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 | | From: | c | | Subject: | preflighting illustrations | | Date: | Tue, 11 Jan 2005 20:09:40 +0000 |
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 | Hello, I have a problem.
We currently use Onevision Asura as our preflighting software and these
days its main task is processing figures. We give it a sized/manipulated
PDF and it spits out a clean cropped EPS file for use in our typesetting
system. It hasn't been updated for a couple of years, as it's hideously
expensive and it was no longer our main preflighting program (as our new
CTP workflow software came with its own preflighting capabilities), so
it doesn't really support PDF 1.4 or 1.5. Files saved in those formats
will process okay providing they don't use any of the new features
specific to PDF 1.4 or above. In the last couple of weeks it has finally
happened - we have received a handful of files that actually use these
features and just wouldn't go through without being preflattened/saved
back to PDF 1.3.
My question - is there any other software that people can recommend to
me that does a similar job and can accept PDF 1.4/1.5 files and doesn't
cost the earth? I realise that EPS files won't contain any transparency
features so the end results will basically be the same but I'm just not
sure the personnel involved will be able to get their heads round the
errors and problems that putting such files through our current software
will throw up.
Hopefully someone has some ideas. It's been quite a while since I last
looked at preflighting software and there a lot of it about now so a
recommendation would be a good starting point.
Iain
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| | From: | Vladimir Misev | | Subject: | Re: preflighting illustrations | | Date: | Thu, 13 Jan 2005 11:35:01 +0100 |
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| c wrote:
> Hello, I have a problem.
>
> We currently use Onevision Asura as our preflighting software and these
> days its main task is processing figures. We give it a sized/manipulated
> PDF and it spits out a clean cropped EPS file for use in our typesetting
> system. It hasn't been updated for a couple of years, as it's hideously
> expensive and it was no longer our main preflighting program (as our new
> CTP workflow software came with its own preflighting capabilities), so
> it doesn't really support PDF 1.4 or 1.5. Files saved in those formats
> will process okay providing they don't use any of the new features
> specific to PDF 1.4 or above. In the last couple of weeks it has finally
> happened - we have received a handful of files that actually use these
> features and just wouldn't go through without being preflattened/saved
> back to PDF 1.3.
>
> My question - is there any other software that people can recommend to
> me that does a similar job and can accept PDF 1.4/1.5 files and doesn't
> cost the earth? I realise that EPS files won't contain any transparency
> features so the end results will basically be the same but I'm just not
> sure the personnel involved will be able to get their heads round the
> errors and problems that putting such files through our current software
> will throw up.
>
> Hopefully someone has some ideas. It's been quite a while since I last
> looked at preflighting software and there a lot of it about now so a
> recommendation would be a good starting point.
>
> Iain
Try Callas software PDFSaveAsPDF1.3 plugin for Acrobat.
http://www.callas.de/en/pdfsaveaspdf13.php
plugin will downgrade pdf vers. to 1.3, and if that works for you,
there is no need to change preflight software, and i know how hard is
for personnel to change habits...
hope this will help,
regards
vladimir
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| | From: | c | | Subject: | Re: preflighting illustrations | | Date: | Thu, 13 Jan 2005 22:44:43 +0000 |
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>
> Try Callas software PDFSaveAsPDF1.3 plugin for Acrobat.
>
> http://www.callas.de/en/pdfsaveaspdf13.php
>
> plugin will downgrade pdf vers. to 1.3, and if that works for you,
> there is no need to change preflight software, and i know how hard is
> for personnel to change habits...
>
> hope this will help,
>
> regards
>
> vladimir
So your saying we shouldn't worry about having to preflatten any
transparency 'up front'? I suppose whatever program preflights it has to
flatten it as we are asking it to output an EPS. I suppose, then, my
question is - are we missing out on anything by using this method? We
will probably be upgrading most of our Acrobat's from v5 to v7 in the
foreseeable future so that could downsave our PDFs for us fairly easily
(but certainly downsaving from v6 could be more convenient).
thanks for your input,
Iain
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| | From: | Vladimir Misev | | Subject: | Re: preflighting illustrations | | Date: | Sat, 15 Jan 2005 22:06:14 +0100 |
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| c wrote:
>
>>
>> Try Callas software PDFSaveAsPDF1.3 plugin for Acrobat.
