DWG TO PDF facility in AutoCAD 2009 provides poor text quality - any suggestions?

[christillis]

Hi there all,

 

Sorry if I haven't been on here for a while, so I won't be offended if no one answers!

 

I recently upgraded to 2009 and was very relieved when I noticed an in-built PDF feature. However, the quality is quite poor. I 'saved as' the cad file to 2004 version, then transferred it to my AutoCAD 2004 install (with Acrobat Pro 7 installed) and it converts perfectly (as it always has!). You'll see below that the text looks bubbly and is now in bold for some reason (I use basic Aerial).

 

Any advice welcome, sorry if this is an old question, I have done some googling and searched on here, but didn't find anything with searchable description.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

PS Here's the effect difference (same file, just setup1 with: 2009 only. Setup2: 2004 with Acrobat Writer). Really sorry for the large image, I know it's annoying but it's kind of necessary this time.

 

 

If the image does not display at the right size, the direct link is this:

 

http://www.cpaplanningdesign.com/autocad/CAD-Issue-font-dwg-to-pdf-bubbly-poor-quality.png

[ReMark]

I suggest you rework the PDF using Acrobat Writer and forget about trying to get better quality results straight from AutoCAD. You'll be happier with the results even if it requires an extra step.

[SLW210]

Have you installed all the updates for AutoCAD 2009? UPDATES

 

Switch to a shx font. TT fonts are the problem. You might try adjusting the pc3 settings. DWG to PDF is much better in 2011.

 

I used/use CutePDF (we have most here on AutoCAD 2005), but since you already have Acrobat Writer you can just use that since it appears to work.

[christillis]

I suggest you rework the PDF using Acrobat Writer and forget about trying to get better quality results straight from AutoCAD. You'll be happier with the results even if it requires an extra step.

 

Thanks for the prompt response!

 

When I changed computers I went from 32 bit win xp to 64 bit win7 and sadly the acrobat version I have was not compatible. So really I was hoping that I could use the inbuilt pdf feature to save me money on upgrading my PDF writer. I have tried the cheaper ones but I'm generally very happy with Acrobat's writer and I know how to work it with all it's extra features.

 

Have you installed all the updates for AutoCAD 2009? UPDATES

 

Switch to a shx font. TT fonts are the problem. You might try adjusting the pc3 settings. DWG to PDF is much better in 2011.

 

I used/use CutePDF (we have most here on AutoCAD 2005), but since you already have Acrobat Writer you can just use that since it appears to work.

 

Hi SLW, thanks for responding, very helpful!

 

You've probably read what I said to Mark. I don't think it's fair that I should be pushed into shx fonts - as you'll know presentation is everything these days and there's plenty of competition out there. I tried adjusting the pc3 settings but there are very few adjustments, I did do as much as I could, for instance I changed the print resolution to the max. and it had no effect. So far I'm guessing I'll just have to upgrade my adobe writer. I've tried CutePDF in the past, how do you find it? I like the extra options that are provided with Adobe Writer - but then as I've used it for a long time I'm naturally bias.

[Jack_O'neill]

I use the dwgtopdf.pc3 that came with 2010. You may have to adjust the pen settings to make the lines and fonts come out right. The only persistant problem I've had with it is that arialmt font problem, and I finally figured out a way to avoid that...don't use arial!

[crummy file deleted]

 

This is one I did a couple months ago for a renovation to an existing structure. All true type fonts.

 

edit--pay no attention to the errors...i didn't realize that I posted the "architect edited" version of the drawing. I recreated this from a paper drawing, sent it in and the architect sent it back with changes. Only he didn't quite do all of them. Hence the broken lines at the doors and windows near the railing, and his honeycomb insulation.

 

The point is you can use the pdf generator if you're willing to fool around with it a bit.

 

edit #2...here's the one I sent out. Couldn't stand it...had to get the right file out there.

CALIFORNIA HOUSE.pdf

Edited December 9, 2011 by Jack_O'neill

[SLW210]

CutePDF

 

PDF4FREE is one I was thinking of giving a try, but I haven't downloaded it yet.

 

I know TTF is unavoidable, I was just letting you know the problem.

[christillis]

I use the dwgtopdf.pc3 that came with 2010. You may have to adjust the pen settings to make the lines and fonts come out right. The only persistant problem I've had with it is that arialmt font problem' date=' and I finally figured out a way to avoid that...don't use arial!

[i'][crummy file deleted][/i]

 

This is one I did a couple months ago for a renovation to an existing structure. All true type fonts.

 

edit--pay no attention to the errors...i didn't realize that I posted the "architect edited" version of the drawing. I recreated this from a paper drawing, sent it in and the architect sent it back with changes. Only he didn't quite do all of them. Hence the broken lines at the doors and windows near the railing, and his honeycomb insulation.

 

The point is you can use the pdf generator if you're willing to fool around with it a bit.

 

edit #2...here's the one I sent out. Couldn't stand it...had to get the right file out there.

