workflow, from vector architectural cad drawing to digital published

Report · Oct 21, 2017

I'm a trying to figure out what the best way to publish a vector drawing made in Autocad through InDesign and then for a presentation document (pdf) that is going to be presented digitally.

1. If I import the vector pdf directly to InDesign and it becomes dark and weird (for a lack of a better word, just doesn't look good at all) and if I convert it to a jpg it becomes to light.

I know the difference between vector and pixellated drawings just trying to find the best way of doing this. Best practice.

thanks !

Report · Oct 21, 2017

I would temporarily ignore what the screen preview of the placed AutoCad PDF file looks like. If you place it into InDesign and then make a PDF from InDesign, what does THAT second PDF look like?

Report · Oct 21, 2017

hi thank you!

it looks like a vector drawing next to pixelated drawings, so there is a lack of consistency

I guess my question is how to best convert the pdf (cad) drawing to a jpg and keep the sharpness of the drawing.

I tried to export from illustrator then in photoshop trying to make it sharper but not really great result.

Report · Oct 21, 2017

Try opening the PDF into Photoshop and save the JPEG file from Photoshop.

Report · Oct 21, 2017

that's what I am doing just the quality of the drawing is not that grate, maybe I should post this in a phs forum.

I probably just need to fiddle with it.

thank you though!

Report · Oct 21, 2017

Maybe you should ask in the AutoCad forums?

AutoCAD - Autodesk Community

Report · Oct 22, 2017

In my experience, AutoCad users know not that much about printing, unfortunately.

Why you are trying to convert it to a raster format? It will never be as sharp as original vectors, just 'by design'. And more, jpeg is probably the worst choice here. Most AutoCad drawings are complex thin lines. JPEG's artifacts just kill them. Better keep your vectors as long as you can.

Now you have pdfs exported from AutoCad, or original dwg files? Anyway, drop 'em onto Acrobat to investigate is there any cleanup you need to perform. Some things can be done directly in Acrobat, or you may want to open that pdf in Illy (yes, I know, Illustrator is NOT a general PDF editor!). FWIW, CorelDraw has a 'legal' import filter for a dwg files.

Save it as ai or pdf, place that in InDesign. And don't forget to inform your client that drawings now should be re-checked carefully...

Another thing to keep in mind. AutoCad drawings often are made on a huge artboard with lines thickness 0.1-0.5 pt. If you place this in ID and resize down, say, to 25%, you'll get lines far too thin for printer to catch. So: always consult your printer for possible problems!

Report · Oct 22, 2017

I've been told that Illustrator can open AutoCad files. I don't know of any of the details since I've never needed that feature nor had any client or student who needed to know. You might experiment with that. Maybe lines could be thickened to make it look better. Just a guess.

Report · Oct 22, 2017

Steve+Werner wrote
I've been told that Illustrator can open AutoCad files. [...] Maybe lines could be thickened to make it look better. Just a guess.

Interesting. I was very near to say this either. Couple of years ago some client supplied me with AutoCad drawings to use in a brochure for print. Those were dwg files, as I recall. I could swear I simply dropped them onto Illy, did here some edits (removed unneeded junk, fixed colors), saved as ai and placed these to ID. Everything went fine.

Now, before posting my previous post I decided to re-check. Any AutoCad files at my fingertips now, so just grabbed some from here.

And... it failed. The same version of Illy, CS6, wasn't able to open nor place these. Acrobat happily accepts them, though. FWIW.

Regarding thickening lines: yes, you can do that in Illy, and Acrobat, too. Results highly depend on an actual drawing. Tried it couple of times, and frankly, it didn't look great...

Report · Oct 23, 2017

Hi thank you for your reply,

the drawings will come out fine if it's for print. but in a digital presentation showed on a screen it looks out of place.