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Mac OS X: High Definition PDF Files for Printing
High Definition PDF Files for Printing
by danielcduffy - 2/19/09 6:55 PMI would like to produce high definition PDF reports (from the genealogy application MacFamilyTree). The report is a genogram of my family structure. With the number of persons and families involved and to make them readable, I would need to work with A1/A0 size paper. (I have the facilities to do this). However, the quality of the output is unreadable - becomes too blurry.
Is there any way third party product (similar to Cute Writer for Windows) that would allow me to produce a high definition PDF output? I'm working on Mac OS 10.5.6 and MacFamily 5.3.10.
I would appreciate any help/suggestions.
Thanks, Dan
PDF's
by mrmacfixit
- 2/20/09 4:54 AM
In reply to: High Definition PDF Files for Printing by danielcduffy
Your Mac can produce PDF files without the aid of third party software.
Do the following to produce your reports as PDF files.
From the menu bar, choose File > Print.
When the drop down pane appears, the one that asks for you choice of printer, paper size, # of copies, etc., look at the bottom left hand side of the pane. There you will see a button marked PDF. Click it and choose what you want to do with your PDF. Choose Save as PDF, then choose a location, Documents?, and go from there.
You will find a PDF document right where you wanted it to go.
How's that?
P
High Definition PDF Files for Printing
by danielcduffy - 2/20/09 6:27 AM In reply to: PDF's by mrmacfixit
macfixit, thanks for responding.
I have been using the Mac OS feature and that is the problem. It does not allow me to create a high definition file. When I print from the PDF created by the Mac software in large format (A1/A0) I loose all clarity. A bit like using a 2 megapixel camera and trying to print a 10x8 photo. Pixilation etc. Same problem here ... I want to make a 10/12 megapixel PDF file, so that I can print in large format.
Thanks,
Dan
round 2
by mrmacfixit - 2/20/09 5:09 PM
In reply to: High Definition PDF Files for Printing by danielcduffy
Try Jaws PDF Creator.
You will find it Here
Let us know what you think
P
High Definition PDF Files for Printing
by danielcduffy - 2/20/09 10:21 PM In reply to: High Definition PDF Files for Printing by danielcduffyThanks again for your reply.
I have tried with Jaws, but unfortunately it will not load. On further investigation, I find that it is not compatible with Mac Intel based machines!!
Thanks again,
Regards,
Dan
That's remarkably silly of them.
by mrmacfixit - 2/21/09 6:32 AM
In reply to: High Definition PDF Files for Printing by danielcduffy
Keep searching, there has to be something out there other than Adobe Distiller that will do this job
P
Say...
by R. Proffitt - 2/21/09 7:14 AM
In reply to: That's remarkably silly of them. by mrmacfixit
When I was in prepress on an Mac didn't we use multiple page TIF files for this work? Viewers are still out there for that.
Bob
High Definition PDF Files for Printing
by danielcduffy - 2/21/09 7:25 PM In reply to: Say... by R. Proffitt
Bob,
Can you give me a hint as to what I should be looking for or the process I should try?
Thanks,
Dan
I was only noting that
by R. Proffitt - 2/22/09 5:32 AM
In reply to: High Definition PDF Files for Printing by danielcduffy
When we needed more quality we used TIFF.
More about at http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=Apple+prepress+TIFF
There's plenty already written about TIFF and how we use that in pre-press.
I brought TIFF up since you seemed to be veering towards a pre-press type need.
Bob
Adobe CS series - more expensive, but...
by Larry Launstein Jr - 2/27/09 7:10 PM In reply to: I was only noting that by R. Proffitt
I have Adobe CS3 on my computers, and I know it is much more expensive than you may want to go, but as far as producing print-quality pdf's, it is the way to go. I agree with those who think TIFF is the best format for high-quality files. I assume you are looking to do this after your layout is decided upon?
As far as I'm concerned, I use pdf's normally for printable files that can be downloaded from the web.
