Illustrator - a good trick

[David Milisock]

Illustrator editable PDF files are very problematic for our Oynx, VersWorks and Rasterlynk RIPS. Color shifts from one panel to another are common place

 

[SnoopDoug]

Have to be in the minority that agrees with mello here. Any ai file we receive we copy into an original folder (for safekeeping) and save a copy as a pdf which we use for production. Been doing this for years. Any changes or corrections needed during production are done in Illustrator to our pdf. Keeps the workflow simple and assures you are working on the correct file. If you need a smaller file to send out as a proof, generate one from your workflow automatically. As far as loosing a multi page pdf file, as long as all your settings are the same across your workstations, this shouldn't be an issue. If you have color issues using your "Illustrator editable PDF" files, than you have other issues.
Are you all still placing AI and PDF files in InDesign to make your pdf or printing to PostScript and distilling it? He, he.

 

[Chasfinch]

Have to be in the minority that agrees with mello here. Any ai file we receive we copy into an original folder (for safekeeping) and save a copy as a pdf which we use for production. Been doing this for years. Any changes or corrections needed during production are done in Illustrator to our pdf. Keeps the workflow simple and assures you are working on the correct file. If you need a smaller file to send out as a proof, generate one from your workflow automatically. As far as loosing a multi page pdf file, as long as all your settings are the same across your workstations, this shouldn't be an issue. If you have color issues using your "Illustrator editable PDF" files, than you have other issues.
Are you all still placing AI and PDF files in InDesign to make your pdf or printing to PostScript and distilling it? He, he.

as far as problems with color via different rips with native AI pdfs as Snoop said you have something else going on we do offset ONYX fierySF and command workstations on 2 digital presses and color is consistent between the different RIPS

 

[Chasfinch]

NO. It is NOT missing.



When saving in .ai format, you retain all your editability and transparency in your file. When you save your file as an .ai file, Illustrator includes a PDF 1.4 composite preview inside the file in an unflattened form.

So, you always get two files. When I worked for Enfocus, I recal early versions of PitStop where we could open and edit a PDF object, but at Save, you could open that PDF in Illustrator, and that change was NOT there.

As Leonard Rosenthol from Adobe will tell you - ILLUSTRATOR IS NOT A PDF FILE EDITOR

want more ?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Illustrator_Artwork

The AI file format was originally a native format called PGF. PDF compatibility is achieved by embedding a complete copy of the PGF data within the saved PDF format file. This format is not related to .pgf using the same name Progressive Graphics Format.[SUP][5][/SUP]

The same “dual path” approach as for PGF is used when saving EPS-compatible files in recent versions of Illustrator. Early versions of the AI file format are true EPS files with a restricted, compact syntax, with additional semantics represented by Illustrator-specific DSC comments that conform to DSC's Open Structuring Conventions. These files are identical to their corresponding Illustrator EPS counterparts, but with the EPS procsets (procedure sets) omitted from the file and instead externally referenced using %%Include directives.

Hope this helps. Not really a cool trick. Just am amazing technology and file format from Adobe.

AI is not supposed to be a PDF editor. What it IS supposed to do is take a NATIVE file saved as a pdf and able to edit that so you can have 1 file to save and put through your workflow ect. If you use acrobat along with AI or PSD you then can edit objects as needed.

 

[dabob]

AI is not supposed to be a PDF editor. What it IS supposed to do is take a NATIVE file saved as a pdf and able to edit that so you can have 1 file to save and put through your workflow ect. If you use acrobat along with AI or PSD you then can edit objects as needed.

I also agree with Mellow . . . I take the supplied .ai file and if it is not saved as a pdf compatible when I get it I re-save it to a pdf compatible with a new name according to our naming conventions and use that in the workflow - rarely any problems if I have to make corrections I re-save it according to our naming conventions. I NEVER TOUCH THE NATIVE FILE SENT TO ME this way I have a reference file to refer to. Has been a very effective way to process customers files for a long time now . . . as to disk space . . . its so cheap these days who cares about space and or backup space.

 

[SnoopDoug]

I also agree with Mellow . . . I take the supplied .ai file and if it is not saved as a pdf compatible when I get it I re-save it to a pdf compatible with a new name according to our naming conventions and use that in the workflow - rarely any problems if I have to make corrections I re-save it according to our naming conventions. I NEVER TOUCH THE NATIVE FILE SENT TO ME this way I have a reference file to refer to. Has been a very effective way to process customers files for a long time now . . . as to disk space . . . its so cheap these days who cares about space and or backup space.

exactly what we have been doing for years.

 

[WishIWasScotty]

So, you always get two files. When I worked for Enfocus, I recal early versions of PitStop where we could open and edit a PDF object, but at Save, you could open that PDF in Illustrator, and that change was NOT there.

I've had serious issues with changes not showing as in I edited an illustrator file and it somehow corrupted in that I would save changes to the file but when the file was placed in inDesign (postcard with variable data addressing) or output through the prepress workflow (for a flexo label) it wouldn't show any of the modifications. They were very frustrating situations.

 

[schenkadere]

IF the ai file is saved with the "Create PDF Compatible File" box checked in the Illustrator Options dialog, Illustrator will create a PDF embedded in the ai file. You don't have to rename the file extension, just simply open the ai file in Acrobat.

If the file wasn't saved in this fashion you'll be out of luck.

 

[Dario]

AI file PDF compatible is 2 files in 1. Despite the file extension it's a PDF file with metadata readable by Adobe Illustrator.
The AI half stores zip-compressed/hi-res images if they are embedded.
Beware of the images you cand extract from the PDF half because they can be heavily jpg-compressed and downsampled too.
Of course, if you have no better options, you can do whatever suits you.

 

[dabob]

Reminds me of an old (and yes I'm dating myself) advertising slogan . . . "Double your pleasure. Double your fun." . . . apparently it goes for saving Illy with a pdf option . . . . which is something I have always done.

 

[FiddlePaper]

All I know is Illustrator is a great trick but I really do not know how to solve the issues on how it going to work. It also deals with a lot of file formats.

 

[Ricki Overton]

In my entire life I only saw one of these. And never bother to check any other illustrator-trick.

 

[zulbat]

Most people working in Illustrator and saving out as PDF don't really know what the settings do. Not all PDF's are created equal.