WalterBeiter Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 So this question is not truly AD specific, but since I created my printed document in AD, I will kindly ask you to answer my question if you can. So I started by creating an A4 sized paper. I used text as well as other vector graphics I inserted from a PDF I made. Since AD is not very suitable for hand-writing with a tablet ( I tried Wacom Intuos, but the brush kind of smoothed out and it lagged), I used my iPad with GoodNotes and my Adonit Jot Touch (a capacitive stylus). I then exported my hand writings as a PDF (GoodNotes is vector, so should be now problem), inserted the PDF in my AD document and removed the background. I had the beautiful curves I wanted. Still everything was vector graphic. I also used standard text in my document using the text tool in AD. Now I exported as PDF and 300 dpi, which the print press required. Today, my print project was in the mall. I noticed something strange. The text which I made in AD with the standard text tool was sharp, but the vector curves (my handwriting from the iPad) was slightly blurred / pixeled. Now this is strange since even the photos and other rastered objects I had in this document are still sharper than my vector hand writing. Has anybody a clue, how this could have happened? I am just curious, whether there are some differences in vector graphics. Has anybody any experience with this? I have added some screenshots and photos. I just want to make it better next time. The photos are low quality but you can see the difference in the sharpness. The text is very sharp, the hand writing is slightly pixeled. Keep in mind that the handwritten text is about he same size as the text "Schau mir in de ..." below the red title. Please post any ideas on how this could have happened. I will talk to the print press on monday, but I had a similar problem with other print presses as well. (Text was pixeled / low quality, even though it was PDF). Sincerely, Walter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aledel Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Hi Walter, did you rasterize the layers before export everything to pdf?You may check that your document is set in the appropiate size and dpi on Affinity Designer and avoid any rasterization. I noticed that you have a background noise in document, try printing an alternative version without that background noise (and anything that's a bitmap) and compare the results. If your document only have vector elements, the print should look sharp. Share your results ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WalterBeiter Posted June 22, 2015 Author Share Posted June 22, 2015 Hi Aledel, No, I didnt rasterize the vector shapes. 300dpi was the required resolution of the print press. The background noise is everywhere, including the part where the text is, which is not pixelated. My document has photos in it, but they are quite sharp. Print method was offset. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff MattP Posted June 22, 2015 Staff Share Posted June 22, 2015 Is this anything to do with using an embedded document? Is that what you meant by saying you 'inserted the PDF' into your document? If so, I know that at present there is an issue with embedded documents getting rasterised... If you simply open the PDF as a new document then copy its contents and paste them into your other document then it might work? Just an idea, that's all... Other than that, if we could see your document then we could probably give better advice - if you ever fancy sending it to support@seriflabs.com then we will try our best :) Thanks, Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WalterBeiter Posted June 22, 2015 Author Share Posted June 22, 2015 (edited) Well, the PDF is sharp, there is no pixelated vector shape. Today, another print came along which has the same problems. My vector hand drawing is a tiny little bit pixelated. Same background, same Handwriting, but different color. I have a white outglow on the shapes. maybe thats the problem. I don't know. I just don't know that much about printing, but I though vector is vector, it should be sharp like normal text. I will send my document to you, maybe you know someone who knows someone who knows about printing problems. edit: The PDF is pixelated, too (but not the text, just the handwriting). (Or maybe this is just OS X and the laggy Preview in Yosemite). I will send you a slightly modified one (without the images, the file is 5.2GB with the images). Edited June 22, 2015 by WalterBeiter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hokusai Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 Walter, I have a similar problem with one of my files today and I can't figure out why my file is pixelated when it is a completely vector drawing. My file doesn't use any raster effects and there aren't any images or anything pixel in my drawing (there are also no pixel layers either) but when I export it as a PDF, it is completely rastered. I copied the vector drawing and pasted it into a new file and I was able to export it correctly but for some reason the original file wouldn't work? You might try copying your work and pasting it into a new file and then export it and see if it works better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WalterBeiter Posted June 24, 2015 Author Share Posted June 24, 2015 Affinity said that embedded documents even vector drawing will get pixelated when exported. This happened in my case. To solve this: open the embedded document and copy each layer to your original project. This way, they won't get rasterized when being exported. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hokusai Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 Walter, I see, thanks. My case is odd and maybe it still applies. I have a file with an image on the 1st layer for reference and then I have some layers on top that are vector only. When I want to export it, I just turn off the 1st layer (but not delete it) and then export it but it is making everything a raster. I was thinking that it would not include the image because it is turned off? What is odd is, the image doesn't appear in the PDF file, only the vectors but the vectors are now raster. I guess I will have to resort to deleting the reference image before I export it (or copying the vector work to another document of the same size before exporting it). Hokusai Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WalterBeiter Posted June 24, 2015 Author Share Posted June 24, 2015 Hiding a layer shours work. I do this all the time. Hiding the reference layer and export. It should be vector. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hokusai Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 Walter, I used to do it all the time too but I've got a file that for some odd reason just will not keep the vectors when I export to PDF. I've tried everything and for some reason it keeps turning everything into rasters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Harris Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 I'm sorry you've been having these problems. Could you attach the file (or a simplified version of it) so we can take a look? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WalterBeiter Posted June 24, 2015 Author Share Posted June 24, 2015 I have already shared this with the affinity support. Everything's fine. It was an embedded document which gets rasterized when exporting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hokusai Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 Dave, Thanks, I think I tracked down what was causing my problems. Not to hijack Walters thread but I was having the same problems as Walter but I think the cause of my problems are different. I am using the latest beta and when I exported it there were more options for the PDF export (more options is always better) and there was one option that was checked by default "rasterise any unsupported effects" but since I wasn't using any effects in my file I left it checked (my file is a super simple vector image with no effects). To make matters more confusing, there are presets and one of them is "PDF for print" but if I check this options it automatically turns on the "rasterise any unsupported effects" which rasterises my file. All of the PDF files that I exported were rasterised but once I unchecked that option, my problems went away and my files remained as pure vectors. Is this a bug or is it something that is a work in progress? Hokusai Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Harris Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 Hokusai, with that option unchecked, Affinity won't rasterise anything, but as a result the output might not match what you had on screen. On this occasion there may not have been any noticeable change, but normally it should be left on. It's not just layer effects that cause rasterisation. Using a group with a blend mode can. So can using layer opacity on a group, or on an object that has both stroke and fill, or an object with a fill that the export format doesn't support. Generally, different export formats have different capabilities. With EPS, for example, any kind of transparency will require rasterisng. Also, as time goes by and we improve Affinity, some things which used to rasterise won't any more. Eventually we'll have a user interface that helps track these issues down. Meanwhile, when I have time, I'll write a checklist of rasterisation causes for the FAQ. Hokusai 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hokusai Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 Dave, Thanks for the explanation. I'm looking forward to seeing a user interface with this, I think it would be very useful to be able to track things that will be vectorised. For small files it isn't a problem but with very complex drawing or pictures it is tough to track down what is causing it to rasterise. Hokusai Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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