On Adobe InDesign, I have a lot of control over how the final output is going to look in pdf format.
PDF's don't work for color separations, either. They are a finished product. TIFF does work for that, as well as PSD (Photoshop) format. Also, saving in the original file format could make it possible to do color separations and other things, too, assuming your printer can handle it, or if you send it to a commercial printer, they have the capability to handle the file. Oftentimes this is in the print function in your software.
It has been my experience that I can print a file from my program's original format, in my case InDesign, and on my laser printer, set it up to do either a composite RGB, CMYK, or separations. Depending on the quality of your printouts, you can take them to a commercial printer and then they can make plates from those paper copies. Make sure you have all the printers marks and crop marks for alignment purposes, and the color each sheet is supposed to be.
High definition pdf printing
by emshepherd - 2/28/09 2:32 AM In reply to: Adobe CS series - more expensive, but... by Larry Launstein JrHi Dan,
Are you just printing from MacFamilyTree's own settings? And are you getting a greyish cast to the report and all blurry? If so, there's a work-around using your own printer setting. I have an A4 inkjet printer that allows me to print good quality photos. I use its settings to set up my tree chart and then save it to pdf instead of printing it. The resulting pdf is clear and correctly coloured. So it goes like this (my printer's a canon but I've tried it on a lexmark and on Adobe pdf printer and I can't really tell the difference): click on the print button on MacFamilyTree. This brings up the dialogue box where you can choose your printer. Select a colour printer and choose the best setting for it regardless of paper size, (e.g. my canon and the lexmark only print up to A4 but the HP large format prints up to A0. You might want to choose a colour photo setting. This wasn't an option on the lexmark but I still got good results), and then use the pdf button instead of the print button on this dialogue box. You get the option to open pdf in preview. Do that and see if the result's what you want. If it is, you can either print it from preview or go back into your print dialogue and save it as pdf. You should be able to scale it up to print A0 without losing clarity. Hope this helps.
High Definition Printing
by danielcduffy - 2/28/09 3:46 PM In reply to: Adobe CS series - more expensive, but... by Larry Launstein JrLarry,
thanks for taking the time to reply to my problem.
The application I'm using (MacFamily Tree - a genealogy program) uses the native Mac OS X PDF functionality to create its reports. I don't have the option within the application to save in any other format (TIFF or CS3 formats). I have asked the vendor Synium Software in Germany for help, but nothing yet.
I don't know of any way that I can "print" directly to InDesign or any other program.
Regards,
Dan
What about viewing it in Preview
by Larry Launstein Jr - 2/28/09 5:03 PM In reply to: High Definition Printing by danielcduffyHave you tried to save your pdf and view it in Mac Preview? That should give you an idea of what it will look like. If you like it, then you should be able to adjust your printer settings to print the pdf. I have had good results when viewing and printing files in Mac Preview.
Printing from MacFamilyTree
by emshepherd - 3/1/09 1:41 AM In reply to: High Definition Printing by danielcduffyHi Dan, What exactly are you trying to save to pdf? If it's one of the charts, then you DO have an option to print to pdf not just save it in MacFamilyTree's own pdf format. Just use the print button top right. If your Mac is attached to a colour printer, you can use it's print dialogue to Print to pdf (save to pdf). See two posts above for instructions. You can't remove the shadows from around the boxes and they are fuzzy grey but you should be able to read the names and the colours of the boxes should be right. I've saved some pdfs from the sample tree that comes with the program. You can see them here: www.theflyingpigs.co.uk/test_folder/decendantchart.pdf or www.theflyingpigs.co.uk/test_folder/timeline2.pdf. The only problem I have is that they take a while to print at my chosen size. Zoom into 800% when it loads and you'll see what I'm getting on print.
Actually...
by emshepherd - 3/1/09 2:21 AM In reply to: Printing from MacFamilyTree by emshepherdThe browser view isn't as good as I'm getting on print. Mine are brighter.
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