Low Res Printing - everything must be Linked?

[Susan@Meati.com]

I'm trying to send a colleague a PDF version of an .ai or .psd file that they can print themselves off of a different computer. When they print the PDF, it looks very low resolution and pixelated.

When I print off of my computer (which has Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and the native files themselves on it) it prints excellently.

Does my colleague have to have the native files, programs, and linked images on their computer, or is there any way to package a PDF so that it prints excellently off of theirs without having to install and download all of these things?

[Brad @ Roaring Mouse]

"Does my colleague have to have the native files, programs, and linked images on their computer"

Not at all. The quality of the PDF depends on what settings you used to create it, and also how they are printing it. In no real way does it link to anything external in the way you describe.

Since you say that you are printing the exact same file and it's fine, there's something amiss with your colleague's workflow.

e.g.

--Are they using Acrobat to view and print, or a 3rd party PDF viewer.?

--If using Acrobat, is the setting for "Print As Image" checked in the Advanced Tab, and if so, what resolution is selected? (and why*?).

--* which leads me to: What kinda of printer are they using, and what are their quality settings, etc, etc?

If you feel comfortable sharing a suspect file, it wold be nice to see it. In the meantime, what setting DID you use?

[Susan@Meati.com]

Thanks for your help!

I have been saving the file in Adobe Illustrator as a PDF. It doesn't appear that I can alter the settings when I go to save it as a PDF (or am I incorrect here?), so whatever preset Adobe Illustrator has is what my file has been saved as.

Next, I have been opening mine in Adobe Acrobat Pro and printing using "Acrobat Default," and it comes out high res & high contrast.

I sent the PDf to my colleage both via email or uploading to Google Drive and having them download and then open in Adobe Acrobat. Printing in Acrobat (I believe also in "Acrobat Default" settings) seemed to result in the same resolution of print as any other PDF viewer.

Is it getting compressed when I send it? We are both printing off of the exact same printer (Brother MFC-L8610CDW), minutes apart.

Thank you!

[Brad @ Roaring Mouse]

You do indeed have the option to select different export settings when you save as PDF in Illustrator.

Save As > Adobe PDF > then the Prreset options should appear... select one that's good for office printing (e.,g. High Quality Print)

and No, there should be no compression happening when you send it/upload it.

As for your Brother printer... check the Advanced tab in Printer Preferences for the resolution setting and see if your colleagues match. I have printed to a similar model and there were options for HQ1200, 600, and 300 on that one.

[Susan@Meati.com]

Thank you for the information! I will try that.

I am realizing I forgot a step. Here's what my process has been:

1. Save as PDF from Illustrator.

2. Open in Acrobat.

3. Add a line of editable text on top of the PDF.

4. Save the PDF and send to my colleague. (This is because we want him to be empowered to edit that single line of text as he needs to, but nothing else).

When I print the edited PDF from Acrobat, no problems. When I send my colleague the edited version, and we see problems. 

Is there anything I should be doing in Acrobat to ensure it stays high res? Or should I just never edit in Acrobat and then send to a colleague?

Thank you so much!