Print quality?

[Dazzling69]

Hi, can anyone please indicate how to print proper vector lines, as all my drawings are printing extremely poorly ? is it better to output from another mac program?

Thanks for any help

[Guest]

Let's define the problem with more detail first.

What exactly is or is not happening - are lines jagged, are fills, hatches, patterns blobish, etc ?

What version of VW are you using?

What OS (and version if applicable) are you using?

What type of printer?

Are you printing from design layers or sheet layers?

If from sheet layers, ensure the DPI of the sheet layer is set to 150 or higher.

[Dazzling69]

Hi Katie

Lines are blobish, heavy and not accurate. On screen elements all line-up ? I've even exported to Illustrator to try and refine the drawings, which have introduced new line weights and cap ends etc.

Vw 12

Latest Mac OSX

Canon i9000 A3 for proofing

Thanks for any help Katie.

[Guest]

Do you have quartz imaging turned on?

Are you printing from a design layer or sheet layer?

[Dazzling69]

Quartz is on and I'm printing from a design sheet.

Daryl

[Guest]

Click on print preview in the print dialog and see what you get there. Is that blobish/blurry/low quality, too?

[Dazzling69]

Hi Katie

Yes it still looks the same as described before.

Essentially, very low quality.

Daryl

[Dazzling69]

Hi Katie

Made a pdf to see if the problems were to still showing. Exactly the same,lines very heavy, non-aligning and rounded ends ? any ideas desperate for some direction?

Daryl

[Guest]

When you created the pdf, did you use Print to PDF inside the print dialog box, or the File > Export > Export PDF option?

This specific detail helps determine where the problem lies.

[Dazzling69]

I used the file export within vw method.

Also, does vw use the same vector properties as Illustrator?

Daryl

[ionw]

Daryl

Are you drawing with Zoom Line thinckness on? It is in Vectorworks Preferences undwer the Display tab. If it is unchecked, check it, and see if your onscreen drawing starts to look like your prints? If it does, then you will need to go in and look at what lineweights your drawn elements are set at.

The rounded ends are a function of Quartz imaging. The tradeoff is that your diagonal lines will be the same weight as your orthagonal ones.

Not quite sure about what you mean about vector properties in Illustrator, but imagine you are asking about how lines are displayed on screen in relative lineweights, to what will be printed out. Thois is where the Zoom line thickness option comes in, however VW uses a more absolute display, so if you turn on ZLT and zoom in on a 1 mm thick line, it will eventually fill your screen with the color of the line.

HTH,

[Dazzling69]

Hi Ion

Thanks for helpful answer, really appreciate it. It seems I will have to adjust my line weights now, this at least gives me some much needed hope.

Thanks also to you Katie.

Daryl