Lines change thickness as I zoom????

[rcrabtree81]

Hi,

I'm really stuck with illistraitor. I have a whole set of lines which are all the same thickness however, when I convert to pdf some appear thicker than others. What makes it even more crazy is that the thinner lines become thicker than the thick ones as I zoom in???

Any help really appreciated before the computer takes a nose dive out the window.

Richard

 

[itchybug]

Richard:

What happens when you print the pdf? Keep in mind, that pdf format is really not intended to give you the best on-screen image, it is intended to be printed.

That said, Illustrator will not scale lines below a certain value when you are zooming, simply because if you zoomed out to, say, 25%, a quarter-point line would become so thin that it would pretty much disappear between pixels on your monitor. In other words, what you see may not be what you get. I wouldn't worry unless the end result has the same problem. For a pdf, that would be a printed page, or if you save for on-screen display, you'd be looking at a jpeg or gif or the likes...

If you wish, you can send me a copy of the file in question, so I can take a look and determine if there are any goofy settings that may be playing a part here.

bert[at]itchybug[dot]com

HTH

Bert

http://www.itchybug.com

 

[jimoblak]

Keep in mind, that pdf format is really not intended to give you the best on-screen image, it is intended to be printed.

Please do not confuse the issue with false info. PDF files are designed for both print and screen viewing. Saving to a raster format simply for screen display is not necessary. Acrobat has options to define screen display of vector art. Those might need to be adjusted in this case.

Another thing to check is the controls in Illustrator used in the 'Overprint and Transparency Flattener Options' of the PDF Options dialog if you are saving to PDF 1.3.

 

[itchybug]

>Please do not confuse the issue with false info. PDF files are designed for both print and screen viewing.

Jim: You're wrong. I could say something, but I'll restrain myself.

http://www.itchybug.com

 

[jimoblak]

Bert, back up your claim with supporting evidence. Post a link from official documentation on Adobe.com if you must. I was simply offering a TIP so that Richard does not ruin his work by turning it to a raster image. Anyone can find the settings that I referred to so that PDF files appear fine on screen.

If you have a personal issue with another, address that issue in the proper forum. This is not that forum.

 

[itchybug]

PDF was intended for print. Yes, it is perfectly possible to optimize a pdf for on-screen viewing, but even when you do, the quality of the display tends to be less than perfect. ANYTHING that's visible on a monitor is displayed as a raster, so if the intention of the OP is to post stuff on the web, they should use Save for Web (which does not destroy or ruin their original art in any way).

I come across lame-looking pdf's on line all the time. There are just too many little issues, such as the one OP is experiencing. As I said you can optimize pdf's but that doesn't mean they'll be flawless by any stretch.

http://www.itchybug.com

 

[jimoblak]

I am not referring to <i>optimizing a PDF file</i> for onscreen display. I am referring to <i>optimizing Acrobat</i> for displaying vector art on screen. It does not matter whether the PDF file is press-ready or web-optimized - - it can display fine onscreen if the operator knows what preferences to set in Acrobat. Some versions of Acrobat have vector smoothing turned off by default.