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Hi all! I am new to PDF development and this list and wonder if someone here could help me with a PDF development problem I have? I�m currently working on a solution for printing simple ID-cards from a database. Part of the data is text and part is an image of the cardholder overprinted with a watermark pattern. My problem is two-part: 1. I�m looking into a way to allow our layout specialists to use a standard off-the-shelf application to design our customers ID-cards and then connect the variable fields to a database for filling in with text and image data. 2. The ID must be overprinted with a watermark pattern except for couple of areas where the watermark has to be toned away to nothing (100% transparent). I have been experimenting with using Adobe Illustrator 10 to create PDFs with transparent areas showing underlying graphics and then printing these on a PostScript lvl 3 Printer. It prints well enough but I�m not absolutely sure that the transparent effect is reached without Illustrator 10 �flattening� the image before saving to file (although the specs at Adobe specify that the file is unflattened). My questions: 1. Anyone have any tips for layout design applications which can be used for creating a PDF that can then be filled with dynamic data (from a database)? 2. How do I best populate a PDF with data from a database? Can fields be set up to fill themselves or must data be injected from an external application? Forms or some other mechanism? 3. Does anyone have any experience with creating unflattened transparent vector graphics (latest PDF format) and printing on PostScript level 3 printers? There seems to be a lot of black magic surrounding this subject and I�m not quite sure what works and what doesn�t. 4. Is it possible to dissect a PDF to see if the vectorgraphics have been flattened? 5. Can a partially transparent vector graphic from one PDF be overlayed on top of another PDF? 6. Can an image be inserted into a PDF under a transparent vector graphic object? Hope someone can make sense of this query and help me along the way. Cheers /Edward Hiscoke *************************************************** Edward Hiscoke XPonCard Mark�rv�gen 2 645 82 Str�ngn�s Tel: 0152-26626 Mob: 073-6844726 Fax: 0152-17488 Internet adress: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Hemsida: http://www.xponcard.se *************************************************** To change your subscription: http://www.pdfzone.com/discussions/lists-pdfdev.html