 

Hi Jack, thanks for your input. I'm not too keen on changing pen settings in ctb files, in case it mucks up the presentation. I did open up your PDF and by chance it said about Aerialmt! Ever since Aerial became an option in CAD, I've used it!

 

Don't worry, unless it's my own drawing I never pay attention to errors

 

Well, I fool around with techie stuff enough as it is, without this - so a 'proper' pdf writer it is. Incidentally I did find a post on AutoDesk's forum about this, and they still haven't addressed the problem. I guess it is only cheap software really, a few thousand pounds and all...

 

CutePDF

 

PDF4FREE is one I was thinking of giving a try, but I haven't downloaded it yet.

 

I know TTF is unavoidable, I was just letting you know the problem.

 

Cheers SLW, I do appreciate your comments, sincerely didn't mean to insult you. My only experience of cutepdf was the watermark it leaves on drawings with the free version, I didn't think that was very professional. Doesn't happen with the paid for version I hope! Luckily 'a friend knows a friend' and just told me that he's moving to Mac's and is prepared to sell his version of adobe writer 9 for a fraction of the price he paid So that'll be the best option!

 

Thanks again for all your help gent's!

[Dana W]

Yeah, my 2009 PDF output is pretty bad too, and it is a known problem. It also comes out freaking HUGE in file size, sometimes 10 times the original drawing file size. Aparently the older AutoCad's pdf database gets confused with all the truetype and vector data.

 

I use AutoDesk TrueView. It's free on their website. It does much more than just print pdf's too, you can plot to ALL the same plotters your AutoCad can access. You can also convert dwg's to other releases of AutoCad if you have to ship a dwg occasionally. WARNING TrueView only uses the dreaded ribbon.

 

You just have to open your drawing in TrueView and plot it just as if you still had it open in AutoCad. No third party software to tweak, manipulate, update, customize, or holler at. TrueView uses all your AutoCad settings just like you left them for that particular drawing. It also does all the other publish stuff including Sheet Sets if you use them.

 

One drawback I did find with TrueView. Every time it is used, it will usurp the "Opens With..." Windows setting for dwg files. That is, the next time you open a dwg from a Windows folder rather than from AutoCad, it will execute TrueView instead of AutoCad. If you are a Windows Vista or newer user You can fix it by simply going to Windows Contol Panel > Programs > Default Programs > Set Associations and changing the dwg Association from AutoCad Drawing Launcher to AutoCad Application. Otherwise, just open a dwg from within AutoCad, and it will take the file association default back until the next time you use TrueView. This only applies if your association is set to AutoCad Drawing Launcher rather than AutoCad Application now. If you are a Mac user or Older than Vista OS user, this sorta crap prolly won't happen anyway.

 

Oh, yeah. Another drawback. You cannot print pdf's from word processing software using Trueview. It's basicly AutoCad with no real editing capability, although there are a few drawing paramaters you can change. You can change plotters, printers. paper sizes and plotstyles from within TrueView.

Edited December 10, 2011 by Dana W

[christillis]

Hi Dana, thanks for your in depth response, thoroughly appreciated!

 

Am I right in thinking that TrueView would have to be downloaded by a client/printers/builders, etc.? If so, I don't think I can go that route - some people still don't even have Adobe Reader installed! Does true view have layer controls though?

 

hehe, you don't sell TrueView very well do you!

 

Great information though, very useful indeed - especially the headsup on the drawbacks.

[Jack_O'neill]

Hi Jack, thanks for your input. I'm not too keen on changing pen settings in ctb files, in case it mucks up the presentation. I did open up your PDF and by chance it said about Aerialmt! Ever since Aerial became an option in CAD, I've used it!

 

Don't worry, unless it's my own drawing I never pay attention to errors

 

Well, I fool around with techie stuff enough as it is, without this - so a 'proper' pdf writer it is. Incidentally I did find a post on AutoDesk's forum about this, and they still haven't addressed the problem. I guess it is only cheap software really, a few thousand pounds and all...

 

 

 

Cheers SLW, I do appreciate your comments, sincerely didn't mean to insult you. My only experience of cutepdf was the watermark it leaves on drawings with the free version, I didn't think that was very professional. Doesn't happen with the paid for version I hope! Luckily 'a friend knows a friend' and just told me that he's moving to Mac's and is prepared to sell his version of adobe writer 9 for a fraction of the price he paid So that'll be the best option!

 

Thanks again for all your help gent's!

 

The pen settings only apply to the particular plot you assign them to, won't change anything else. You can have several different ones, and it's not hard to do when you get the hang of it. Just give them unique names. I've created several for different size pages, different customer preferences...not a big deal.

 

As for the errors on that first page I posted, that had to go. That architect decided to move the railing, but didn't fix it around the windows and doors, can't draw a rectangle to save her life without having the lines at the corners run past...just sloppy stuff. I didn't catch all of it, but that first one wasn't gonna be on a public forum with my name on it. I'll make my own mistakes, don't need any help from that person!

[Dana W]

Hi Dana, thanks for your in depth response, thoroughly appreciated!

