Expert: Amy - 6/1/2007

Question
Hi! I create Crochet patterns in Adobe Illustrator 8. I use
text, photos and my own artwork. I can't export them as pdf's
in this older version of illustrator, so I export them as jpegs and bring them up in PREVIEW and export them as pdfs. Only problem is that some of the clarity is lost. I want them to be crystal clear. I do own a new dual Mac (no windows yet tho) and it has Illustrator CS2 on it. I also have Photoshop CS2 on it. WHAT IS THE BEST WAY FOR ME TO SAVE THESE PATTERNS AS PDF AND JPEGS??  I send the buyers both formats, but neither come up clear enough.
ONE OTHER QUESTION: I'm creating clipart cd's with my original art (drawn, scanned, rasterized (streamline), colored, and saved in Illustrator.... what's the best way to burn them to cd's so that BOTH PCS AND MACS CAN OPEN THEM EASILY????
THANKS!!! Peggy

Answer
Hi Peggy!

Assuming the clarity of the photos is good when you place them in Illustrator (between 200-300dpi at 100% size), you can control the clarity of the PDF file by minimizing compression (aka maximizing quality) when you save the file.

Which format to pick? Will the buyer be using this on screen or printing this? That is a major consideration. To preserve the clarity of vector art, I'd pick PDF.

I guess I'd almost never choose JPEG unless this is ending up as part of a webpage. You'll lose the crisp vector art.

To save the patterns as PDFs from Illustrator and preserve the quality of any embedded jpegs, just do a Save As... and choose PDF. You can use a defualt preset, like 'Press Quality' or modify a preset. Basically, you'll set your image compression to Maximum or Very High quality. That will ensure that your photos, if there are any in the document, remain clear. Your vector art will always be clear. And always EMBED the fonts so that everyone will be able to open and print the files as you intended them to look.

If you'd like, you can send me the version 8 file and I will see what the optimal settings should be for your PDF generation and send you step-by-step instructions specific to CS2. I probably won't get to it til Tues, I have to leave for the weekend.

If you have your heart set on a jpeg from Illustrator, do a Save for Web and change the type to Jpeg, quality to Very High or Maximum, and change the size of the outputted? image to something easily viewed on-screen.  800 pixels wide is about the size of an average webpage.

As far as burning the CD goes, I'm going to assume that using the CD burning utilities that come with your Mac will make a CD that reads on both platforms. I don't have a Mac... but my PC uses Nero to burn CDs that work fine on both platforms, provided the file formats of the stuff on the CD is not specific to either platform. PDFs, Jpegs should be fine.

I hope this helps!
If you need help with this along the way, just write.
-Amy