Anti alias vector images

[Anton_FA webforumsuser@macromedia.com]

greetings

I have a logo that was created in Freehand 10.

When I import this into Fireworks it looks great - all crisp and yummy looking.

But the same logo imported into Freehand looks really crappy - all gagged like.

And when I export as PDF from Freehand it looks the same - crap.

Also, when I break apart text and then export from Freehand it also looks really crap.

Is there same way to export and have vector objects anti aliased?

Thanks

[maxman23 webforumsuser@macromedia.com]

You say you are importing the logo into FH and it looks like crap. But you also said the logo was made in FH 1O. You didn't make the logo yourself, I assume. Are you in FHMX when you 'import' said logo - how does that work, anyway? If it's a native FH format and it's specific to a recent version of FreeHand, you simply open it, not 'import' it.

Also, check your preferences for the set resolution you can view raster images with. You can view placed / raster objects at high rez for optimum clarity or you can go all the way to the other end of the spectrum, which entails crude-looking image files that load fast because the preview is low-rez.

The other bit you mentioned about breaking apart the text is interesting. Are you talking about live, editable text, or text that's been turned into curves - vector objects? If the former, you may have a corrupt font issue. Otherwise I'm having a tough time following what you mean.

Finally, your question about ensuring that vector objects are nicely anti-aliased pertains to how you export a native FH file into a rasterized format. You do have some control over the degree of anti-aliasing possible in .jpgs. Beyond that, recent versions of Illustrator have AA built in, so you could export a FH 10 or MX file to an AI 10 file and open it up in Illustrator and it would indeed have the AA features. Earlier versions of both these apps were not able to handle AA, so anything you bring into them will of course look relatively jagged.

Max
____________
Max MacDonald
Toronto

[Anton_FA webforumsuser@macromedia.com]

Hi Max

Let me clarify:

when I say 'break apart the text' - thats Flash talk for convert to paths.

I dont open the file in Freehand, as oposed to importing it, because I am wanting to use the logo file in another file - a newsletter - I believe this is common practice.


Also, I'm not wanting to convert my vector images into a raster image. I want them to maintain the scaleability.

[maxman23 webforumsuser@macromedia.com]

Hello, Anton.

"when I say 'break apart the text' - thats Flash talk for convert to paths."

Okay, I'm not a Flash guy, but I certainly follow what you're saying now... I have to convert to curves for most of the service bureaus I deal with. Fonts are a pain to begin with. They look great, they're wonderful to have at your disposal, but way too often they just don't play nice. Give me 100% vector stuff any day.

"I dont open the file in Freehand, as oposed to importing it, because I am wanting to use the logo file in another file - a newsletter - I believe this is common practice."

Sure it is. But I don't know why you can't save another copy/exported version of the file and designate it for whatever different use you have. And when you are talking about a newsletter, what app are you using to make that newsletter? Quark? InDesign? ...? In any of those, you would need a rasterized version of the source FH file - an .eps or .tif, most commonly.

"Also, I'm not wanting to convert my vector images into a raster image. I want them to maintain the scaleability. "

OK, understood. That's part of the charm of vector images. But if you want it to remain a native file then you have to remain in FreeHand, since viewing an image - one originally created in FreeHand - as a vector object means it still has to be in another FreeHand document... maybe as part of a larger file, but it all still has to be native in order to be (A) vector and (B) antialiased. Anything else, and the original file would had to have served as a launchpad to export the artwork to a format that another app could handle.

Or is it just late in the day and I'm missing something? I'll pop in tomorrow once I've caught my 40 winks to see what's become of this thread.


Max
____________
Max MacDonald
Toronto

[Wes Rand]

"Anton_FA" [email]webforumsuser@macromedia.com[/email] wrote:

> Hi Max
>
> Let me clarify:
>
> when I say 'break apart the text' - thats Flash talk for convert to
> paths.
>
> I dont open the file in Freehand, as oposed to importing it, because
> I am wanting to use the logo file in another file - a newsletter - I
> believe this is common practice.
>
>
> Also, I'm not wanting to convert my vector images into a raster
> image. I want them to maintain the scaleability.

-and also-

> Is there same way to export and have vector objects anti aliased?

No, but that shouldn't be a problem when the newsletter is printed. So
how does the logo look in the program you are using to put the
newsletter together in? Are you doing it in Freehand and is that why you
brought the logo into Freehand in the first place? What about the logo
looks bad? Is it just that the lines look a little jagged or are there
big problems with the logo? As someone else suggested I'd check your
preferences for redraw in Freehand. If it is an EPS you are importing it
could be the preview image that looks bad.

[Anton_FA webforumsuser@macromedia.com]

Thanks for the reply


Yes I am using Freehand to make the newsletter.

And it does look fine when it is printed - but its also designed to be read on screen - and thats where th problem is. On screen, in the acrobat reader, the text converted to paths and the logo look really jagged.

I have played with the redraw settings but as I understand it that is for the look within Freehand rather than output.

Thanks

[Bill]

There is nothing wrong with the artwork then. You problem arises from
Adobe's decision to make the default viewing preference in Acrobat not
anti-alias vector artwork. You can change this behavior under 'Edit
Menu>Preferences>General>Display>Smoothing>Smooth Line Art'. I'm using
Acrobat Reader 5 under Windows 98.

