Distiller Error undefinedresult/shfill

[kirstensprinks@adobeforums.com]

Can anyone help?
I am distilling EPS files in Distiller from Acrobat 5.0 on an iMac with OS 9.2

I get the following error when it runs:

%%[ Error: undefinedresult; OffendingCommand: shfill ]%%

Stack:
[/DeviceCMYK]
94.9438
50
1
0.0667
1
1
0.55
-mark-
-mark-
-mark-
-save-
4

%%[ Flushing: rest of job (to end-of-file) will be ignored ]%%
%%[ Warning: PostScript error. No PDF file produced. ] %%

[Jon_Bessant@adobeforums.com]

SHFILL is the postscript command for blends/tints etc.

Have you tried Distilling a postscript file which is driver specific? In
other words, the EPS file itself of the embedded object could be the
problem here.

Also - ensure you are using PDF 1.3 or higher.

Jon

[kirstensprinks@adobeforums.com]

Not being very techie, I'm not sure I completely understand.

Having read LOTS on the Adobe site this afternoon, I gather there's some unintelligable postscript code which pertains likely to the actual EPS file or an EPS image contained therein?

I tried using Export As A PDF too from QuarkXPress also, but same problem.

PDF is set at 1.3.

It's one (well 3 separate files using the same images in quark) file, only 1 page long each, so it can't be a memory thing surely? It's got quite a few graphics on it, but it's hardly huge.

The documents are marketing materials - a sticker, streamer, and advert layout.

I tried copying the entire sticker into a new file and resaving it, in case the problem was the EPS I had saved it as. No joy.

Does that mean it will be a problem with one of the images in the document? Any way to find out which if so, or do I have to go through all of them?

As as aside, my colleague in Holland who made the original files doesn't have the same problem...

[Jon_Bessant@adobeforums.com]

No worries - use the guide for creating good postscript files for Quark
4 & 5 at:
[url]http://www.certitec.com/pdf/quark.pdf[/url]

Once the settings have been entered - select PRINT and then (bottom
left) PRINTER ... now at the top right select FILE and then SAVE the
postscript file and drop onto Distiller ..

Jon

[Aandi_Inston@adobeforums.com]

>Does that mean it will be a problem with one of the images in the document?

It's likely to be a graphic - NOT an image (photo) but a vector
graphic. This sort of thing is almost certainly nothing to do with
memory. It could conceivably be a QuarkXPress blend too.

> Any way to find out which if so, or do I have to go through all of them?

It may seem a daunting task, but you could identify the failing
graphic out of a thousand in only ten tries - if you keep a clear head
and accurate notes. The technique is to "divide and conquer". The
essential things

1. Work with a COPY of the document - several copies, perhaps.
2. Decide on an ORDER of the graphics, be absolutely consistent (e.g.
left to right, top to bottom)
3. Each time, remove exactly half of the graphics you are testing (or
as close to a half as you can get).
4. Each time you test, you will know that either the half you removed
contained the bad graphic (if it now works), or that it didn't (if it
still fails). So you know which half contains the problem. Repeat
tests on that half, halving each time until only one is left.
5. This approach fails if more than one graphic is at fault.
6. Do a quick test first where you delete ALL the graphics, to make
sure it is a graphic.

Aandi Inston

[kirstensprinks@adobeforums.com]

Jon - tried that - no joy. Appreciating your help! :-)

[kirstensprinks@adobeforums.com]

Ah, think I have located the rogue file. It's a EPS file (effectively the background image in all the affected files) - although the file has a different name and is slightly different in each layout.

I tried a straight forward open it, and resave it, but that didn't fix it.

Any ideas now how I find out what's wrong with this background EPS?

[Aandi_Inston@adobeforums.com]

What application is the problem EPS made with?

Aandi Inston

[kirstensprinks@adobeforums.com]

Illustrator 9.0

Anything to do with Color Settings, Assign Profile, or the save options about CMYK postscript and postscript levels (1, 2 oe 3) etc? Not that I understand those all that well either....

[Jon_Bessant@adobeforums.com]

I would leave the assign profile alone - select POSTSCRIPT 3 and CMYK
(if indeed the object is CMYK) .....

I suspect it's the PS version that's causing problems ...

Jon

[Aandi_Inston@adobeforums.com]

You could try selecting level 2 when you save the EPS. That should
eliminate the shfill instructions, which are level 3 only.

Aandi Inston

[kirstensprinks@adobeforums.com]

Unfortunately chaps I have tried both, and also tried level 1, and then deselecting CMYK postscript, and also tried saving as version 7 instead of version 8 and nothing works.

[Jon_Bessant@adobeforums.com]

Copy /paste into a new document ;-)

Jon

[kirstensprinks@adobeforums.com]

Wow. I think we might have finally cracked it. Thanks guys - hugely appreciated!