The main reason I joined this forum: my company keeps hiring designers who will only use Illustrator. They save their files to both Illustrator and PDF (every time). I am charged with putting them into CDR files for manufacturing routing and vinyl as well as making sure the shop floor can understand the mumbo jumbo they use to talk to architects and clients. (Do I sound like I have an issue...) I am having tantrums trying to get these to work. Bitmaps and copy going one way or another or worse, leaving all together. I have started opening in AI and resaving without compression and flattening the artwork. Any other hints out there from other sign designers? I am on X7 and Illustrator CC, I also have Adobe Pro XI
Hello Venetia,
Are these designers employees or contractors? If they are employees then there seems to be weak hiring practices at play. Though I have only been an employee a few times in my professional career, I don't recall being able to pick the software I used in the performance of my duties.
If they are contractors, sort of the same weak hiring practices, but getting the work out may well just trump what software is used...unless one can make a case for loss of productivity due to the choice of software by the contractor. Seeing how there are so many out of work, fresh out of college people trained to only use AI, I can see a problem with specifying the use of CD. However, it would be to their benefit in having a broader experience in a work flow. I am fairly software agnostic as regards turning work over to the client when I am done, with an exception...noted below.
If all my work was being sent as Illy files, I would likely just use Illy through the processes needed to cut/print. Unless that isn't possible for some reason not communicated in your post. I do get Illy files to manipulate, so I know it can be a pita to move the work into another application such as CD. When I have to return work in AI format, I do as much as possible in anything else before finishing off in Illy because I really don't like the beast.
Aside from all the clipping masks, if it is a matter of text reformatting when opening the AI or AI-generated PDF, I have found that most often it is easy to convert the text to curves (properly) in Acrobat before bothering to open it in CD or whatever. But it doesn't always convert the text perfectly...usually better than CD does though.
I've never had an issue with bitmaps embedded in an AI file beyond the bazillion clipping masks AI often generates in the PDF version. So I don't know what issues you are facing in that regard.
Apologies for the shotgun approach to an answer. Without really seeing specific PDFs or AI files, it really isn't easy for me to suggest anything other than the above.
Mike
They are all employees and I have no control over what they use, just whining... They all learn AI in school then they whine that they can't use CD. So, the company pays for all of us to have both AI and CD and Acrobat! The shop uses CD so on it goes. I may have to convert to curves regardless (I can't even open AI first and tweak things as we do not have the same font files no matter how hard I cry about it). These drawings typically have lots of callouts and design statements on them. The biggest problem with all that is when I have to edit their stuff.