kevindurette
Mechanical
- May 4, 2008
- 79
I'm trying to put diagrams and pictures into a Microsoft Access report so I make a nice PDF for eventual mass publication (after some doctoring up in InDesign). The final resulting PDF will be widely used by customers and coworkers, and it will see many downloads from our website.
Right now, I'm able to put a 2D drawing into the report and have a nice vector output in the final result. First, I plot the 2D drawing as a PDF using CutePDF. (I've had better luck with this than with AutoCAD 2008 Mechanical's native PDF output.) Then, I turn the PDF into an EMF file using Inkscape. I then import the EMF file into Microsoft Access. Lastly, I print the Access report to a PDF by using CutePDF. The final result maintains the vector nature of the drawings, producing effectively infinite resolution for publication.
This method is great for 2D drawings, but it breaks down with 3D drawings. I like how AutoCAD can output 3D plots as rendered raster imagery. These are nice for internal work, but they're too pixelated for publication work. I tried playing with the quality settings in AutoCAD, but I believe I also need to fix the quality settings somewhere in CutePDF. Regardless, even if I were to successfully be able to do this, the file size would skyrocket, causing slow loading times for local users and a larger download for customers and satellite users.
What are your ideas for making vector-based 2D imagery for 3D drawings?
Durette
Right now, I'm able to put a 2D drawing into the report and have a nice vector output in the final result. First, I plot the 2D drawing as a PDF using CutePDF. (I've had better luck with this than with AutoCAD 2008 Mechanical's native PDF output.) Then, I turn the PDF into an EMF file using Inkscape. I then import the EMF file into Microsoft Access. Lastly, I print the Access report to a PDF by using CutePDF. The final result maintains the vector nature of the drawings, producing effectively infinite resolution for publication.
This method is great for 2D drawings, but it breaks down with 3D drawings. I like how AutoCAD can output 3D plots as rendered raster imagery. These are nice for internal work, but they're too pixelated for publication work. I tried playing with the quality settings in AutoCAD, but I believe I also need to fix the quality settings somewhere in CutePDF. Regardless, even if I were to successfully be able to do this, the file size would skyrocket, causing slow loading times for local users and a larger download for customers and satellite users.
What are your ideas for making vector-based 2D imagery for 3D drawings?
Durette