--
Bill
FHMX/Win98/Athlon2100+/512M

On Thu, 4 Dec 2003 21:19:05 +0000 (UTC), Anton_FA
<webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote:

> Thanks for the reply
>
>
> Yes I am using Freehand to make the newsletter.
>
> And it does look fine when it is printed - but its also designed to be
> read on screen - and thats where th problem is. On screen, in the
> acrobat reader, the text converted to paths and the logo look really
> jagged.
>
> I have played with the redraw settings but as I understand it that is
> for the look within Freehand rather than output.
>
> Thanks
>
>
>

[Anton_FA webforumsuser@macromedia.com]

There is nothing wrong with the artwork then. You problem arises from
Adobe's decision to make the default viewing preference in Acrobat not
anti-alias vector artwork. You can change this behavior under 'Edit
Menu>Preferences>General>Display>Smoothing>Smooth Line Art'. I'm using
Acrobat Reader 5 under Windows 98.

>

do you know if it is possible to script into the pdf that is has Smooth Line Art set for that particular pdf?

Thanks

[Bill]

On Thu, 4 Dec 2003 23:52:46 +0000 (UTC), Anton_FA
<webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote:

> do you know if it is possible to script into the pdf that is has Smooth
> Line Art set for that particular pdf?
>
> Thanks
>
>
>

Not that I've heard of, but I'm no PDF expert. A quick web search seems to
suggest it isn't possible
([url]http://www.planetpdf.com/forumarchive/68468.htm[/url]). If you plan on asking
people to use acrobat to view vector artwork, it might be wise to advise
all concerned about this preference setting. Even if you do find a way to
script around the preference, any vector artwork from other sources will
still show jagged edges. You might add a blurb about the pref setting
wherever you distribute the newsletter (webpage, email etc), or mention it
in the newsletter itself.



--
Bill
FHMX/Win98/Athlon2100+/512M

[Odysseus]

"\"maxman23\" webforumsuser"@macromedia.com wrote:

>
> [...] I don't know why you can't save another copy/exported version of the file
> and designate it for whatever different use you have. And when you are talking
> about a newsletter, what app are you using to make that newsletter? Quark?
> InDesign? ...? In any of those, you would need a rasterized version of the source
> FH file - an .eps or .tif, most commonly.
>

Say what?

Why rasterize perfectly good vector art for placement in programs
like QX and ID that have no problem handling vector EPSFs? Beside
losing scalability you'll get rid of any spot colours defined in the
original file (unless you export as DCS2). The only times I've *ever*
had to rasterize anything from FH for exporting to a page-layout
program have involved Chinese and Japanese fonts, which I couldn't
get to export or print any other way.

--
Odysseus

[David Prescott]

couldn't you eps it from FH and rasterise it in photoshop (with
antialiasing) then export to pdf from there?
dave
"Bill" <bill@JAIL.THE.SPAMMERS.stitchandprint.com> wrote in message
news:oprzon1dl8pwwo5c@forums.macromedia.com...

>
>
> On Thu, 4 Dec 2003 23:52:46 +0000 (UTC), Anton_FA
> <webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote:
>
>

> > do you know if it is possible to script into the pdf that is has Smooth
> > Line Art set for that particular pdf?
> >
> > Thanks
> >
> >
> >

>
> Not that I've heard of, but I'm no PDF expert. A quick web search seems to
> suggest it isn't possible
> ([url]http://www.planetpdf.com/forumarchive/68468.htm[/url]). If you plan on asking
> people to use acrobat to view vector artwork, it might be wise to advise
> all concerned about this preference setting. Even if you do find a way to
> script around the preference, any vector artwork from other sources will
> still show jagged edges. You might add a blurb about the pref setting
> wherever you distribute the newsletter (webpage, email etc), or mention it
> in the newsletter itself.
>
>
>
> --
> Bill
> FHMX/Win98/Athlon2100+/512M

[Bill]

Yes you could, but then you would lose the benefits of vector artwork;
resolution independance, scalability, editability, small file size. If the
artwork is a large background graphic, you could end up making the file
very large, particularly if you want the printed document to look decent.
If you are only placing a few small images, or if you don't care about
file size or print resolution, then that would be a resonable solution.


--
Bill
FHMX/Win98/Athlon2100+/512M

On Fri, 5 Dec 2003 16:41:56 +0200, David Prescott <dave_pirjo@surfeu.fi>
wrote:

> couldn't you eps it from FH and rasterise it in photoshop (with
> antialiasing) then export to pdf from there?
> dave
> "Bill" <bill@JAIL.THE.SPAMMERS.stitchandprint.com> wrote in message
> news:oprzon1dl8pwwo5c@forums.macromedia.com...

>>
>>
>> On Thu, 4 Dec 2003 23:52:46 +0000 (UTC), Anton_FA
>> <webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote:
>>
>>

>> > do you know if it is possible to script into the pdf that is has

>> Smooth

>> > Line Art set for that particular pdf?
>> >
>> > Thanks
>> >
>> >
>> >

>>
>> Not that I've heard of, but I'm no PDF expert. A quick web search seems
>> to
>> suggest it isn't possible
>> ([url]http://www.planetpdf.com/forumarchive/68468.htm[/url]). If you plan on asking
>> people to use acrobat to view vector artwork, it might be wise to advise
>> all concerned about this preference setting. Even if you do find a way
>> to
>> script around the preference, any vector artwork from other sources will
>> still show jagged edges. You might add a blurb about the pref setting
>> wherever you distribute the newsletter (webpage, email etc), or mention
>> it
>> in the newsletter itself.
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Bill
>> FHMX/Win98/Athlon2100+/512M

>
>