printing issues

Amar

Amar

New Member
Hi, I was wondering if anyone could help with my problem.

I have designed a logo from scratch using the latest Illustrator package. I have sent it to the van sign writers to get printed. They have printed it off but the image is pixelated. He has tried to use other packages to see if it stops pixelating but he is struggling. He said that he has also tried Illustrator. I am not sure which version he has used though. From my understanding, if something is designed in Illustrator it becomes a vector file which can be blown up as big as you like and it wont pixelate. I don't know if this is an issue I have on my part or his.

Does anyone have any ideas?

It would be greatly appreciated if anyone has any understanding on this as I need to get this van signwritten asap.
 
Illustrator supports both vector and raster images. You can insert a raster image, but it doesn't get converted to vector - that's just not how it works.
 
If you placed a photograph or a raster (pixel) image into Illustrator it will remain a raster unless you run an image trace which converts it to vectors.

Assuming you didn't and used just graphics, did you put any effects onto it?

There are some effects in Illustrator such as gaussian blur that are not vectors and work same as Photoshop.
You have to set the resolution for these and they may have been set to 72dpi as default.
 
Thank you for your replies.

Hankscorpio, I haven't used any images to insert into the design as I have produced it all using the tools in Illustrator.

Levi, I was asked by the sign writers to send it using PDF format. When I spoke to him after the issue, he said that he doesn't have any Adobe packages but he then told me that he has tried to open it using his friends Illustrator but had the same issue. I have since sent him an ai file of the image which I am guessing hopefully will solve the problem. What do you think?? Should PDF still pixelate though or is there something I am doing wrong????

Thanks again.
 
Scotty - Just read your message, thank you for your help.

I did use some special effects. They are sphere shapes which look 3D. If this is the issue, is there a way of rectifying it using the resolution? It has been a long time since I actually produced this and don't do graphics full time so my designing is a little rusty. Is there a way of tracking each layer. I understand there is a layer palette which shows me that each sphere has a path and a blend that was used. Where would I change the resolution?

Thanks.
 
PDF's act as a container; if the PDF file only contains vectors then it will not pixelate.

From reading your post I know that your .ai and PDF contains raster images or effects, which are made up of pixels, not vectors, hence the pixelation.
 
Hey @Amar

Sounds like that is the issue.

Illustrator's default is set to 72dpi and you'll need something at least 150 for large format or better still 300dpi (at the size it's to be printed) to be safe.
If the sign is say 1m x 1m, make your document/artwork that size.

Go to: Effects > Document Raster Effects Setting and change it there.
It should set the entire document without having to select an individual object or anything.

There is a Layers window. (Window > Layers) but you shouldn't need that.
 
Hey all,

@GCarlD - I am also guessing it is the effects that is causing the problem for all the comments.

Scotty - I also was shocked that he didn't have Adobe packages!!

So I have changed the artwork to a similar size for printing.
I have changed the Document Raster Effects Setting to 300dpi.
I have also clicked on Document Setup and changed the preset to high resolution.

Thanks for the help guys. Its giving me good tips for the future.

Lets hope this works!

I will let you know what the outcome is...fingers crossed!
 
So that didn't work either (pulling my hair out)

I have attached two documents, one is what the spheres should look like (doc - spheres) and what has happened to the image that I sent to the writers since my last message. (doc - logo sample) Although it looks quite funky and interesting, its not what I want!! (n)

Has anyone seen this happen before???

I think my last resort will be to go to the printers and plug in my laptop to see what happens as the image on my laptop is fine. I have printed it from home too and it looks ok.

Any other ideas would be grateful.
 

Attachments

  • sphere.pdf
    820.3 KB · Views: 10
  • logo sample.jpg
    logo sample.jpg
    91.6 KB · Views: 7
Just to clarify; did you send the sphere.pdf to the sign writers and what they see on their end is the logo sample.jpg? Or did you save as a Jpeg and the logo sample.jpg is the result?

I know similar things can happen if you 'Expand Appearance' due to gradients.
 
I think I did 'expand appearance' from what I can remember.

Is there any way around this????
 
It looks from the .PDF that it was originally a gradient fill or a blend which has been expanded (making loads of separate shapes) but sometimes opening a PDF back up in .AI has some unusual results.

Not sure what happened to the .JPG with the rainbow effect.
It'd be alright for a tripy club flyer. ;)

It's easy to re-draw using a gradient for the sphere and another for the light reflection (white to transparent).
I did a really quick draw but without the original, original I was guessing a bit.
 

Attachments

  • sphere.pdf
    91 KB · Views: 8
Thanks for taking the time out to that Scotty. I was hoping not to have to redo it but I think that is what it has come down to :unsure:

Thank you everyone for your advise.
 
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