Hi Kevin, Here's the process I use when I run into graphics issues.
Off the bat, it sounds like a compression issue in Distiller. If checking Distiller doesn't reveal anything obvious, the next thing I try is making a very simple graphic (a circle and a square, for instance) and place it in a new document at its native size. You might want to see how well graphics created in OOo perform as well. That way you can see if you can get the process to work under the best of circumstances. Try placing the test graphic in varying formats to see if there's a vector format that plays nicely with OOo. Here's a tip. Make it easy to identify, from the PDF, which format you used in each instance. You could do that all on one page and see if there's any difference between the formats. Run that through Distiller to see what happens. Then, start working downstream to check settings. OOo settings and distiller settings are both distinct possibilities. If you can't get your test graphics to work, you might as well start looking for another tool. Now you have me curious, and I wish I had time to experiment myself. Tom Johnson -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of McLauchlan, Kevin Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2009 4:51 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [TCP] Graphics quality in PDF from OpenOffice For years, I had done a graphic-heavy QuickStart Guide in FrameMaker (7.1), then published to PDF (Acrobat 7). This time, I revised and reworked in a new format (booklet), using OpenOffice 3 Writer, and publishing through Acrobat 9. In fact, I just created a book in OOo, then used Acrobat 9's Booklet printing feature. I normally print to a file and invoke Distiller. Most of the graphic elements are the one's I'd been using, but now they all appear coarsely pixellated in PDF and printout. An off-white background, for example will consist of several large-ish stepped areas of pale grey. Lines in drawings are surrounded by fuzz. Graphics are about evenly divided between PNG and JPG. Should I be looking first for something in my print settings from OOo, or something in Distiller, or ? I did have to resize most images to fit the new format, but that was true in the FM days, too. The difference is that when importing graphics into FM, I mostly kept re-importing at different sizes until I hit a number that I didn't need to further resize in-situ (by dragging). In OOo, they come in at whatever their large size, and I drag handles to shrink them to fit. The appearance is not acceptable for publication. Where to start looking? Thanks, - Kevin The information contained in this electronic mail transmission may be privileged and confidential, and therefore, protected from disclosure. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by replying to this message and deleting it from your computer without copying or disclosing it. ______________________________________________ ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word or HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals. Download Free Trial. www.doctohelp.comhttp://www.techcommpros.com/componentone/ Interactive 3D Documentation Parts catalogs, animated instructions, and more. www.i3deverywhere.com _______________________________________________ Technical Communication Professionals Post a message to the list: email [email protected]. Subscribe, unsubscribe, archives, account options, list info: http://techcommpros.com/mailman/listinfo/tcp_techcommpros.com Subscribe (email): send a blank message to [email protected] Unsubscribe (email): send a blank message to [email protected] Need help? Contact [email protected] Get the TCP whole experience! http://www.techcommpros.com ______________________________________________ ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word or HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals. Download Free Trial. www.doctohelp.comhttp://www.techcommpros.com/componentone/ Interactive 3D Documentation Parts catalogs, animated instructions, and more. www.i3deverywhere.com _______________________________________________ Technical Communication Professionals Post a message to the list: email [email protected]. Subscribe, unsubscribe, archives, account options, list info: http://techcommpros.com/mailman/listinfo/tcp_techcommpros.com Subscribe (email): send a blank message to [email protected] Unsubscribe (email): send a blank message to [email protected] Need help? Contact [email protected] Get the TCP whole experience! http://www.techcommpros.com
