problem with gradient in illustrator to quark

[roclimb]

I am desperatly seeking help. I created really nice gradient illustrations using the gradient mesh tool and drop shadows in Illustrator 10. I save the file as an eps and go to QuarkXpress Passport 6.1 and use the picture box tool and get picture. When the picture comes up in Quark it looks bad. What can I do to get a good quality gradient to quark.

Any input would be really, really appreciated.

Rob H.

 

[Dov Isaacs]

Re: problem with gradient in illustrator to quark

What you see in QuarkXPress is only the TIFF preview of the Illustrator EPS file, not the actual results. Quark software (unlike InDesign) does not +internalize+ the contents of placed/imported EPS for PDF content.

The real question is what happens when you print to a PostScript printer? Are the results still problematic?

Also note that the best gradients from Adobe products (including Illustrator and InDesign) are produced with EPS with PostScript language 3 or PDF 1.3.

- Dov

 

[roclimb]

Re: problem with gradient in illustrator to quark

Thanks very much for the reply.

I printed the document from quark to my home printer and it came out bad (like it looked on-screen). The origional eps file that I print from Illustrator comes out good.

~Rob

 

[Dov Isaacs]

Re: problem with gradient in illustrator to quark

Was your +home printer+ a PostScript printer? If not, all you get when you print with any EPS content from QuarkXPress is the low resolution TIFF preview.

- Dov

 

[roclimb]

Re: problem with gradient in illustrator to quark

Oh boy,

I didn't realize that. I'm very new to using this program. That is probably the issue. I will try to print it on a poscript printer.

Thanks again. I really appreciate it.

~Rob H.

 

[nelly]

Re: problem with gradient in illustrator to quark

Am I right in saying if you do not have a postscript printer you should make a pdf out of your quark document and print from acrobat to get a good quality print? I seem to remember having to do this years ago.

Nelly.

 

[roclimb]

Re: problem with gradient in illustrator to quark

My Quark pogram will not let me save the file as a PDF without a Poscript Printer. A dialouge box pops up and states I need to specify a poscript printer when I try to export to PDF

~Rob

 

[almaink]

Re: problem with gradient in illustrator to quark

The key words here are "using the gradient mesh tool and drop shadows". Both of those effects are Transparency, and since Quark doesn't understand that of course they will render wrong. Just saving as an eps itself will destroy the transparency, as it's not supported in a postscript file. Didn't you see the warning triangle in the save dialog box when you selected eps?

 

[roclimb]

Re: problem with gradient in illustrator to quark

Actually the eps looks fine. I printed the eps and it looks great. When I put it in quark it looks bad. I guess what you say makes sense though Quark doesn't read the shaddows/gradient.

Is there a way to save to pdf that I dont need a popstcript printer?

 

[Tony Hepburn]

how would you go with creating a .tif or hi res .jpg?

I don't know a penny's worth about Quark so I don't know if you can fix a link issue like this with the same sort of process I use to fix some effects issues between Illustrator to Indesign.

Even after flattening transparencies before creating the EPS a printers proof for a digital screenprint still came back with wacked out gradients, sometimes even lost altogether. I was just wondering if Quark is known for having issues with gradients (that is besides the common issues).

Any feedback on this would be helpful

 

[Designdeimagem]

Send your eps to Acrobat Distiller (with correct profile) and you will have a pdf.