Expert: Amy - 6/15/2005

Question
I have Adobe Illustrator 8 and use a PC at home. Amy, I work as a graphics designer at a sign shop. We convert illustrations to vector and then after cleaning them up, cut them out of 12" - 48" vinyl on a 48" ZUN flatbed plotter.  I have wondered for some time if I could use Illustrator at the shop and convert to vector drawings since I enjoy it so much at home.  Do you know how and if this can be done?  Thank you.  

Answer
Hi Glenda!

I have supplied Illustrator files to people at sign shops before and I am always asked for an EPS file, so I'd have to guess that this is very possible.

Illustrator drawings *are* vector graphics, so that's not an issue.

Make sure that your document doesn't contain any gradients or blends or any embedded or linked artwork.

Make sure that you convert all your type to outlines so that no fonts remain in the document:
Edit > Select All
Type > Create Outlines

Then do a Save As... and save the file as EPS.
Choose the following options in the resulting dialog box

Compatibility: Try saving down to Illustrator 6 or 7. I don't know how old your Zund is but I know this has been an issue with files I've supplied.

Preview: "None" is probably safest.
Other options (if available): None needed.  Uncheck all.
PostScript level: Level 2 is usually fine but if you find your machine can't handle it, try Level 1.

Then you can probably either open your EPS file in the software that you use at work or upload the EPS file directly to the Zund's spooler.

I hope this helps!

Amy Pace