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Question

Placed PDF is way too small

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
September 13, 2022
18 replies
9576 views

Banging my head on the keyboard over here. I've got a multipage PDF exported from an illustrator file with multiple artboards. Each artboard's dimensions match the InDesign document's page size, yet when I place the PDF it comes in at a tiny thubnail size and super pixelated as well despite Display Performance settings.

I'm thinking it's a glitch with the multiple artboards? Any suggestions are much appreciated.

This topic has been closed for replies.

Willi Adelberger

Community Expert

What happens when you place the AI file directly instead of the PDF?

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meherul32693649s1ea

Participating Frequently

Sir, please show this screen shoot

M

meherul32693649s1ea

Participating Frequently

I cropped multiple (100 artwork) images together. and aline on artbord. after then save but the 8.5"x11" file shows 0.86"x1.12" after saving or export.

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meherul32693649s1ea

Participating Frequently

This problem multiple PDF after save pdf, or export pdf, scriptdocpdf. i cant solve it. please help with video link

M

meherul32693649s1ea

Participating Frequently

M

meherul32693649s1ea

Participating Frequently

i take 8.625x11.25 but after mask multi-file in Illustrator 2022 and 2023, it is a very small size (0.86x1.12) how to I solve it. when I save as, export as and scriptdocpdf. i cant solve it. please help. show my screen shoot.

Jumpenjax

Community Expert

When save a pdf you have a choice of sizes. Have you tried to increase the quality?

Lee- Graphic Designer, Print Specialist, Photographer

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Eugene Tyson

Community Expert

You seem to have exceeded the Canvas size of Illustrator - which is probably having an adverse affect on the document and how it's handled - as the Canvas in Illustrator at that size is probably not supported.

I can't get above this number without breaking the system.

And going outside the norms will probably have adverse effects.

I copied all the artboards to a new document and sorted them by different column arrangement

4 columns of 10 pages each or along those lines

And it imports fine to InDesign.

I guess you reached a limitation with the software.

T

Thunder-Lightning

Inspiring

While this issue is being investigated, you could create a Parent Page in InDesign and create a frame on the Parent Page with Frame Fitting Options set to Auto-Fit with Fit Content Proportionally.

Create pages with this Parent Page and then place the multipage Illustrator file onto these pages.

Would this work for you?

paulh17340324

Participating Frequently

Did you ever find a fix for this? I am currently having the same issue. I save to PDF or place the Illustrator file into InDesign and it places 1/10th the size. Nothing I do seems to be working...

Brad @ Roaring Mouse

Community Expert

It's because of using Large Canvas. Illustrator will assign a 10% scale to any .ai or .pdf file on a large canvas. This, if you think about it, is desirable if you are actually working on a large artboard, say for a billboard. Attempting to create a preview (screen or otherwise) for an artboard that size would be impossible, so it scales it down to something that other programs can handle. This can happen in PDF viewers as well, so it's not an InDesign issue: it's doing what it's told by the PDF or AI. It will also happen if you place such a file into another Illustrator document. at least Illustrator recognizes that and has a preference to honor the original size.

Unfortunately, this 10% scaling affects any smaller size artboards, like the OP's files in this thread, even though their individual pages were small, but since they had 72 pages in a single vertical stack on one file it necessiated it to go to large canvas to fit them all. Reorganizing the pages or having less artboards in one document would likely have solved it.; unfortunately there's no way (I know of, anywa) to convert a large format canvas back to a "normal" one after the fact.

paulh17340324

Participating Frequently

It's just so odd to me. I work in large scale printing and we deal with large files all the time. This file was 80"x36" which is a fairly standard size for us. I'm constantly placing .ai or .pdf files of 80"-120" into InDesign for impoistion with no scaling. This is the first file I've ever had that's done this. I'm used to having to work half sized for anything larger than about 200", but never anything like this.

In fact, when I place the .ai file into InDesign and then size it up to the size it sohuld be and sabe that as a pdf, it will place in InDesign at full size.

L

Laubender

Community Expert

Hm.

Opened your Illustrator file with Adobe Illustrator 26.5.

See a lot of missing linked graphics with little "cloud" icons in the Links panel of Illustrator. Items that are placed and linked from a Creative Cloud Library. I have no access to that library so I cannot test anything. A warning message said that there are issues with previewing the document. Tried to get Overprint Preview. Did not work. Just the outline view of the artboard elements.

I also see that there are lots of PDF pages placed and linked. Links are all missing.

Also missing Illustrator symbols.

My guess now is that the placed PDFs are the core of the issue.

Could you please test what happens if you place and embed the PDF pages?

Best do that with only one single artboard in one separate document.

Regards,
Uwe Laubender
( Adobe Community Professional )

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Laubender

Community Expert

Hi @gabrielamadeus ,

also tested the following thing:

[1] Renamed your Illustrator file from WRWT Maps.ai to WRWT Maps.ai.pdf, because I wanted to check the embedded PDF data with Acrobat Pro DC.

[2] Opened the renamed file in Acrobat Pro DC, ran a preflight and was surprised, that Acrobat's preflight says, that the individual page size is different to the size shown at the bottom of the window: