Grey Lines When Plotting..

[Undaground_King]

Hi Guys,

 

Im trying to plot my drawing from AutoCad 2012 - DWG to PDF format.

The problem I have encountered is that when the pdf is created, it has some of the lines in grey which they werent in AutoCad whatsoever. When I zoom into the lines on the pdf, these lines turn black as should be and appear normal.

Could someone please explain why this is happening and how I can create a PDF where the lines will stay black.

 

I appreaciate all suggestions,

Thanks in advance

[ReMark]

Could it have something to do with the "Z" elevation of the lines not being at "0"?

[eldon]

Do all the lines have a default Lineweight?

[Undaground_King]

Z elevation seems to be at 0.

 

The lineweights of the lines are all taken care of by layers. Im just curious when u plot your drawings, to they come out straight black and white??

I cant get my head around why the grey would dissapear when I zoom into the lines??

 

Also, when the pdf is printed, the printed copy on paper seems fine, its just the pdf I would like without the grey lines

[eldon]

The lineweights of the lines are all taken care of by layers.

 

That may be so, but when I want some black lines to be half tone (i.e.grey), I make their lineweight 0.09mm. What lineweight do your grey lines have?

[ReMark]

AutoCAD's ability to print to a PDF format is not known for its great quality. It's a convenience to appease users who find they have to send a drawing off to a client who isn't willing to install a viewer that is DWG compatible.

 

How many layers are affected?

[Undaground_King]

The lineweights I am using were predetermined by the client at 0.00 mm

The PDF they sent of there version of the drawing has the lines all black.

Ive used the exact same layers they used by updateing the DWG file, but when I try to plot for some reason I get some lines appearing grey. I'll try a screenshot which may help

[eldon]

The lineweights I am using were predetermined by the client at 0.00 mm

 

That is why the lines appear grey. Try re-setting all the lineweights to default and then the PDF will have black lines.

[eldon]

Or perhaps they plot without using lineweights

[Undaground_King]

I tried to plot it with default lineweight, but it did the same thing. The Grey lines are still visible until the PDF is zoomed in to atleast 125%.

The above is a little cutout of the PDF view I am getting. As you can see there are sections of grey lines which I don't want. They should appear as the rest of the drawing... black!!

I can't really go higher is lineweight as the drawing is quite intricate and making the lines thicker just wont do in this case. The grey lines turn to black at around 150% zoomed in

[eldon]

Without the actual file, or part of it, I can only suggest lines of investigation.

 

Are all the grey lines on one layer?

 

Are all lines with Bylayer colour? Do all lines have Lineweight Bylayer?

 

What are the properties of the individual grey lines?

 

What Plot style are you using? Are you plotting in black and white only?

 

You may have to do a bit of digging to see exactly why it is happening..

[Undaground_King]

sorry mate, im bound by contract and unable to share the file, which is why I took the screenshot to give you an idea on whats happening.

There seem to be two layers where the grey lines are. All lines are ByLayer for all settings..

Im not using any plot styles, but I have tried monochrome, 100% screening and others but all have the same result.

[eldon]

Does it only look grey on the screen or on the paper print as well?

 

How do your clients produce their PDF?

 

But without the file, I am only firing off hopeful suggestions. Best of luck with it.

[Undaground_King]

Yeah its only grey on the screen. The paper print is fine.

 

Im not sure what software they use to produce their PDF.

 

Yeah thanks I appreciate your help.. Im wondering if it might be the quality of DWG to PDF?? should I maybe try CutePDF?? is it any better?

[SLW210]

It is your graphics display. I get that from time to time as well. Seems the more lines in the drawing SOME of them APPEAR gray on the screen.

[Undaground_King]

So the fix is a better graphics card? No other way around the issue?

[SLW210]

I don't believe it is graphics card related, could be. More the Adobe drivers or something. You may find more info on an Adobe forum, it is a problem with more than AutoCAD I believe.

[Undaground_King]

Umm not sure if this info helps.. But I've just tried using DWF Viewer from AutoCad to convert it to AutoCad 2007. I plotted the drawing using AutoCad 2007 and the grey lines dissapeared but the text on the drawing became distorted. The text in the Title Block became very thick and other text throughout the drawing became fuzzy.. It would be best if I could find a way to get the grey lines in in the 2012 version PDF to stay black but am willing to find a workaround in the 2007 if possible. Been at it for almost a full day now. Its doin my head in

[SLW210]

Can you take a small portion of the drawing file and post it here? Somebody will give you a solution maybe. As long as it plots black, I don't much worry with them.

[Undaground_King]

Just found a solution. It seems AutoCad had overcomplicated the process of layers on pdfs. I used CutePDF to convert the DWG to PDF and it shows the drawing as a single layer all black lines. I Can't turn layers off and on as the AutoCad would allow but thats fine. Hey thanks to all for the help and suggestions on this thread. Hope it helps out ne1 ekse who is having this same issue.