I have been referencing .eps files into the FM file. The reason I had been printing directly from the FrameMaker document was because it is easy for me to proofread a hard copy (a whole another issue) as I work on a document.
>From the excellent suggestions I've received, it looks like I should be making a PDF and then print from that. However, it takes twice as long to get a copy that I can proofread. Obviously, the finished document can be printed from the PDF and that is what I always deliver to my clients. Dov mentions the .AI format. I've always saved as .EPS because that is what I was told to do several years ago. Most of my illustrations are line art and some .BMP files that I added callouts or edited in Illustrator. Frankly, I do not know the difference between .AI and .EPS. The online Help does not give me enough information. So, what is the difference and what should I be using in my FrameMaker documents? Tim Lewis Lewis Technical Communications, Inc. ltc.writer at comcast.net > -----Original Message----- > From: Dov Isaacs [mailto:isaacs at adobe.com] > Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2008 12:52 AM > To: Tim Lewis; framers at lists.frameusers.com > Subject: RE: Printing Error with FM > > What is not clear from your description is exactly WHAT you are > referencing > in your FrameMaker documents. If you are referencing a .AI file, you > are in > effect referencing a PDF 1.3 file; FrameMaker really knows nothing > about > the Illustrator document format but rather is able to convert the PDF > inside > a .AI file saved with the PDF compatibility option to EPS when > importing; > that's what really happens. > > Thus, what probably happened was the equivalent of placing an EPS file > with > PostScript 3 constructs into your FramMaker document. When you printed > directly > from FrameMaker, the PostScript 3 is what choked your printer. Of > course, > if you created PDF and printed from that (by the way, a much better > solution > in general than EVER printing directly from FrameMaker!!!!), as you > found, > Acrobat (or Reader) has the smarts to downgrade to PostScript language > level 2 > constructs as necessary for your PostScript Level 2 device. > > Here are your alternatives: > > (1) Continue what you are doing and always print from Acrobat or > Reader > instead of FrameMaker (not a bad choice in the general case -- this is > something I personally do with most all applications these days! I get > to > see on-screen what I will print and do some cursory pre-flight to avoid > wasted printing). > > (2) Save your Illustrator documents as EPS language level 2 and > import > those into FrameMaker instead. This will pessimize things such as > gradients, > but otherwise you should be OK. > > (3) There is a maker.ini setting for controlling the conversion of > PDF > to EPS (I don't have a reference with me for the exact setting). Change > that > to indicate PostScript language level 2 instead of 3 (ironically, I > thought > that the default for that was 2, not 3!) > > (4) Go out and buy a new printer. If you are happy with the printer > you > currently have, this is the most ridiculous solution! > > Personally, I'd go with solution (1). > > - Dov <snip>