>>
>> http://www.callas.de/en/pdfsaveaspdf13.php
>>
>> plugin will downgrade pdf vers. to 1.3, and if that works for you,
>> there is no need to change preflight software, and i know how hard is
>> for personnel to change habits...
>>
>> hope this will help,
>>
>> regards
>>
>> vladimir
>
>
> So your saying we shouldn't worry about having to preflatten any
> transparency 'up front'?
no, i am not saying that. in our business we always have to worry :)
> I suppose whatever program preflights it has to flatten it as we are
> asking it to output an EPS. I suppose, then, my
> question is - are we missing out on anything by using this method?
i think that there is only one way to be sure: make a cromy. do sep
directly from 1.5 pdf, downgrade, do sep, make a eps, do another sep,
put them all together and make a calibrated cromy (with control strip,
just for case). check posies, measure them, check VERY carefuly your
cromy (and a strip)... do same for couple more files...
flattening has to happen, but is it in a rip, or somewhere else can make
a difference... that way only crony is TRUE contract proof, even today...
> We will probably be upgrading most of our Acrobat's from v5 to v7 in the
> foreseeable future so that could downsave our PDFs for us fairly easily
> (but certainly downsaving from v6 could be more convenient).
do not know about 7, i am using v6 on pc, and v4 and v6 on mac and only
for composite output (i am not in repro anymore, i am running my own
small digital print shop now)
>
> thanks for your input,
> Iain
pleasure, that is what usenet is for. i am learning something new to,
every single day :))
regards,
vladimir
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| | From: | c | | Subject: | Re: preflighting illustrations | | Date: | Sat, 15 Jan 2005 23:50:24 +0000 |
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> i think that there is only one way to be sure: make a cromy. do sep
> directly from 1.5 pdf, downgrade, do sep, make a eps, do another sep,
> put them all together and make a calibrated cromy (with control strip,
> just for case). check posies, measure them, check VERY carefuly your
> cromy (and a strip)... do same for couple more files...
> flattening has to happen, but is it in a rip, or somewhere else can make
> a difference... that way only crony is TRUE contract proof, even today...
The sort of figures I'm talking about are not necessarily colour, there
are hundreds of mono images we process every week - it just wouldn't be
worth proofing each one to that extent.
> do not know about 7, i am using v6 on pc, and v4 and v6 on mac and only
> for composite output (i am not in repro anymore, i am running my own
> small digital print shop now)
>
>>
We'll get some Acrobat 7's and see where we go from there
>
> pleasure, that is what usenet is for. i am learning something new to,
> every single day :))
>
can't do without it!
cheers
iain
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| | From: | Vladimir Misev | | Subject: | Re: preflighting illustrations | | Date: | Sun, 16 Jan 2005 01:26:06 +0100 |
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| c wrote:
>
>> i think that there is only one way to be sure: make a cromy. do sep
>> directly from 1.5 pdf, downgrade, do sep, make a eps, do another sep,
>> put them all together and make a calibrated cromy (with control strip,
>> just for case). check posies, measure them, check VERY carefuly your
>> cromy (and a strip)... do same for couple more files...
>> flattening has to happen, but is it in a rip, or somewhere else can make
>> a difference... that way only crony is TRUE contract proof, even today...
>
> The sort of figures I'm talking about are not necessarily colour, there
> are hundreds of mono images we process every week - it just wouldn't be
> worth proofing each one to that extent.
no, there is no need to proof every single one, of course. just do
couple of typical files to check a method (1 or 2 B2 cromalins max).
and if your work is mostly bw, just print some posies to check.
what can go wrong with flattening is pic with transparency in front of
text. thickness of type can change (only in some rare situations...)
and be careful with effects from illustrator, like multiply and that
sort of things...
>> do not know about 7, i am using v6 on pc, and v4 and v6 on mac and only
>
> We'll get some Acrobat 7's and see where we go from there
dont forget to post about :)
regards,
vladimir
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