AcroPlot Repro™ High Quality PDF & DWF to TIFF Converter | | 1. | Why won't our standard KIP®, MetaPrint™, or Océ® software process some PDF files and how can AcroPlot Repro™ software improve converting files? |
| | Most wide-format plotter manufacturers use Ghostscript® for the PDF to TIFF conversion. Ghostscript® is primarily designed to convert files that are 11x17 and smaller. Using it for wide-format engineering size drawings is outside the scope of the application. One of the most common wide-format plot settings architects and engineers have enabled for plotting is a setting called “lines merge”. This is where overlapping CAD lines and fills are transparent in the PLT, PDF, or DWF file. AcroPlot Pro software for converting AutoCAD® DWG files to PDF or DWF files supports this setting in the PDF and DWF files it creates—Adobe® Acrobat® does not. While creating PDF files that contain transparencies is not new to the PDF file format, plotting this type of PDF on a wide-format plotter is. Since Ghostscript® is not designed to convert PDF’s containing transparencies, it takes ten times longer for it to convert PDF files to TIFF. AcroPlot Repro™ is specifically designed to convert PDF or a DWF files that contain transparencies to TIFF, as well as, any other PDF or DWF for improved print quality output. |
| | 2. | Is there an easy way to convert a PDF, DWF, or PLT to a TIFF file with all the different dithering patterns available in AcroPlot Repro™ software? |
| | Yes. In AcroPlot Repro™ go to FILE-->Test All Dithering Patterns and then select a file for processing. AcroPlot Repro™ will convert the file to TIFF and logically name and stamp the TIFF files with each dithering pattern used. Load the resulting TIFF files into your plotting software and print. Be sure to set the output DPI before running the test. Converting files with the "Test All Dithering Patterns" utility is a real time saver for clients that need to evaluate all their options for plotting there design drawings and architectural sets. |
| | 3. | Why am I getting a warning about fonts not being found? |
| | Unlike Ghostscript® when used with KIP®, MetaPrint™, or Océ® software, AcroPlot Repro™ attempts to ensure more accurate processing and conversion. When PDF and DWF files are created there are settings that control if the fonts used in the original drawing are to be embedded. If they are not embedded, then you must have the same exact fonts installed on your system for any software application to be able to render them properly. AcroPlot Repro™ provides a warning if it detects missing fonts on your system when processing PDF and DWF files. If the fonts in a PDF or DWF file are not embedded or installed on your computer, then you may need to either contact your client and tell them to embed the fonts and resubmit the file or ask them where you can purchase the missing fonts for installation on your system. NOTE: It is typically illegal to copy and install a font file without purchasing a license for it. If you would like to disable the warning dialog you can do this in the AcroPlot Repro [Setup-->Options] menus. |
| | 4. | Can I switch between using Ghostscript® and AcroPlot Repro™ for conversions with my KIP®, MetaPrint™, or Océ® Software? |
| | Yes. The best way to do this is to set KIP®, MetaPrint™, or Océ® to always use AcroPlot Repro™ and then in the AcroPlot Repro™ Setup Dialog you can set the dithering pattern to Ghostscript®. The Ghostscript® pattern setting will pass the file through AcroPlot Repro™ directly to Ghostscript® for the conversion. You can leave the AcroPlot Repro™ Setup dialog running by using the Windows Start->Programs->AcroPlot Repro->Setup menu. Be sure to choose the “Save” button for the changes to take affect. If you need to use specific patterns on a client by client basis, then create an acroplotrepro.ini file in the same directory or parent directory where the client files are located. |
| | 5. | We need to use different settings for some clients. Is there an easy way to manage conversion settings? |
| | Yes. In AcroPlot Repro™ you need to create a text file called acroplotsettings.ini in the folder or one of the parent folders that contains the settings that you want to use for that client. See the Installation->Using Configuration Files in the AcroPlot Repro help file for more info. |
| | 6. | Why should our clients be using AcroPlot Pro™ to convert their AutoCAD® files to PDF? |
| | AcroPlot Pro™ software is specifically designed for creating PDF files from CAD applications. Architects, engineers, manufacturing, and government entities that are doing their designs in CAD have very specific needs that are different from a company that only uses Microsoft® Word® or Excel®. While there are many PDF creation and conversion utilities on the market most of them do not support CAD elements like, wipeouts, text masks, and “lines merge”. Even Adobe® Acrobat® does not have “lines merge” support in the PDF files it creates from AutoCAD®. The promise of PDF is to share a file that will view and print exactly as it would from the program that created it. AcroPlot Pro™ creates PDF files that view and print exactly as they would from AutoCAD®. |
| | 7. | What is the best dithering pattern to use when converting PDF & DWF files to TIFF? |
| | AcroPlot Repro™ has several different patterns that are based on the total number of shades of gray that can be created. The best pattern to begin processing with is the “AcroPlot Repro Enhanced Dithering.” This pattern contains enhanced mathematical equations for dithering that are proprietary to AcroPlot Repro™ and has been programmed to not drop out thin light colored lines while still giving you the gradient and picture quality of a 64 shade conversion. Typically the fewer the shades the better lines and text will look but the worse color or grayscale images and gradient fills will look. The 36 shade setting is good because it uses a 6x6 matrix to create the dots and the chance of a light colored line will not drop out. The 100 shades setting is the closest to what Ghostscript® creates but it is also the roughest pattern because it uses a 10x10 matrix and light lines will drop out fairly easily. 16 Shades - uses a 4x4 matrix. Looks awesome if your images are already monochrome and you don't use any gradient fills. Otherwise, the images and gradient fills do not have enough shades to look good.
36 Shades - uses a 6x6 matrix. Good compromise between gradient fills and still making light colored lines and text look good.
64 Shades - uses an 8x8 matrix. Usually gives decent results for colored images and gradient fills.
100 Shades - Really similar to Ghostscript® dithering and the best for color images and gradient fills. This setting results in low quality for light lines and text.
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