PDF to TIF [solved]

[magnussandstrom]

Hi, I have a flow for Fine Art printing where I imposing PDF's and then need to convert the PDF to a TIF-file (RGB).

I've tried the 'Enfocus Server PDF2Image' app but there is no option for TIF-format. It works for JPEG but because of the destructive compression I can not use JPEG even at Maximum quality. When I try to use PNG the process is crashing in Switch and the error message is: 335: Error while saving image (PitStop Library error code 8003): Basic Error..

So I wonder if you guys have any other ideas for converting a PDF to TIF (color managed RGB) within Switch? Ghostscript, ImageMagick?

The reason why I can't use PDF is that we are using a RIP that can't handle PDF very well..

[jan_suhr]

There is an app for that. Not obvious by the name of the app but it can do what you ask for.

https://www.enfocus.com/en/appstore/pro ... thumbnails

[r.zegwaard]

Hi Magnus,

Ghostscript would indeed be a good option.
I've been experimenting with Ghostscript in the past for color separation to TIF files.
That worked, although slow. I guess a normal TIF file (not separated) would be faster.

Robert

[magnussandstrom]

After a bit of trail and error I solved it with Ghostscript and Run Command, I'll share the solution here if:

ghostscript.png (52.4 KiB) Viewed 13701 times

ghostscript_settings.png (172.47 KiB) Viewed 13701 times

Command:

Code: Select all

"C:\Program Files\gs\gs10.02.1\bin\gswin64c.exe" -dSAFER -dBATCH -dNOPAUSE -sDEVICE=tiff24nc -r300 -sCompression=lzw -sImageICCProfile=e:/icc/prophotorgb.icc -dRenderIntent=0 -sOutputICCProfile=e:/icc/prophotorgb.icc -sOutputFile="[Job.NameProper].tif" "%%InputFilePath%%"

[boxclever]

Magnus
Maybe a daft question and since I'm still learning and for future reference is there a reason why opening in Adobe Photoshop in RGB mode and saving as a tiff - or even opening in Acrobat Pro - is not an option? Is there some other factor in play?
Sean.

[magnussandstrom]

Magnus
Maybe a daft question and since I'm still learning and for future reference is there a reason why opening in Adobe Photoshop in RGB mode and saving as a tiff - or even opening in Acrobat Pro - is not an option? Is there some other factor in play?
Sean.

Hi Sean, not a daft question! I try to avoid using desktop applications without CLI/API interface in my Switch workflows for a few different reasons:

1. It's not fit for purpose IMHO
2. It's usually slower and takes more computing resources
3. It's not always in par with the software license
4. I don't want a desktop app to popup in focus when working on our server
5. CLI interface is usually more stable
6. Open source solutions like GhostScript/ImageMagic/LittleCMS/Tesseract/PDFspy/Saxonica is free of charge
7. I learn more when using CLI solutions and I can use this knowledge for other projects in the future
8. I don't want to rely on a desktop app that might change behavour in a future update without my knowledge

[boxclever]

Thank you for clarifying, Magnus.
Very solid and sound reasons, especially number 4!
Sean