"Insufficient data for an image" warning when exporting .ai to .pdf

[bradg24267645]

Saving as .PDF from .AI in Illustrator (27.8.1) I sometimes get the "Insufficient data for an image" warning. Recently this has been happening with .ai files that have larger images. Although sometimes a file will work fine and then 30 minutes later I get the warning. All programs up-to-date and my Mac Studio is running on Ventura 13.5.1 

[Jlily98]

Go to Edit > Preferences > Page Display, and then choose Fit Page in the Zoom drop-down list at the top.) Resave the PDF in Acrobat as an Optimized PDF. Choose File > Reduce File Size or Compress PDF. Choose the location to save the file and click Save. 

If that doesn't work it could be a storage issue on your desktop. Try exporting anything you don't really need into an external storage device (Hard drive, usb, etc)

[bradg24267645]

Hi, I've tried all of that. The reduce file size option does display a little more image but the image looks insane (see screenshot). I also have about 300gigs free space on my desktop, so I don't think it's a storage issue. 

[bradg24267645]

oh and did you just copy and paste your reply from the adobe website?

[Jlily98]

The amount of people that don't know to google their problem before posting is astounding. Best to start with the basics and go from there

[bradg24267645]

haha fair point

[Mike_Gondek]

Please tell us about these images such as file format and size. I would linking to .psd as it has non-lossy compression and is most efficient. If you need to use .psb for super large files, then we know . A screenshot would be helpful to see your art construction, showing your links palette and anything else you might be using. I have been doing this for a long time so sometimes I see things like a : or / in the name of a placed image or a nested symbol, freebie font, corrupted image color profile you use often, etc, etc,etc.

I would save a a copy of your files call it troubleshot .ai. Save that with pdf compatible off so your saves will be quicker. Select half the items, then delete and try to save as .pdf. Repeat over and over. Once you find the trouble elements, that tells us alot to solve your issue, though your lead on large images is very likely the issue.

[bradg24267645]

I had 3 PSDs linked with the biggest being only 105mb. I saved the 3 images as JPGs and it exported to PDF fine but I didn't use to have this problem and I routinely work with much larger PSDs and huge PSBs. 

My files names do have hypens in them (-) but that has never been an issue before. There are no spaces or dots and slashes. 

For fonts, I've tried converting all fonts to outlines and that hasn't helped.

[bradg24267645]

Also, should have mentioned this before, I've had friends export to PDF with the same files and they didn't have issues.

[Ton Frederiks]

This problem has been mentioned several times lately, I'll check if I can find them.

[Ton Frederiks]

Here: https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator-discussions/after-update-the-lastest-illustrator/m-p/1402...

https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator-discussions/illustrator-v27-8-1-issues-with-pdf-s-opening...

[Ton Frederiks]

You may want to check if it is reported here, if not please file a bug report:

https://illustrator.uservoice.com/

[bradg24267645 · Accepted solution]

I will do that, thank you. I just posted an updated about installing a previous version (27) and that solved my issue.

[Anshul_Saini]

Hello @bradg24267645,

Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention & sharing your workaround with the community. I'm sorry to hear about the difficulties you're facing with PDFs created in Illustrator v27.8.1.

I want to assure you that our team is aware of this issue. The bug has been logged, and we have successfully reproduced the problem. Our developers are actively working on a fix to address this issue and ensure that PDFs generated from Illustrator open correctly in Acrobat and other tools.

In the meantime, for updates and progress on the issue, I recommend upvoting and keeping an eye on this UserVoice thread: https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/601447-illustrator-desktop-bugs/suggestions/47158804-adobe-.... This is a valuable channel for staying informed about the status of the bug and any upcoming fixes.

We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused and appreciate your patience as we work towards a solution.

Best regards,

Anshul Saini

[bradg24267645]

UPDATE: I uninstalled the latest version of Illustrator (27.8.2) and installed version 27 and I was able to export to PDF with zero issues. I'm going to keep updating until I find out where the problem starts.

[Sympatheia Creations]

I have just had the same problem and can confirm rolling back to v27 has totally fixed it 👍