Lousey Printout

[Georgeports]

Am having trouble getting a good printout in Quark 4.0. The eps files print real jagged.
My OS is winXP.....Quark 4.0......HP1200 laser printer... The imported Pictures are from:
Finale 2003......AutoCad R14 mostly. Word text prints fine. AutoCad works but, omits some text.
I can save a Finale file as a pdf, then save it as an eps, then import it to Quark, which seems like a long way around compared to the usual easy direct way. When I do the long way, the picture is grey with the file name on it.
Is there a way to show a preview image in Quark so I can see the picture instead of just grey?
Any help would surely be appreciated.
Thanks,
George Ports

 

[blueark]

First, check out faq260-3087 for basic info on images in Quark.

Now, there are a few issues here, but I suspect the problem is not entirely with Quark. Normally, jagged edges on EPS files means a non-Postscript printer. However, I don't think that's the problem here, because if it was, the printouts would be just gray, like what you see on screen.

To see an EPS file in Quark, it has to be saved with a preview. Check your export options to see if your software allows an EPS to be saved with a preview.

As for jagged lines, I suspect that's a problem with AutoCAD. I'm not too familiar with it, but I do get supplied with many EPS files originating from that application. They tend to be of poor quality, and far more complex than they need to be. I don't know if it's a problem with the EPS export engine, or if the cross-hatch shading is at fault. If your files use cross-hatching, try a sample without it and see if it improves the quality of EPS lines.

Another possibility is that your files may be exported as raster EPS files (although I doubt it). The only way to verify where the problem lies is to import your EPS files into an application that can handle them well, such as Adobe Illustrator or Macromedia Freehand.

 

[Brushman]

The programme creating the eps has to include a header/preview to view. EPS file must print to a postscipt printer to print correctly.

 

[Georgeports]

I'm using a ps printer driver with my Hp1200 laser printer which postscript capabilities and saved it as a level 2.
AutoCad prints the picture fine and isn't greyed out but, any fonts that are used don't show on the monitor and don't print.

Finale prints fine but, has the greyed out effect. The obvious problem with that is positioning the picture in the picture box in Quark.

I keep wondering if the XP driver I downloaded isn't the correct one. I found that HP doesn't have any tech support for XP and Adobe had one driver that isn't working properly. This is really creating a problem between the publisher and I.......there is alot of work I may miss out on if I don't solve it soon.

All your help is sincerely appreciated.
Thanks,
George Ports

 

[blueark]

The preview you see in Quark should give an idea of what the EPS file is like. If you don't see the fonts on the monitor, even rough approximations of them, then the problem lies with the application creating the EPS. Changing the Postscript driver won't help unless you are using it to create the EPS files in the first place. In other words, if you use your print driver to export EPS files rather than a dedicated EPS export facility. I would check your software first. If you can't get the type to appear, consider alternative output options, such as PDF, or even adding the type in Quark.

Same thing applies with Finale - if there's no preview, then the application hasn't created one. I would suggest investigating the options that came with the program. The Postscript driver seems to be printing exactly what Quark is showing, so it's probably functioning ok.

 

[GeorgeMack]

With respect to the Finale file (are you publishing music here? Or is there another Finale program out there?), you shouldn't have to save it as an eps; if you use the Quark pdf Xtension, you can import the pdf directly, and a grayscale preview will show up. Each page of the pdf will have to be placed separately, if the file has a multipage score. You can use Acrobat to save out each page as a separate file, if that's easier.

George

 

[duncdude]

Listen to Brushman - AutoCad has not saved the EPS file with a preview so you'll see a naff grey mess with a bit of text in the middle.

As distiller can distill Postscript when you print it from Quark your just printing the screen image. Try opening the PDF into Photoshop, rasterising at 300 dpi, then printing the BITMAP image to the dumb printer - dumb meaning no Postscript processing ability.

Your printer should have no problem with this.

Duncan