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Hey everybody!

We need to be able to get a very clean 8.5 x 11 drawing to a client via Email.

What is the best way to do this?

Our client only uses PDF reader to read image docs, so after I export a file in Photoshop and then convert it to a pdf file the print out looks like $%#@. Any suggestions??!?!?

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

quote:

Originally posted by Hunter B:

Hey everybody!

We need to be able to get a very clean 8.5 x 11 drawing to a client via Email.

What is the best way to do this?

Our client only uses PDF reader to read image docs, so after I export a file in Photoshop and then convert it to a pdf file the print out looks like $%#@. Any suggestions??!?!?

Look for a print-to-PDF printer driver. I've used Win2PDF with good results, and there are others for both Windows and Macs. Once installed, you select Win2PDF (or whatever) as your active printer, and it'll ask for a filename when you say print. Send that file to your client.

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Yes, the print-to-PDF virtual printer is the way to go.

If you're on Windows, I've had very good results with Pdf995, which is free with advertising or $10 without.

With any PDF-writer, there are some important settings that you have to search for in the Print Setup>Properties dialog, such as:

--high resolution

--embed fonts (so a computer that doesn't have your fonts installed can read the file properly)

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Sorry, I disagree. I have just tried with both the PDF creators above and also another one. None of the results are very good for a model rendered in OpenGL or Renderworks. They are OK for B&W 2D stuff.

I got better results by exporting an image to JPEG and viewing it in Internet Explorer, though it has to be said that this isn't very good with 2D stuff.

I got the best results from making a Quicktime movie.

A file rendered in Renderworks and saved, cannot be viewed in the Viewer in the 'Renderworks' rendering.

This is a pity. We all work for clients and need to be able to show them our work as well presented as possible. We need to be able to email files and images to our cients and know that they are seeing what we wish them to see.

VW should address this problem. Why can our clients not see models rendered in Renderworks on the Viewer?

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I guess the viewer would have to have the Renderworks (Lightworks) software to be able to render.It would then not be free.

Jpeg is the way to go for renderings...small files that everyone can read. The recipient sees exactly what you want them to see right in their mail app.I make jpegs of my renders for mail and also for quick reference. You don't have to open the file or wait for r-works to render out the scene to view it.

PDF is the way to go for line art.

If you do a lot of this kind of thing you might consider buying the full version of Acrobat,which will allow you to build multipage docs that can contain jpeg,movies or just about anything else.You will have much greater control over the conversion from vworks line art to PDF as well.

PDF has been the defacto standard in the print business for years, and it will handle anything you can thow at it beautifully.....IF you are using a professional grade PDF creator and you know how to use it. Unfortunately they're a bit pricy for the occasional user,but you can make files of suitable quality and size for anything from email to art quality magazine.

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I think pdf is a solution we should all work towards. Whilst it is a good idea in having Vectorworks Viewer this only relates to one program whilst Acrobat Reader is used by so many software programs to view documents, one can reasonably expect most people to have this on their computers.

I'm lucky in that our Mac based design studio also does print work so we have Quark. I compose all the pages of the presentation document, drawings etc. in this, print it as a Postscript file saved on the desktop, drop it into Acrobat Distiller and it creates the pdf with no problems.

You do have to check settings etc. I have QuickPDF at home, which has its limitations. With regard to the image quality disapointment posted by other people I think you should look at your settings. As I said QuickPDF (Windows program) has its limitations but it will still go up to 300dpi resolution on document creation, more than enough I would have thought. Screen viewing usually is around 72 dpi is it not. I distill from eps images and they look fine, on screen and printed.

If you are in the market for Microsoft Office at the moment they are bundling Acrobat Professional with it, looks like a good deal if you intended to use Office anyway.

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One other point, I don't use Renderworks, using Artlantis or Cinema 4D as my rendering program but in Artlantis you are working RGB and the exported/saved image when opened in Photoshop will still be RGB.

As I'm sure you know for printing this will need to be convert to CYMK either by you or by the printing process. The first time I printed a render I was so disapointed by the image, colours were so different and the whole image darkened. This is due to the mode change.

I'm having to learn to compensate when applying colours and textures for changing over to CYMK once in Photoshop.

As I believe it most pdf program just convert the file to an image but instead of processing it to a printer for paper outputting it processes it as an image file read by a pdf reader i.e. Acrobat Reader.

Which explains the jagged edges you sometimes see, similar to exporting a Vectorworks drawing as an image/bitmap, because really that's what you are doing. Again a resolution issue.

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