autoexebat said:
I have a Roland printer and since 2013 I've always exported as EPS , finally I've hit my max disk space and with 2tb full of files
You're saving all the files you export for RIP purposes? If so it seems like a waste of disc space to me. I certainly keep the original master file and any related original assets for a certain project. But files exported just to RIP or send to a routing table usually get trashed unless there is something special about them.
autoexebat said:
What format do most of you all print in ?
For our shop, it depends on the nature of the artwork and the application used to create it. If it's relatively simple artwork with flat fills then exporting EPS straight out of CorelDRAW is good enough. Artwork with more complex, advanced effects may require PDF (or even a round-trip through Illustrator, AI file exported from CDR and then PDF exported from AI).
Our shop previously used VersaWorks with the Roland VersaCAMM printer we retired a few years ago. I can recall VersaWorks not liking EPS files if they contained elements such as transparent/floated pixel-based elements brought into Illustrator from Photoshop. I had to use PDF to print that kind of hybrid raster/vector content.
For a long time Illustrator has been able to create gradient fills that can be squeezed or slanted out of normal proportions and the start/stop positions not contrained by the bounds of the filled object. Plus, the gradient stops could have degrees of transparency. CorelDRAW adopted similar gradient fill capabilities with CDR 2018 (which makes porting AI-based art into CorelDRAW and vice versa easier). Anyway, PDF seems to be more reliable at preserving those kinds of gradient fills.
There's lot of other live effects I generally prefer to expand, flatten, break apart or convert to curves before sending to a printer. That even includes converting fonts to outlines (unless there are literally paragraphs of body copy to print). Some pre-flight testing should be done with any plug-in based effects.
ikarasu said:
I dont know if corel is the same - But in Illustrator theres a "Preserve illustrator editing capabilities" Which will almost double the size of a PDF... we dont worry about filesize since hard drives are cheap, but if you're low on space... unchecking that in illustrator works, might want to see of corel has the same option.
The "Preserve Illustrator Editing Capabilities" option essentially saves the Adobe Illustrator data in with the PDF. It's basically an Illustrator file that can be viewed in Adobe Reader. AI files with PDF compatibility turned on can be dragged into Adobe Reader too.
If I'm sending someone a logo file or something else they intend to edit further or bring into another layout I'll choose that option. PDFs that are not Illustrator-friendly tend to run into LOTS of technical problems if the PDF is imported for other uses than just printing. Astute Graphics' Vector First Aid plug-in for Illustrator can solve a lot of problems with imported PDF artwork. But it's 100% perfect either; additional editing may be required.
