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Help me separate this damn pdf... please!

MacBoobsPro

MacBoobsPro

macrumors 603
Original poster
Jan 10, 2006
5,114
6
I have a PDF that has been correctly set up for our 3 colour process but its causing havoc with our rip and refuses to print.

We use Quark :( to print straight to the rip. So I am attempting to separate the PDF myself in Quark by greyscaling it then adding my the colours myself. The only thing is the PDF is quite complicated.

When I place the PDF in Quark the preview image is very low res and so makes picking out individual bits with Quarks clumsy beizer tool almost impossible. I can't seem to get the PDF to preview in highres so its easier to pick stuff out.

How can I do this in Quark7.3 and is there another way altogether that I can separate this damn PDF (this is the one that caused me problems before - in the end I didnt 'need' to separate it, now i do). :mad:

Thanks
 
Is it a multi-page PDF? What software was used to create the PDF?

Try opening the PDF with Illustrator and see if you have any luck.
 
Can you drop it into InDesign then print to pre-separated PostScript from there? Then re-rip the pre-separated PostScript thru Distiller creating separated PDFs. Or send the pre-separated PS to your RIP. Or something?
U can send it to me if you want, I'll have a look at it.
 
Its a single page. If I could get a hi res view of it in Quark I could do what I need to but Quark is a pile of **** and won't let me for some reason. I know how to use it but I 'kin hate Quark. :mad:

If I open the PDF in Illustrator it looks like its been put together by a blind monkey with electrodes tied to its balls. I can't do anything with it as it is insanely complicated 'underneath'.

How can I get a hi res preview in Quark?
 
I think there's a plug-in/XTension to allow hi-res previews in Quark, but as it's been many years since I've used the outdated piece of cr*p I don't know what it's like.
 
I have taken the easy way out and contacted the client to send me the original artwork. :D I have a feeling its a font issue but our rip isn't the most helpful when it comes to errors. Its error messages are pretty much along the lines "No Sir. I don't like it!".
 
Just FYI you can get a high res preview in Q.7 by right clicking and selecting Preview Resolution -> Full Resolution. Same goes for Q.8.
 
design-is said:
Just FYI you can get a high res preview in Q.7 by right clicking and selecting Preview Resolution -> Full Resolution. Same goes for Q.8.
Click to expand...

OH... MY.... GOD! :D

How long as that been a feature of Quark?

For years I have been sick of the low res previews as it made aligning things awkward.

InDesign wasnt around when I was at Uni so I grew up with Quark. I hated it (even more so today) but I thought I knew it quite well. :eek: Work uses Quark but if I do anything for myself these days I use InDesign (still getting to grips with it but its vastly better than Quark). :)
 
I don't know if the PDF uses vector or raster images. However, another option is to open it in Illustrator. Depending on how it was constructed (and saved), you may be able to adjust colors there.
 
So here I am again with the same file. The disk didnt arrive in the post and I'm not in work tomorrow so if it doesnt work today I'm pretty much screwed.

Get this... I reconstructed the artwork by importing the PDF into Photoshop and converting it to greyscale. I then picked out the images, shapes etc and made each different coloured element its own separate tiff. I then took all these greyscale tiffs and rebuilt the ad in Quark colouring the tiffs in Quark. It took me ages and guess what? The damn thing still won't print? :eek: :confused:

I've rePDFed the PDF, I've tried exporting my own rebuilt artwork as a PDF (and EPS) and it just will not fricking print. :mad:

What the hell is going on?

I can't attach the artwork because its above the MR limits but if you fancy a nosey at it and seeing what the hell is wrong with it send me a PM and I'll email to you.
 
MacBoobsPro said:
OH... MY.... GOD! :D

How long as that been a feature of Quark?

For years I have been sick of the low res previews as it made aligning things awkward.

InDesign wasnt around when I was at Uni so I grew up with Quark. I hated it (even more so today) but I thought I knew it quite well. :eek: Work uses Quark but if I do anything for myself these days I use InDesign (still getting to grips with it but its vastly better than Quark). :)
Click to expand...

Since 7 was introduced :)

I agree with you completely and am in the same situation - work use Quark, so I have to too. But I LOVE InDesign with a passion :rolleyes: and use it for freelance work and anything I can sneak onto it at work.

MacBoobsPro said:
I can't attach the artwork because its above the MR limits but if you fancy a nosey at it and seeing what the hell is wrong with it send me a PM and I'll email to you.
Click to expand...

Not saying I'll be any use, but I'd love to take a look... (doug at-sign design-is.co.uk)
 
What version of acrobat do you have? If you have 8 or 9 try running some of the Preflight checks on the PDF. That has saved my butt a few times in the past. I'm guessing your work doesn't have Pitstop Pro either.
 
This is a long shot - but, are any of the fonts protected? I recently ran into this problem, for the first time the other day. The fonts looked OK in the PDF but wouldn't output or rasterise. (I suspect the job would have been spat out if it made it to the RIP).

In the end I had to get the fonts changed to something similar and then the job went smoothly.
 
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