 

Am I right in thinking that TrueView would have to be downloaded by a client/printers/builders, etc.? If so, I don't think I can go that route - some people still don't even have Adobe Reader installed! Does true view have layer controls though?

 

hehe, you don't sell TrueView very well do you!

 

Great information though, very useful indeed - especially the headsup on the drawbacks.

I am not really selling TrueView. It is free anyway. (Where's ths kick-back advantage to that)

 

It is just that unless you create a lot of pdf files from software other than AutoCad, there is no need to pay for any quirky third party pdf create application. Anyway, all we are trying to do here is get around the sucky pdf output from AutoDesk 2009 products. TrueView does that very well, and it does it for free with no muss or fuss.

 

The only reason most CAD users are using software like Cutepdf, is that AutoCad didn't always make its own pdf output, and it had to be converted with another package, and there was no TrueView.

 

Yes, Trueview has full layer control and the resulting pdf has layer on/off for each separate layer. It just copies your specs from the AutoCad data you set up when you created the layout, and model. Also, it allows you to edit and customize your *.pc3 files and your plotstyles from within the TrueView page set up manager.

 

Your clients do not need Trueview to see or print the pdf, but there is nothing from stopping them from downloading and installing it. It is FREE.

 

TrueView is simply an AutoCad drawing manipulation tool, the output from the Dwg To Pdf.pc3 is plain Adobe pdf format exactly as if it had been plotted by AutoCad, with the exceptions that the output is clean and the output file size is WAY smaller, much easier to email.

 

When in TrueView you simply pretend it is AutoCad and plot your layout the same way.

 

The client would either have to print it out or at least have Adobe reader 8 installed. If they don't even have adobe reader installed, just slap 'em and stop wasting your time on them.:lol:

[christillis]

Hiya jack, thanks again. I really would like to use that workaround, but I do work for a number of people and at a number of workstations, so I do like to minimise config changes where possible. If I only ever worked on my own Workstation, I'd definitely do it!

 

Hehe, yeah I make my own mistakes too

[DANIEL]

autodesk should be embarresed by this pc3's plot quality, but als, they do not care ........... really the only time i use this is when i have to make a whole lot of them and the quality isnt an issue but its just a matter of time before i'm going to have to plot hundreds of pdf's one at time in order to get the nessicary quality, I really hope there is a solution to to the quality issue

[ReMark]

This is what the experts tell us re: PDF.

 

"A Portable Document Format (pdf) file is a self-contained cross-platform document. In plain language, it is a file that will look the same on the screen and in print, regardless of what kind of computer or printer someone is using and regardless of what software package was originally used to create it."

 

But out in the real world we all know that is a crock of B.S.

[Jack_O'neill]

Hiya jack, thanks again. I really would like to use that workaround, but I do work for a number of people and at a number of workstations, so I do like to minimise config changes where possible. If I only ever worked on my own Workstation, I'd definitely do it!

 

Hehe, yeah I make my own mistakes too

 

Its not really a workaround, but a permanent solution. This can be used with any laser or inkjet printer as well as the pdf generator to generate the line widths you want to see. For instance, the main border around the titleblock can be set to a certain width, with the other lines being lighter. Same for the company logo. If you do mechanical work, you can set particular layers to plot at specific widths, and you can if you wish assign the color to be black, regardless of which pen is used. I set this up long ago for an HP Designjet 600. It was a monochrome injet and we had been using a pen plotter. The titleblock was drawn with a big felt tip, as was the company logo and some other things. I created one for all four paper sizes that would look proportionally the same. For example, if you wanted a b size print, you picked the b size stb file and it all came out looking great, as long as the layering conventions were followed. "CTB" files are color dependant, so how it plots is determined by its color. STB files are object dependant, and can be assigned to layers or objects independent of color. Set them up, get them looking like you want and save them out to a network folder somewhere that's accessible to everyone, then anyone can use them.

 

autodesk should be embarresed by this pc3's plot quality, but als, they do not care ........... really the only time i use this is when i have to make a whole lot of them and the quality isnt an issue but its just a matter of time before i'm going to have to plot hundreds of pdf's one at time in order to get the nessicary quality, I really hope there is a solution to to the quality issue

 

The quality is adjustable, but granted it's not perfect. If you use the out of the box ctb files it's not going to look as good as it will if you make your own ctb and stb files.

 

This is what the experts tell us re: PDF.

 

"A Portable Document Format (pdf) file is a self-contained cross-platform document. In plain language, it is a file that will look the same on the screen and in print, regardless of what kind of computer or printer someone is using and regardless of what software package was originally used to create it."

 

But out in the real world we all know that is a crock of B.S.

 

It did work when Adobe was the king of PDF but everybody and his brother has jumped on the bandwagon to make pdf creators and readers, so it's not going to work the same always. The format has been tweaked to make it editable, to allow for color and 3d images and all sorts of stuff it was never designed for originally. It was an image of a document, so it didn't matter if you had that font on your machine or not, you could see it, and so could anybody else.