Line&Strokes as PDF 5/1.4 from Latest Illustrator, become PathsWithFill

[DuaneBryant]

Is there any way to help ensure backwards compatibility for maintaining Line&Stroke when saving out of Current/Latest Illustrator to older PDF versions?

I am no longer in daily prepress like earlier in my career. I work for a Trade-Only Finishing-house, that does Finishing&Display work only for Printing Companies. But I do open PDF 5/1.4 die files coming from our various printing-company customers, clean them up, and send to our diemaker from which to make our dies.

I use CS6 or an older seat of Esko PackEdge to open and edit these relatively simple die files, that may have only two or three colors of lines with strokes that designate Cut/Score/Perf rules for the dies. I practically never have any problem opening and editing files. Til now I have this one customer...

When I open their PDF 5/1.4 in either Illustrator CS6 or Esko PackEdge, the single line is no longer there. Instead, there is a pair of parallel lines with a fill between them (no strokes). Back in the day, I think the term was "converted to paths" or something like that.

Since I get die files from a wide variety of printing companies in PDF 5/1.4 with which I have no problems, I assume that there is something(one thing?) that this particular customer does different when they Save their Illustrator document as PDF 5/1.4. OR would Saving the Illustrator PDF in a newer version like 8/1.7 work better, then Preflighting the PDF back to 5/1.4 in Acrobat Pro?

Where might that conversion from strokes to paths be happening?

 

[Dov Isaacs]

There are a few issues here

First, what do you mean by PDF 5/1.4. There is no such beast! We will assume PDF 1.4 which was the latest version of PDF supported by Acrobat 5. There is a tremendous difference between the Acrobat release number and the PDF version number. Similarly, there is no PDF 8/1.7.

Second, there has been no differences between handling of lines, strokes, etc. between PDF 1.4 and PDF 1.7. That is not the cause of your symptoms!!!

Third and most important, Adobe Illustrator is not, repeat not, repeat yet again not a general purpose PDF file editor, public misperceptions notwithstanding! The only PDF files that Adobe Illustrator can safely edit are PDF files saved from the current or earlier versions of Illustrator in which when doing such a save operation, the Preserve Illustrator Editing Capabilities option is checked (in which case, private data representing the actual .AI format is embedded in the resultant PDF file). Furthermore, any fonts used in the original Illustrator file must also be installed on the system on which the PDF file is being edited in Illustrator – no, the fonts embedded in the PDF file are not available for use by Illustrator. And finally, if the original Illustrator file used linked images, those linked images must also be installed in their original locations on the system on which the PDF file is being edited in Illustrator. Attempting to edit an arbitrary PDF file in Illustrator may and often does lead to loss or conversion of objects, outlining of text, changes in colors or color spaces, etc.

Others will need to speak for the Esko PackEdge product.

- Dov

 

[DuaneBryant]

Let me re-summarize and clarify:

A latest-version Illustrator file with one single black line, with a black stroke of 1 point. From latest illustrator, "Save-As" to "PDF 1.4" with "Illustrator Editing Capabilities" checked. (no fonts, no images, no linked images, no colors other than black)

That file, then opened with Illustrator CS6. Black Line with Black stroke does not exist. Instead, two parallel lines with black fill between them. They were CONVERTED somewhere along the way.

THE WHOLE POINT:
A)Where is the most likely place that the conversion happened?
B) What is The most likely fix or workaround?

The ONLY 2 reasons I mentioned PackEdge are:
1) So y'all know that I have a professional prepress software that is a general purpose PDF file editor, and that I understand that illustrator is not, repeat not, repeat yet again not a general purpose PDF file editor.
2) As a "control" or second confirmation of the experience of opening the file in PackEdge, was the result was the same as when opening in CS6

db

 

[Dov Isaacs]

You say “latest version Illustrator file” – exactly what version of Illustrator are you referring to? The CS6 version of Illustrator was released seven years ago. What happens if you open up that PDF file in what is indeed the latest version of Illustrator, version 23.0.3 (2019)? Same problem or not?

- Dov

PS: You might want to post a sample of the .AI file and the .PDF file for us to examine.

 

[DuaneBryant]

Documented authored as line and stroke in latest version of Illustrator, version 23.0.3 (2019)
"Save As" PDF with Illustrator Editing Capabilities using PDF 1.4

Open PDF in latest version of Illustrator, version 23.0.3 (2019) views as line and stroke

Open PDF in CS6 Illustrator (2012), no line and stroke. Parallel lines with fill. Same result with PackEdge version circa 2012.

Will post visuals.

 

[Dov Isaacs]

Documented authored as line and stroke in latest version of Illustrator, version 23.0.3 (2019)
"Save As" PDF with Illustrator Editing Capabilities using PDF 1.4

Open PDF in latest version of Illustrator, version 23.0.3 (2019) views as line and stroke

Open PDF in CS6 Illustrator (2012), no line and stroke. Parallel lines with fill. Same result with PackEdge version circa 2012.

Will post visuals.

Thanks. Info and files most appreciated such that we can figure out what is going on here!

- Dov

 

[Glenn McDowall]

As I understand it, later versions (including CS6) of Illustrator allow you to place the stroke inside or outside the vector (Align Stroke) as well as the default central to the vector, when you save Illy as PDF the mechanism isn't there so it converts to filled paths, the Illy half of the PDF should still open up with strokes.

 

[Stephen Marsh]

I can’t reproduce with Illustator CC2018 and Illustrator CS6...

A stroked path is retained. So perhaps something with CC2019?


Stephen Marsh