PDF creating problem with raster fade

I've got a dwg that I'm trying to plot. It has a raster image with a fade
set to 50%, sent to the back, and plotted as a PDF. My results are
unexpected at best, unacceptable at worst. I've used numerous PDF writers,
including Amyuni PDF Converter, PDF 995, CutePDF, PDF Creator, Adobe
Distiller, and Adobe PDF Writer. None of these are working - my raster
image comes out very pixelated to the point that you can't tell what the
underlying image is supposed to be (previews look fine, and plots to a
HP1055CM and OCE TDS 600 look fine also). Printing the same file with the
fade set to 0% works fine also (but the image overpowers the vector
graphics).

Anyone have any idea how to print a raster image that's faded? Any secret
setting that I'm not getting? Seems like a PDF should print pretty much as
WYSIWYG.

Thanks,

 

PDF printing from AutoCAD is all but simple. If you want to email the files
over to me I can try it with our software and see how it works. I don't
think any of the drivers you tried support the lines merge from AutoCAD but
the one we use does so it might give the results you need.

--
Rodney McManamy
President
CADzation
-------------------------

-------------------------
518 South Route 31 Suite 200
McHenry, IL 60050
www.cadzation.com
Providing Industrial Strength
PDF & DWF Solutions to the
Global CAD Marketplace.

 

Rodney McManamy - CADzation thought for a minute, then typed the
following:

In custom properties, all of them had an option to select lines overwrite or
merge. I selected merge in all instances, and still got bad results.
Just curious - what driver are you using?

 

We use the one from Tracker Software (www.docu-track.com) and helped them to
support the lines merge for AutoCAD. Just because it is there in the
AutoCAD plot setup doesn't mean that the driver supports it. I know Adobe
doesn't and the latest I had tested of PDF995 didn't either.

--
Rodney McManamy
President
CADzation
-------------------------

-------------------------
518 South Route 31 Suite 200
McHenry, IL 60050
www.cadzation.com
Providing Industrial Strength
PDF & DWF Solutions to the
Global CAD Marketplace.

 

PDF (since 1.4 - Acrobat 5.0) does allow for lines merge if you know what
you are doing on the driver end when you create the PDF. We've been doing
it since Febuary or so and it isn't a back-door feature at all. It just
took a little understanding of color modes and transparency to figure it
out.

--
Rodney McManamy
President
CADzation
-------------------------

-------------------------
518 South Route 31 Suite 200
McHenry, IL 60050
www.cadzation.com
Providing Industrial Strength
PDF & DWF Solutions to the
Global CAD Marketplace.

 

Sorry for mixing up what I thought you meant. Some people have told us that
the PDF isn't really lines merge because the Adobe Reader still has to
support the transparency so you need the 5.0 or newer reader. But what they
don't realize is that it would be stupid to create extra objects of the
proper color in the PDF for all of the overlaps because the file size would
balloon.

Honestly I don't know if there is any way that one could tell if a printer
supports lines merge or not? I don't recall ever seeing anything in the
Windows DevMode structures for printers that would tell you. Basically they
send out a command and if the printer supports it all is fine and dandy. If
not you just don't get the lines merge.

The only other way would be to have an internal list of known models that
don't support it but then they are screwed if the same model all of a sudden
does support it.


--
Rodney McManamy
President
CADzation
-------------------------

-------------------------
518 South Route 31 Suite 200
McHenry, IL 60050
www.cadzation.com
Providing Industrial Strength
PDF & DWF Solutions to the
Global CAD Marketplace.