EPS Gradients get lost

[davegodd]

Hi,

New here need a QUICK answer (Going to Press!!):

Why do the gradients in eps file imported into Quark 5 disappear? Any solutions?

Dave

 

[blueark]

They shouldn't.

What application are you using to create them? What settings are you using? What platform?

 

[davegodd]

I'm working on a PC with QUark 5.0. The artwork was originally created on a Mac. When we send the image to a postscript printer, we get a Warning message: This eps image may contain binary data. Any ideas?

Dave

 

[blueark]

Have a look at some of your print settings. When you select File > Print..., go to the Options tab. In the pictures section, make sure 'Output' is set to Normal. To get rid of that warning message, change the Data drop down list to Binary. Having said that, ASCII is probably more compatible, so I would be suprised if that solved your problem. Still, worth a shot I suppose!

BTW, when you go to Utilities > Usage... and click Pictures, do all your images show up as OK? Also, do you have other images in your Quark document that are causing problems? Are there other EPS files that print normally? Is the gradient part of the EPS file, or is it generated by Quark in a picture box with an imported EPS file?

Sorry for all the questions!

 

[davegodd]

Hi Blueark,

Thanks for the response. I'm actually trying to get the info for a co-worker, so this is maybe more complicated than it has to be.

All of the images show up ok in Usage.

The eps files were created in illustrator and contain the gradients. There are eps files that print correctly, and others that don't. One image, for example, was flipped in illustrator and saved as a new eps file (not flipped in Quark - I believe because it had text on it) and re-imported. One of the eps files of this image prints up ok but not the other one. Also, one eps file has several shapes, each containing a simple (?) gradient. Now one of the shapes within this eps file seems to print up ok but several others (in the same eps) show banding.

If you have ever encountered anything like this, was it on this planet?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions you might offer up!

Dave

 

[jimoblak]

EPS files on the Mac can be saved in binary or ASCII format. Your PC prefers ASCII. If the other tips here do not work, consider opening the EPSs on your PC and resaving them.

- - picklefish - -

Why is everyone in this forum responding to me as picklefish?

 

[blueark]

Very strange indeed - some images work, some don't, and parts of one image do. Could be binary encoding, I suppose, although I haven't come across it myself in years. Maybe I'm just lucky!

Do you know what application was used to create the EPS files? Also, how do they look on your monitor?

 

[Brushman]

I believe in some instances a gradient is broken up into many different parts and possibly there are too many for postscript to handle. If possible can the gradient be converted to a flattened tiff or similar, does that print any better?.