PDF Files VS EPS Files...

[player]

Are there any differences in the way a graphic will print when I save it as a PDF or an EPS?

I am printing with Roland Versaworks and the graphic I am currently printing is a combination of vector text and a 71 meg bitmap. The file will print at 52" x 12'. I saved it full size.

Are there any advantages or disadvantages with either format?

Will the bitmap lose any quality as a PDF? There is a box that pops up and asks about the bitmap and has 300 dpi greyed out. Does that mean it will resample the bitmap to 300 even though I do not check that box?

Thanks

 

[visual800]

all the files I send to 365 are PDFs. I have never had resolution issues, every now and then (rarw) there will be a jacked up color but they work with you on that

 

[player]

It sounds like the EPS will be a more stable way to go...

I did a slice or clip, and I could not tell the difference.

But if VW has trouble with PDF I will start using the Generic EPS export option.

 

[rydods]

Wouldn't it be safer to save it as a jpeg? 300 dpi. That's what I usually do. I use Flexi sign cloud and my designer uses corel draw and for some reason from time to time we run into printing issues where it either doesn't import correctly into versaworks or something doesn't print correctly.

 

[player]

Wouldn't it be safer to save it as a jpeg? 300 dpi. That's what I usually do. I use Flexi sign cloud and my designer uses corel draw and for some reason from time to time we run into printing issues where it either doesn't import correctly into versaworks or something doesn't print correctly.

No... I would think they are the last file you want to save them in as they are lossy. Meaning they discard color and resolution information to save space and compress the file. Plus you lose any vector information. The vectors will be converted to raster or bitmap style graphics. An enlarged vector keeps the edge of a letter the same resolution regardless of the size of the file. That resolution will be the best your printer can do. But with jpg the vectors become bitmaps.

TIFF is a non lossy bitmap format for photo type raster images. EPS and PDF allow both or either bitmaps and vectors to be saved in the same file.

 

[MithosTheHero]

In terms of overall quality they will be equal. Unoutlined fonts and illustrator effects can effects both where they don't render properly, but .eps are less likely to be effected by this. Major thing to keep in mind is when you save a .pdf out of illustrator, let's say, it will crop to the art board, meanwhile a .eps will crop to the art itself as a whole. So if you have things all over it will change the size.

 

[omgsideburns]

Major thing to keep in mind is when you save a .pdf out of illustrator, let's say, it will crop to the art board, meanwhile a .eps will crop to the art itself as a whole. So if you have things all over it will change the size.

PDFs from Illustrator can be just the artboard, or include the bleed, or be the whole document.. Just depends on the settings you use when you save it. But yes, generally it just create a page for/of each artboard.

 

[particleman]

EPS does not store images efficiently at all. Just dump a huge image into an eps file and watch the size multiply to many times the original image size. Up until Illustrator CS6 64 bit it was extremely easy to crash/not save files in Illustrator for this reason. This will also increase your rip times drastically I've found.

PDF on the other hand can embed images as is. For this reason the file size will stay under control, although make sure you aren't inadvertently downsampling the image when you save it, use "high quality".

The better option, if you are working with a 70mb + image with vector components use photoshop which creates/edits natively in vector. Save and store you files for later use as PSD. You'll be able to work faster and more efficiently because photoshop handles large images really well and the psd file spec is designed for it (eps is not). Output to your rip in a lossless format like Tiff at size or load the psd straight in if your rip takes that.

 

[Mosh]

I send 95% of my file from Corel to Versa using eps.

Just this morning I tryed printing a customer's pdf, the small text got fuzzy and wierd, I was fearing printer problems. Double checked profiles and ran it three times. Ended up opening in Corel and re-sending as eps, printed with NO problems at all....

 

[P Wagner]

Are there any differences in the way a graphic will print when I save it as a PDF or an EPS?

I am printing with Roland Versaworks and the graphic I am currently printing is a combination of vector text and a 71 meg bitmap. The file will print at 52" x 12'. I saved it full size.

Are there any advantages or disadvantages with either format?

Will the bitmap lose any quality as a PDF? There is a box that pops up and asks about the bitmap and has 300 dpi greyed out. Does that mean it will resample the bitmap to 300 even though I do not check that box?

Thanks

There are at least two significant differences between these file formats:

1) EPS file never contain Embedded Working Spaces, such as Adobe 1998, sGB, SWOP or GRACol. This file format simply does not support them. This makes it more important to properly define the application-based color settings in your workflow, to avoid unwanted color shifts as the job moves from the design application(s) to the RIP.

2) PDF files can, but do not necessarily contain Embedded Working Space. It depends on the settings that the operator used when saving the file. PDF/x or High Quality Print presets from recent versions of Adobe apps should embed working space data in most cases.