don't think it'll crop to the artboard unless you use a clipping mask. What I end up doing (because I'm too lazy to make the clipping mask) is save as a pdf, open it in acrobat, and save it as a jpg from there.
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Tinalles · Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 2:45 pm Post subject:

Well, not having used Illustrator in any meaningful way -- when it comes to vector graphics, I'm an Inkscape kind of guy -- I recommend trying SuperUser:

http://superuser.com/

I've had good results asking questions there (and on its sister sites serverfault.com and stackoverflow.com for server and programming issues).
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Keeper of The Remnant Minuon (cognomen Lucy, the Eaten One) and the Emissary Caeli