Expert: Amy - 2/5/2010

Question
Hi
For work I often have to bring large OS base map information into illustrator to use as a drawing base.  As this information comes from CAD its often quite large and memory intensive.  Is there a way to flatten this information without rastorizing it (ie without loosing the crispness?) Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer
Hi Lora,

I do not work with CAD programs but I think I understand the issue.

In short, no, probably not. You'd have to simplify your paths before you brought it over to Illustrator. The simplify paths functions in Illustrator can't really be controlled that well. You certainly could try Object > Path > Cleanup or Simplify though. I can't see your paths and objects so I don't know what might be cleaned up.

There's no harm in rasterizing if you know your final size and output method. If you know that it will never be printed larger than certain dimensions at xxx dpi, you can rasterize to that dpi (adjust for potential enlarging if needed).

I think people who work with CAD usually purchase plugins so that they can work with the data better. You might consider asking your employer to purchase one. Also, try the other experts on here to see if they work more with CAD than I do.

Good luck!
Amy