Adobe Assistance

[Shooter Grrl]

I have master graphics that are .eps files. I have Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. My instructions sent by corporate say to resize the files to 42% for our letterhead in Word. Looks great on the screen, looks like crap when I print it! Any suggestions?

[George]

Are you printing the .eps files on an InkJet printer? (BTW, EPS means Encapsulated PostScript which is a mathematical printing language developed specifically for the Laser Printer)?

The upshot is that EPS can only be printed on a Laser Printer that is truly PostScript compatible (not all are and there are "levels" of PostScript), or into a Raster Image Processor (RIP). Printing EPS to a RGB type printer like an InkJet will ALWAYS produce crappy, grainy, smutzy output. EPS on anything but a PostScript capable printer is bad juju for the eyes ;-)

These are files designed for use in DeskTop Publishing (DTP) where a layout program (Quark Express, Pagemaker, InDesign, etc...) imports graphics in EPS, combines the graphics with text and outputs to a RIP which then creates the films that the plates are made from that are used in offset printing.

To see what an EPS file should look like when printed, convert to TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) in PS and then print. It will look fine on any InkJet then (if the iinkjet is calibrated that is. Calibration is a whole 'nother story).

You can also buy software RIP's that then drive a midrange InkJet and then print PostScript that way. Software RIP's run up to a couple hundred bux and require a specific series of InkJet that usually run $4-500+.

This is why a lot of printing is done using PDF output right from the DTP program nowadays. PDF output converts all the images to pixels and they print fine on RGB printers now. The graphics designer can print the PDF right onto his $5-600 large format InkJet (Epson 1270/1280 or similar) and see pretty much what will come off the offset press later. This allows client approval presentation without spending hundreds of bux to run a DTP file through a RIP and then make a test print, and repeat that half a dozen times until they like it. The same test PDF can then be sent right to the RIP for offset prep without a lot of the old hassles in color lock and font transport of the native DTP program files.

A simple solution for you would be to convert the file to TIFF (at 300ppi) for the letterhead after getting the print size right. TIFF can only be squashed, not stretched as it is now a bitmap image, unlike EPS which is all math and therefore scalable in both directions without any resolution loss (pixelating). TIFF is a perfectly acceptable format for any DTP program as long as the image is sized right to begin so it doesn't need scaling in the DTP program.

Hope this helps you understand what you need to do and why this is happening.

[SiG Lady]

What George said. Yep.

[eerw]

That's exactly what I would have said

[Ron Ankeny]

That's exactly what I would have said

I would have said, "It depends."

[George]

BTW, definitely use TIFF inside Word. JPEG will sandpaper on some InkJets, not on others. TIFF won't.

Heck, half my living is handling machine setups, calibrations and troubleshooting for graphics artists, photographers, designers and publishers doing creative work that is color match and resolution intensive. The other half is analog and digital video editing, custom electronics mods and web-wonk work. I also have an IATSE card and travel as a video/display engineer, hold mfgr. certifications in most major digital display systems and SD/HD video control/switching systems in use today. Am I a geek, or what?

[Shooter Grrl]

Okay - resize it in Photoshop, then save as a TIFF and then put it into word. Got it!

[George]

Also, not a bad idea to convert to RGB from CMYK in PS (if the image is in CMYK format to begin with).

[Shooter Grrl]

Didn't work - still blurred. If I open and resize the .eps image in Word and resize it there it works okay, but I'm creeping up on my doc size (ARGH!)

[SiG Lady]

Uh, Kath, what KIND of printer are you using...?

[George]

It's probably an InkJet thing and Word ain't helpin'. Try converting to GIF. Word likes that format for printing (as long as the image doesn't have graded color areas and drop shadows that is)

[XRe]

Here's another idea... try importing the full size image into Word (Import...Picture...From File). Then, right click on the picture and select "Format Picture". Select the "Size" tab, then go to the Scale section. Make sure "Lock Aspect Ratios" is checked. Set the scaling to 42% on one of the dimensions (the other will follow, due to aspect ratios being locked), and click Ok.

I'd rather be playing in Photoshop, too, but...

[SiG Lady]

Word sucks in this case. I tell all my clients that I do NO graphics output in MSWord. Meanwhile, how about distilling/converting the whole doc into PDF and printing the PDF......?........ In any event, the TYPE of printer involved might have SOME effect on the outcome... especially if it's an OLDER inkjet.

[Shooter Grrl]

I figured out a work around. It's a Laserjet color printer - that's not the issue. The issue is that we have to use corporate mandated logos, layout, etc, etc. I have to make the corporate mandated stuff idiot proof for 200 engineers!!!!

Here's what I finally ended up doing....

Import the corp logo into word and resize it there. Then copy/paste that smaller version into Illustrator to finish the letterhead setup (headers and footers). I then save the illustrator file as .png and put that into MSWord as a watermark. Voila' - letterhead that the engineers can't tweak Looks and prints right and is lined up perfectly to the style guide.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

[3GunF1Guy]

BTW, Just so that there is no confusion not all eps files are vector images. An eps can be save out of photoshop or other programs as bitmap files. As a printer with offset presses and a full graphics dept. we do this all of the time, for instance if you have a bitmap image and you need to make the background transparent there is a feature for doing this in photoshop. It is always saved as a eps file, but it is a bitmap image. Also if you create something in photoshop and use 2 or 3 pantone spot colors and want the image to separate correctly for printing in 2 or 3 colors (photoshop's default is rgb but we always convert to cmyk 4 color process) it need to be saved in photoshop's dcs format and that is an eps file also. We have also almost gotten away from using vector eps compleatly, Indesign will let you import and link AI files, that way you can modify the AI file and it will always update in Indesign. That save a lot time due to the fact you no longer need to have 2 copiesof the file working, one in eps and one in AI. Same thing with photoshop, we can now use the native PS files in Indesign. I tell customers to get indesign, I has a steep learing curve but once you use it you can NEVER go back to anything made by MS or Quark, I can't (Opps WON"T) even write a letter in word. It must be the worst program made.

Scott Peterson

[SiG Lady]

Word is OK for writing letters and reports. Word is NOT (repeat, NOT) at all cool (or even OK) for graphic work of any kind. Any client that insists I work in Word gets a lecture and is turned away if they insist. It's an application so far removed from a graphics-friendly platform that I can hardly believe people get sucked into that belief somehow. I won't digress any further. I just get reminded sometimes of a couple of episodes I had to curtail with a couple of clients who just didn't get it. Oh, they GOT it, alright, when I told them I simply wouldn't do graphics in Word. It's OK to say 'no' sometimes. It may save yer sanity.

[George]

I was gonna' suggest PNG after you had trouble with TIFF, but because I have never tried it in Word I was gonna test it first. Ya' beat me to it.

PNG is my favorite format for web work now. PNG 24 supports transparency much better than GIF and handles graded color areas as well as JPEG.

PDF, PDF, PDF, it's the best way to print anything nowadays.

Scott, InDesign definitely rocks. I have converted everyone I have exposed to it (eventually). There is absolutely nothing like importing the .ia, or .psd file directly. Ya' make changes to the original file and BAM, InDesign tracks it. Going back to the previous workflow now would be like going back to stripping the images into the films after RIPing the layout program output. Eat your frickin' heart out Quark ;-)