RE: [PCTECH] Adobe Illustrator

[John Harvey <jharvey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks to Vern for plucking the correct terminology off the tip of my
tongue. Yes, vector vs. raster formats is exactly what I'm talking about.

Our graphic designer passed along this bit of advice:

> When you are in Quark:
> 
> 1. Choose "FILE > COLLECT FOR OUTPUT" (This gathers together all the 
> images and files used to create the layout. Any incorrectly linked 
> files will need to be located and relinked during this stage).
> 2. Choose "FILE > SAVE AS EPS...
> 
> Then the file can be opened in Illustrator and saved as an .AI file. 

We think this may be at least part of the reason why your initial attempt to
create an EPS file had such poor quality. If one or more of the images
placed in Quark are not linked correctly to the source file, then the image
is merely ghosted in Quark and it might not print or export properly. That
said, the DPI setting may be yet another issue on top of that.

If I were you, I would get on the horn with the vendor and ask exactly *why*
they need the layout in AI format. What do they intend to do that requires a
vector format? Occasionally, we encounter graphic designers who "require" a
specific file type when the reality is that they merely "prefer" that file
type. It's hard to say until you ask a few more questions.

Here's the thing, according to our graphic designer it's very unlikely that
you'll be able to convert a Quark file into an AI file that will behave
exactly like a natively-created AI file from Illustrator. We tried several
things here on our side with Quark and Illustrator, and all the results had
varying levels of funkiness. It's almost easier (for a graphic designer) to
recreate the layout in Illustrator using the text and source images used to
create the Quark file.

Doug, as far as I know, there's no such thing as an AI reader. I know that
Acrobat Reader can view EPS files, and I know that you can use PhotoShop to
view a rasterized version of an AI file (perhaps Paint Shop Pro can do the
same thing).

I hope some of this helps.

John
----
Quadrant Software
http://www.quadrantsoftware.com/
800-258-3399



-----Original Message-----
From: pctech-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:pctech-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Bob Cagle
Sent: Thursday, December 16, 2004 2:44 PM
To: PC Technical Discussion for iSeries Users
Subject: RE: [PCTECH] Adobe Illustrator

This is all extremely unfamiliar ground for me, I appreciate any advice I
can get.

I am downloading the demo of Illustrator right now - don't know if that will
help me any, but at least I can see what the vendor is seeing.  

I have already tried exporting or "saving as" .AI from Quark Express and it
does not have that functionality.

I am also going to double-check my DPI settings on the .EPS files.

Thanks,
Bob

-----Original Message-----
From: Vernon Hamberg [mailto:vhamberg@xxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Thursday, December 16, 2004 1:37 PM
To: PC Technical Discussion for iSeries Users
Subject: RE: [PCTECH] Adobe Illustrator

Sounds like John is describing raster (DPI) vs vector (paths) formats.
Is
EPS a raster of vector format? Perhaps your vendor can work with a different
vector format. I see that Paint Shop Pro can convert to encapsulated
PostScript with extensions of .ps, .ai, or .eps - is any of

that helpful?

Vern