Vector images are printing PIXELATED!?

[Coco Walsh]

Please help!

I'm trying to print my vector lettering piece and the edges are pixelated. I hand drew this, then took a photo, image traced it, cleaned up some plot points and here we are (I prefer it looking imperfect).

I don't understand why it's happening and I'm beyond frustrated. It's happening every time I print. Unless the edges are completely straight, the curves are pixelated. I switched to a Mac Book Pro last year. I do not have Pixel Preview on. I am printing on a Canon Imageprograf Pro300 from the same size artboard as the paper in the printer.  

Please help!! I have to have this printed by today for 2 customers and it looks horrible!

[Coco Walsh]

I'm using Illustrator 26.0.1 if that helps. Not sure if that's the most recent one. I'm going to check on that now. 

[Jacob Bugge · Accepted solution]

Coco,

What happens if you Save a Copy as PDF, then open in Acrobot (or Reader) and print it from there?

[Coco Walsh]

It's sooo much better!! Thank you so much!

[Jacob Bugge]

You are welcome, Coco.

The name Canon Imageprograf Pro300 may imply that it has no PostScript printer driver, or that it is well hidden.

If you can find one, you can probably print straight from the artwork without the roundabout PDF way.

[Oliver317759449m4d]

Hi Jacob,

I see you have helped with thisnissue multiple times and I hope you can help me too.

I have the issue explained above when printing from a PDF. I have a full vector design and when converting to a high quality print PDF and printing it from acrobat my design is very blurry.

I've tried printing the document through Mac Preview and I seem to only get part of the design, albeit much cleaner.

Any advice?

[Jacob Bugge]

Oliver,

If everything looks fine when you zoom far into the PDF, it could be something with the printer (settings).

[Oliver317759449m4d]

Looks perfect on screen at any magnification. Printed on 3 different printers. Same results printing through acrobat. 

As Monika noted below who has been helping on a FB forum, there is a halftone screening type effect present on the printout in areas of solid colour. However the vector lines and text outlines just appear pixilated or blurry.

Pic attached of print out. Note this is a design being done for personal use/ wife chistmas present and not commercial use.

[Ton Frederiks]

It looks as if your black areas and lines contain more colors than only black (resulting in halftone screening).

If you can make thode lines an shapes a 100% grey, does that help?

Or convert your document to a CMYK document and change those mixed blacks to a pure 100% black or gray.

[Oliver317759449m4d]

Thanks for your reply. As far as I am aware it is set up already as a CMYK document. I also don't have the issue when printing from Mac Preview although only get half the drawing... 

I'll have a look at tye black value and try and set that to something more true... what would you set cmyk values to for black and grey for best printing?

[Monika Gause]

Grey will get halftone screening. Black should be set to 100% K

[Jacob Bugge]

Oliver,

What happens if you set it to C=0 M=0 Y=0 K=100?

[Monika Gause]

any people confuse "pixelated" with halftone screening. Please show a photo.