PS vs PCL

[KLineDesign]

When exporting .pdf files from NX6 we have run across a problem. It seems that .pdf looks just fine on screen, but it prints incorrectly (incompletely, really) on some printers and fine on others. Please offer up any tips, tricks or other solutions to this apparent PS vs. PCL problem.

Thanks for your time,
KLINE

 

[potrero]

Perhaps, take a look at whether you're exporting text as "Polyline" or as text (ie: font).

 

[KLineDesign]

We are selecting Polyline as the 'Output Text'. This last problem drawing I have gone as far as recreating all the views, and deleting all notes and groups, but without any results that work. I really believe it must be some PS or PCL problem when the .pdf is printed...seems logical as the .pdf displays perfectly, but prints blank or incomplete pages.

Thanks for the suggestion, anyone else?

 

[KLineDesign]

Update:

We discovered the issue, and .pdfs from NX6 are the only ones that are still doing this. On the way to print from Adobe Reader one must first select the printer they intend to print to and pick the correct orientation of Landscape in Print Setup. Then they can proceed to print, but make sure the 'Auto-Rotate and Center' is turned off in the Page Handling.

In summary, it appears that the 'Auto-Rotate and Center' is the culprit (even though it may preview fine), however it would be nice if Landscape could be somehow defaulted into the PDF as most drawings (all here) are Landscape. Note, some of this may sound like standard print procedures, but all other programs we have here that right out .pdfs will print correctly regardless of whether or not 'Auto-Rotate and Center' is checked.

I intend to submit an enhancement request, but I will wait a few days to see if anyone knows of this being fixed in a subsequent release (we're running 6.0.0.24) or if anyone knows of a setting that can be changed to fix this. Does anyone know?

Thanks for your time,
KLINE

 

[JohnRBaker]

I'm running NX 6.0.4.3 (which should be available next week for download), but we addressed this several MR's ago (it's possible that this was not yet the case with NX 6.0.0.24) that when you do a File -> Print... that the orientation is now defaulted to 'Landscape' (as I told the developer after I used this the first time, NX is NOT a word-processing system ;-)

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Design Solutions
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA

http://www.siemens.com/plm

http://www.plmworld.org/museum/

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[KLineDesign]

Awesome. Thanks John, I will look into getting the latest downloaded and check to see that fixes the .pdf issue.

Regards,
KLINE

 

[KLineDesign]

John, could you look into this a bit closer, or let me know if I should submit a GTAC/enhancement request, or other? I installed 6.0.3.6 and it did not fix the .pdf print issue. They still default to portrait, which isn't a big deal, but the 'Auto-Rotate and Center' option (which everyone leaves checked) still completely screws up the print.

Thanks,
KLINE

 

[JohnRBaker]

Are we talking about Printing or Plotting here? My comments had to do with PRINTING only. The use of 'auto-rotate' makes it sound like you're plotting instead.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Design Solutions
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA

http://www.siemens.com/plm

http://www.plmworld.org/museum/

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[KLineDesign]

Hi John, we are printing .pdf files that were created from NX6 (via File->Export->PDF...). The 'auto-rotate and center' is a check box in Adobe Reader that shows up when you print from Adobe Reader.

Thanks,
KLINE

 

[JohnRBaker]

NX has NO control over Adobe Reader. I was ONLY talking about the Printer options accessible when using File -> Print... from inside NX.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Design Solutions
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA

http://www.siemens.com/plm

http://www.plmworld.org/museum/

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[KLineDesign]

John, we really feel that Adobe Reader is not the Problem, but it is how NX6 is writing the .pdf.

Are you saying that the software (and control) of File->Export->PDF... is owned by Adobe and I should take this up with them? If not, and it is owned and controlled by Siemens, should I submit a GTAC to have this issue investigated?

Thanks,

KLINE

 

[KLineDesign]

To add a little more to this. I have found that if you go through the advanced tab (while printing with reader) and print the .pdf as image you can get the 'problem .pdfs' to print just fine regardless of whether or not 'auto rotate and center' is picked.

Thanks,

KLINE

 

[JohnRBaker]

Can you please articulate a little clearer what exactly it is that you're doing and why the results are not what you expected?

To that end I just tried the following using NX 6.0.4.3:

I opened a file of a simple part, created a Drawing (A1 drawing format) and while displaying it in what was the default 'landscape' orientation in NX, I went to...

File -> Export -> PDF...

...accepted all the defaults in the Export PDF dialog and created a PDF file of the A1 drawing sheet. I then opened the PDF file in Adobe Reader 8, selected...

File -> Print...

...accepted all of the defaults (including where I saw that 'Auto-Rotate & Center' was toggled ON, which I left that way) and hit OK. The print that I got from our Xerox WorkCentre 5645 was just what I had expected, an A1 drawing oriented on the page in 'Landscape' fashion.

Are you saying that you're performing a similar workflow, but getting a different result?

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Design Solutions
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA

http://www.siemens.com/plm

http://www.plmworld.org/museum/

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[KLineDesign]

In short, Yes. Most .pdf files have been printing without issue, but lately we had a handful that did not. I've attached one of these for you to try (if you're still interested, and I hope you are). This file, when viewed in Adobe 9, will have a default orientation of Portrait in the Print Setup. If I do not touch the print setup, and go straight to printing leaving 'Auto-Rotate and Center' checked, the print will fail or print incorrectly. Another unfortunate thing with finding the actual issue is some of these do print on different printers, and some for different users, but all of them everywhere are fixed with our latest work-around:

One can either fix the print setup orientation and turn off auto rotate, or (and this is our work-around now) print the .pdf with the 'as image' turned on in the advanced tab.

P.S. I have found rumblings on one other CAD Software that seems to be doing a similar thing printing blank pages, but we have not found a single .pdf yet (including old .pdfs of these very same drawings; produced with distiller 3.0) that produces errors such as these particular ones have from NX6.

 

[JohnRBaker]

I did nothing but open the file in Adobe Reader 8, selected...

File -> Print...

...and changing nothing, I hit OK. Both pages of the 2 page document were printed in 'Landscape' orientation by our Xerox WorkCentre 5645 laser printer, as I had expected them to be.

Note that this is the only printer that I have my system configured for here in the office, but when I get home tonight I'll try this with my personal Epson R800 photo-printer.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Design Solutions
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA

http://www.siemens.com/plm

http://www.plmworld.org/museum/

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[RobLN]

Hi

Just as an observation I'm using NX5 and printing has always been fine with all the default settings. Note that for PDFs I do the following:

1. Install Cute PDF writer software onto my computer from the web.

2. File > Print just as if I was going to a normal printer.

3. Select 'Cute PDF writer' as my 'printer'

4. Save off the file name for the PDF.

This works fine for me and the quality of the PDF print is better than the OEM NX print to PDF option... Also prints anything to PDF reliably from any software that prints to a regular printer.

Rgds Rob.



Solid Edge; I-Deas 7 to 12; NX4 & currently NX5.

 

[JohnRBaker]

The tested this on my Epson R800 photo printer last night at home and got the same results. So I don't know what to say...

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Design Solutions
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA

http://www.siemens.com/plm

http://www.plmworld.org/museum/

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[KLineDesign]

Thanks Rob, we do have a couple PDF generators that we have used before we found the settings work-around.

John, with such a lengthy thread, I deserved for it to work properly for you. I don't what to say either, but I can't send a whole pile of problematic .pdf files. Even then, I am not sure we could definitely find the error, and with the 'print as image' setting now working flawlessly for everyone here it really is a non-issue.

Thanks for your time.

Regards,
KLINE