Local Printer has problems with my files and fonts

[MJR]

Greetings to All,

New to Affinity Pub. 

Just finished sending a pdf file to a local printer.  He emailed me a list of problems.  I called him and reviewed his comments and they are as follows:

1>  he says he doesn't like the quality of the fonts.  He refers to them as being "Muddy", but he was willing to correct the issue on his end, for a small charge.  He tells me that is a problem with a cheaper/lesser of a publishing software.  He wouldn't tell me how I could correct this, or if it could be corrected.

2>  I also have a water mark, on every page, which is a vector graphic, black with a transparency of 20%.  He also referred to this as "Muddy", but would also correct, for a small charge.

So, can anyone please explain to me what is happening with the fonts & graphics that makes it undesirable to the printer to produce a quality product?

What can I do to correct this issue, or is it just a function of Affinity Publisher?

Thanks to All that reply,

 

[MikeW]

It would be better to see the pdf, or at least a page of the pdf.

Is the watermark graphic above the text? If so, put it to the back. Do you really need transparency for the watermark at all?

[MJR]

Thanks @MikeW, Watermark is at the back of the page.  Should I just use a very light grey in color, instead of a transparency?

[Old Bruce]

4 minutes ago, MJR said:

Thanks @MikeW, Watermark is at the back of the page.  Should I just use a very light grey in color, instead of a transparency?

Better would be as MikeW asked for and post a page of the PDF, your idea of light grey is going to be different than mine or Mike's.

[ashf]

Probably "mudday" they say means things are rasterized that is not high resolution.

Raise rasterizing dpi or change the thing not to be rasterized.

[walt.farrell]

Or possibly muddy means things are not 100%K ?

[ashf]

@MJRDo they accept PDF/X-4? if so, it would make the print less trouble.

[MJR]

Thanks @ashf, I will ask the printer.  What makes PDF/X-4 a better pdf choice?

 

Thanks @walt.farrell, I don't know what 100%K is.

[MikeW]

20 minutes ago, MJR said:

Thanks @MikeW, Watermark is at the back of the page.  Should I just use a very light grey in color, instead of a transparency?

I would. That would eliminate a possible issue with rasterizing text.

[MJR]

Thanks @MikeW, my watermark graphic has no text.

[ashf]

3 minutes ago, MJR said:

Thanks @ashf, I will ask the printer.  What makes PDF/X-4 a better pdf choice?

PDF/X-4 supports more features used on designing software such as transparency so it will be less conversion/translation means less trouble.

[Old Bruce]

Just now, MJR said:

Thanks @MikeW, my watermark graphic has no text.

Doesn't have to be text to get rasterized.

[MikeW]

Just now, MJR said:

Thanks @MikeW, my watermark graphic has no text.

But there is text above the watermark graphic, yes? If so, that is what I was referring to.

[MikeW]

1 minute ago, Old Bruce said:

Doesn't have to be text to get rasterized.

That's true...in Affinity applications.

[MJR]

Thanks All, I'm going to do some editing, wait to hear back from printer, then resend the printer the updated version, then see what he has to say.

Is Affinity Publisher an acceptable software/program, for producing projects to be printed by local print shops?

[walt.farrell]

11 minutes ago, MJR said:

 I don't know what 100%K is

Black text or objects can be made of 100% black ink (K), or a mix of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black.

The latter is often not wanted when a print shop is processing a CMYK document.

[ashf]

13 minutes ago, MJR said:

Is Affinity Publisher an acceptable software/program, for producing projects to be printed by local print shops?

Of course it is. many professional designers/printers are using it for printing, including small business who use local print shop.
Important thing is that you have to know printing rules regardless of whether you use Adobe or Affinity.

[MJR]

Thanks @walt.farrell, so, what is the best method to use if all the text is black?  Is there something I need to identify, or change settings. when assigning black as a font color.

 

Thanks @ashf, yes, it would be good to know why the local printer made those comments.  Maybe I could do the adjustments within Affinity Pub before sending as a pdf.  The  local printer just replied saying he doesn't know what PDF/X-4  is.  What is the difference?  Why does AFPUB have so many pdf export options?

[MikeW]

What kind of "local printer" is this establishment? Is it a "quick printer" like an office type of printer (FedEx Office, Staples, etc.)?

If you uploaded a single page, we/I could inspect the pdf for what issue(s) it has. Only then we could truly advise a method of correction to satisfy the print establishment. If you desire not to share it to the whole public, consider uploading it to dropbox or the like and send me a private message with a download link.

 

[ashf]

10 hours ago, MJR said:

Thanks @ashf, yes, it would be good to know why the local printer made those comments.  Maybe I could do the adjustments within Affinity Pub before sending as a pdf.  The  local printer just replied saying he doesn't know what PDF/X-4  is.  What is the difference?  Why does AFPUB have so many pdf export options?

Wow unbelievable. printers should learn every specification of pdf.
Are they printing only Quark file or EPS like in 90s? lol.

PDF/X is special form of pdf that is for printing. optimized for printing to be less problematic.

PDF/X-1a has been standard since around 20 years ago.
many printers are accepting PDF/X-3 or PDF/X-4 which is newer specification  lately.
PDF/X-4 is the latest specification which is the most feature rich .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDF/X

But PDF is not just for printing.
So depends on a purpose, it's nice to have many options.

 

[MJR]

Here's a single two page spread of my project. 

What recommendations can you make?

The quality looks OK to me, so I don't know why the local printer (this company is not a small time or quick shop printer) is finding poor quality in.

Thanks,

Single Spread for AFPUB Forum (pdf).pdf

[ashf]

12 minutes ago, MJR said:

Here's a single two page spread of my project. 

What recommendations can you make?

The quality looks OK to me, so I don't know why the local printer (this company is not a small time or quick shop printer) is finding poor quality in.

Thanks,

Single Spread for AFPUB Forum (pdf).pdf 867.1 kB · 1 download

It looks mostly ok.
You are using Truetype fonts which is not acceptable in PDF/X, so better to make them curves.
The watermark image is low resolution usually 300 dpi on actual size is recommended but not obligated so if you are ok, it's ok.

Other than that there aren't any critical problem I think.
 

[MikeW]

7 minutes ago, ashf said:

You are using Truetype fonts which is not acceptable in PDF/X, so better to make them curves. ...

This is not true.

I'll look at it in a few minutes. 

[ashf]

2 minutes ago, MikeW said:

This is not true.

Ok, I should have said not recommended - to avoid problems.
At least in Asian environment, TT is very problematic.
 

[MikeW]

As @ashf mentioned, the only thing "wrong" is the resolution of the image. Assuming you didn't change the resolution of the pdf/x-4 when you exported the pdf, a higher resolution, at least 240 dpi for a digital print and 300 dpi for offset printing would be best--your printer service is likey using a digital print device and likely a glorified copier versus a digital press.

But there is no rasterized text. It should print just fine. If I were faced with such an ignorant print establishment, I would find another.