Printing PDFs with Illustrator + Adobe PDF printer

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PdFUser5000
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Printing PDFs with Illustrator + Adobe PDF printer

Post by PdFUser5000 »

I am running into some issues with my flow. Although in console some of them are just warnings, i am wondering if there is a better way to do what i am doing.

1. Illustrator file with metadata is inserted into Illustrator element
2. A script makes the PDFs using Adobe PDF printer( multiple from one illustrator file)

Things go wrong in 2.

2. When printing PDFs, i have to set the Output folder in Adobe PDF Printing Preferences. If i choose the output folder of the illustrator element ( not automanaged, but a folder on my HDD for example) i get the following error for each PDF that is created:

Cannot complete sendToData() for 'C:/Users/enfocus_2/AppData/Roaming/Enfocus/Switch Server/temp/121/ScriptElement/2/22/_00019_E70--D-0000229-L.pdf'
Cannot send job: path 'C:/Users/enfocus_2/AppData/Roaming/Enfocus/Switch Server/temp/121/ScriptElement/2/22/_00019_E70--D-0000229-L.pdf' does not exist

Since this is a warning, not an error, i can ignore this and files will still advance to the next element. But is there a way i can create the PDFs without getting the warning?

There is also a second problem that appears. When i set the adobe PDF output folder to either the Illustrator element output or another folder connected to the flow, metadata disappears from the PDFs. The metadata attached to the PDFs is the same that is attached to the illustrator file.
The solution i found for the metadata to still be attached to the PDFs after printing is to print the PDFs to a folder, which is not connected to the flow and then pick up the files via Inject wildcard using the metadata of the illustrator file.

I am not sure if the metadata should be there in the first place, but i have built my flow based on the fact that it is there.

Is there another way to print PDFs without the warning + why is the metadata disappearing when i print them to a folder that is connected to the flow?
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freddyp
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Re: Printing PDFs with Illustrator + Adobe PDF printer

Post by freddyp »

Why do you want to print to PDF, rather than export? Consider that printing causes the output to pass via Postscript, so flattening can take place.

Printing to a folder that is not known by the Switch element is of course going to generate the error message that the expected output result is not found. If you know where the files are written and you know what they will be named, add the paths to the $outfiles array and Switch will pick them up from there.
PdFUser5000
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Posts: 120
Joined: Fri Jun 12, 2020 11:23 am

Re: Printing PDFs with Illustrator + Adobe PDF printer

Post by PdFUser5000 »

freddyp wrote: Thu Apr 01, 2021 8:16 am Why do you want to print to PDF, rather than export? Consider that printing causes the output to pass via Postscript, so flattening can take place.

Printing to a folder that is not known by the Switch element is of course going to generate the error message that the expected output result is not found. If you know where the files are written and you know what they will be named, add the paths to the $outfiles array and Switch will pick them up from there.
I tried something like this:

Code: Select all

$outfiles.push('C:/Users/enfocus_2/Desktop/PDF'+'/'+fileName+'.pdf');
Instead of $outfolder i used the folder where PDFs are printed. Everything works, but switch also creates an empty folder to the output each time i print a pdf. What could be causing it ? The folder has the same metadata as the PDFs.
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freddyp
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Re: Printing PDFs with Illustrator + Adobe PDF printer

Post by freddyp »

I can only guess that you must have added that folder to the $outfiles array before you push the C: drive folder. The fact that the push works proves that $outfiles exists as an array, but without seeing the code it is impossible to say what is in there.

But you have not answered my question why it is that you are printing and not exporting.
PdFUser5000
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Posts: 120
Joined: Fri Jun 12, 2020 11:23 am

Re: Printing PDFs with Illustrator + Adobe PDF printer

Post by PdFUser5000 »

freddyp wrote: Tue Apr 06, 2021 8:58 am I can only guess that you must have added that folder to the $outfiles array before you push the C: drive folder. The fact that the push works proves that $outfiles exists as an array, but without seeing the code it is impossible to say what is in there.

But you have not answered my question why it is that you are printing and not exporting.
Found the extra folder and removed it. Thanks!

We are printing because our printers software is not compatible with exported PDFs.
freddyp
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Re: Printing PDFs with Illustrator + Adobe PDF printer

Post by freddyp »

We are printing because our printers software is not compatible with exported PDFs.
I was afraid you were going to give this as an answer. You should be able to get the output you need by using adequate export settings. When a PDF is printed you get the result of distilled Postscript. With export settings that mimic this you will get an exported PDF that can be processed. In the Edit menu of Illustrator you can manage PDF presets and that includes importing .joboptions file exported from Distiller. And the PDF export settings from Illustrator can be picked from the list in the AI configurator: Save as PDF - Adobe PDF Preset - Select from library.
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