eps files rasterised

[Guest]

I have recently started using Framemaker and find that the eps files I normally use are very rasterised on the screen, and when printed, but fine when pdf'd.  Any comments as to how to get smooth eps's both on the page and in the pdf?

[Arnis Gubins]

What you're seeing on the screen in FM is the preview image of the eps file content as created by the application that created the eps in the first place. This is by design. IIRC, only versions of FM that had display postscript availbale to them (i.e. the Next version from the previous century) could render the eps files directly on screen. It also is a lot quicker for FM to display a scaled low-res image rather than render the content direectly.

As long as the output is correct, then besides the purely cosmetic aspect, what other issues are there with the low-res previews?

[Art_Campbell1]

Arnis, the OP was saying that the printed file also had the rasterized graphics, but the PDF was OK (as expected).

But I couldn't figure out why the hard copy would rasterize either, but that's what was written.

[Arnis Gubins]

Printing to a non-postscript device uses the preview image only (since it doesn't know how to deal with the postscript content, just like FM's screen display). The OP said PDFs were ok, so to get good hardcopy from FM, he has to print the PDF.

[Guest]

Haven't got the hang of this forum thing.

I am printing to an HP9050, as I have been for some years now, and it has

never been a problem before. The same images in InDesign are quite clear

when printed.

[Arnis Gubins]

For the HP9050, there are separate printer drivers for the PCL and PS-emulation modes. You have to select the postscript one (if it's installed) when printing directly from FM if there are eps graphics.

[Guest]

I am printing to an HP 9050 printer, as I have been doing for some years now, and only in Framemaker have I found a problem.  The same image in Indesign is fine.

[Van Kurtz]

I do not know whether the HP9050 is a Postscript printer or has a Postscript mode, but InDesign can display an imported eps graphic on screen perfectly. My guess is that it can also print it perfectly. InDesign can do this because it has a built-in Postscript engine; or maybe in reality, it is connected to a distiller module. Anyway, it works differently from FrameMaker, which cannot print an imported eps file to a non-Postscript printer; in the latter case, it just prints the low resolution preview image.

[Art_Campbell1]

To cut to the chase here, to fix the problem you'll need to either generate your PDF and print the PDF to your HP, or see if that particular model has a PostScript mode and load the appropriate drivers for it.

Art