print quality lost when printing to pdf 1

[BZG]

Hello, when I print from civil 3D to pdf i dont get same quality compared to when I print directy from CAD to printer, the lines became fainted. I use the same ctb to print both Pdf and printer. What do I have to do to maintain the same quality? as the client requested soft copy for reproduction.

 

[MiketheEngineer]

I use a free copy of PDFill - seems to work better than Adobe...

 

[francesca]

Are you comparing on-screen view or printed product and are you using the Autodesk pdf plot driver or Adobe?

If you're comparing on-screen it's an optical illusion. Zoom in and your print quality is the same. If you're using the Autodesk driver, make sure that you are still specifying the same .ctb file in the export process.

 

[nattyb52]

Edit the printer setup in the print dialoge if possible to set a higher resolution.

 

[brandonbw]

I noticed this too when someone plots my PDF's that the lines become dotted and are hard to read.

I see that going to the plot box -> properties -> Device and Document Settings Tab -> Custom Properties and change those DPI?

B+W Engineering and Design
Los Angeles Civil and Structural Engineering

http://bwengr.com

 

[beej67]

For rasters, I have found that printing to PDF from many packages, including even MS Word, can come out much grainier for certain .tifs depending on how the .tif was built. Best work around is to go to print properties and select 'high quality print' or do a custom setup that increases image detail.

Don't think I've ever had a problem with vector entities plotting properly.

Hydrology, Drainage Analysis, Flood Studies, and Complex Stormwater Litigation for Atlanta and the South East -

http://www.campbellcivil.com

 

[cfee]

I've encountered this problem too. I recently did some digging. I DON'T know if it applies to your situation, but maybe this clue will help. In the PLOT dialog on the far right side is a quality pull-down arrow. I selected the maximum quality setting and got the improvement I needed.

THEN based on this clue, In other programs like WORD and a couple of others I use for page making when arranging extracted images of my 3D Renders, etc, I looked for the corresponding settings in those PRINT dialogs under ADVANCED tabs, and the like, and was able to achieve consistently acceptable results.

I don't know if this will help you, as I'm running 32-bit ACAD 2011, but maybe so. My PDF quality now appears on screen and at the printer within acceptable quality limits, and I get even better results when I shift to one of the 2 other PDF generators I use frequently.

Good luck, and post back here with results ?

Tks-

C. Fee

 

[tomhansjungen]

Thank you Cfee, that was just was i needed. Its been an irritating problem.

CAD fethisist,

http://caddesignsoftware.org

 

[techcrane]

We have a similar issue. We use Adobe Pro X and Autodesk 2012 (just upgraded from Adobe 9 Pro and Autodesk 2009).

When users print the entire project the lines on the drawings start to skew and the print quality gets progressively worse. Some lines are translucent instead of solid and artifacts start appearing. If they print just the offending page it prints fine.

I thought it was an Adobe issue but it still happens when I have 2012 and Adobe 9 installed. I tried setting to High print quality and it helps some but you can still see some skewing going on.

I'm looking for anything I can try to remedy this as it was working fine when we had 2009 installed.

 

[techcrane]

UPDATE:

I tried PDFill and still can not get good print outs. There are sections that go missing or are so light they are hard to see.

So far I have tried Exporting to PDF, printing to Adobe Pro 9 and 10, printing to PDFill.

 

[chicopee]

You may want to have the notations and dimensions in your ACAD drawing in black instead of being colored. Even the ACAD drawn objects should be in black before printing with PDF.

 

[techcrane]

The odd part is, if I print each sheet separate it prints fine. Only when we do the entire package does the printing start degrading. Like it's running out of "ink" so to speak.

I have one job in particular. If I print the whole thing to PDF, by page 11 there are lines missing and others have a shadow or silhouette. If I print the page alone, it is perfect.

Happens no matter what PDF printer I choose so I can only assume it's something in ACAD.

 

[RHTPE]

I've been using Acrobat 8 Pro & AutoCAD v2009. I have had many instances where, when I plot to PDF, sections of my Layout go missing. Yet, if I plot it again with the same settings everything is there.

Don't have any definite solution, but thought I'd add to the thread with my experience.


Ralph
Structures Consulting
Northeast USA