E-editional technical question

[TheBigB]

How do you produce the pages that are in the PDF E-editions? The crisp look seems to indicate to me that they are directly from a publication application (like MS Publisher), but every once in a while I see a page that was obviously scanned, a bit out of focus (for example, page A2 in the Monday, 9/15/08 Herald-Republican).

This is not a complaint - just a curiosity.

[evilkumquat]

Good question!

I looks like the rest of the pages were exported directly from Quark to a PDF, but the second page was exported as a straight image file first, then converted to a PDF from there.

[TheBigB]

If I ever make fun of anybody's spelling on the Fence Post, please respond with a link to this thread.

[matt_s]

Most of the pages are converted to PDF's directly from the Quark files that the pages are laid out on. Every once in a while, for the sake of file size eEdition pages will be produce from a pdf from a graphic of the page. This is usually only done on pages with full size ads. Everything else usually has a small enough file size to be manageable.

[james_t]

Actually, file size wasn't the issue on A2 - there was an ad on that page that made the e-edition PDF processor barf. So in order to get it to work, I had to open the PDF in PhotoShop and save it from there as a PDF.

PhotoShop rasterizes the files, so that's why you get the pixels.

We get those type of ads occasionally - they're ones the advertisers have e-mailed to us and we can't do anything to fix them, and they work fine in the printed paper. But for some reason, the PDF processor doesn't like them.

[evilkumquat]

Actually, file size wasn't the issue on A2 - there was an ad on that page that made the e-edition PDF processor barf. So in order to get it to work, I had to open the PDF in PhotoShop and save it from there as a PDF.

PhotoShop rasterizes the files, so that's why you get the pixels.

We get those type of ads occasionally - they're ones the advertisers have e-mailed to us and we can't do anything to fix them, and they work fine in the printed paper. But for some reason, the PDF processor doesn't like them.

Sometimes Distiller just doesn't want to play nice.

I once had a problem with one of the PDFs I tried to make at work using a Microsoft Word document as the source.

For some reason, everything worked as intended, except for one hyperlink on one page. Distiller kept dropping the last few letters from the end, making the link invalid.

I tried changing the link, the size of the link, the color, the font... nothing worked. Eventually, I just figured out another way of doing what I wanted to do without making a PDF in the first place... which I suspect was Distiller's evil plan all along.

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Incidentally, for those who don't understand "rasterizing": PDF documents are usually created with text that can change size without losing clarity regardless of how big the viewing window is. This text could be described as "vector" based, meaning the words (and sometimes images themselves) are redrawn from scratch every time the viewing window changes size, making the text crystal clear with no jagged edges.

When vector text or images are "rasterized", they are converted to image files composed of individual tiny dots (pixels), much like how pictures are presented in a newspaper (if you look close enough at the photos in a newspaper, all you see are tiny little dots; when viewed far enough away, the dots blend together making a clear picture). At this point, the text in the PDF document is no better than any other JPG, so when you resize the image, you start to see the individual dots, thus creating those jagged edges along what should have been normally smooth lines.

[Copycatted]

Most of the pages are converted to PDF's directly from the Quark files that the pages are laid out on. Every once in a while, for the sake of file size eEdition pages will be produce from a pdf from a graphic of the page. This is usually only done on pages with full size ads. Everything else usually has a small enough file size to be manageable.

About the only jargon I have understood of this entire thread this far is Quark from that Star Trek series because I remember when on that one episode Quark to late popped the cork. Just kidding matt_s

Read your article. If you ever begin a list of Sponsors to incorporate on your cork quest look me up,I'll be the first to sign on. Then maybe we can go fishing and I'll tell you why...unless maybe you want to share a tree stand even if you don't hunt given it's coming up my time of the season for my answering machine to take all calls.

[james_t]

About the only jargon I have understood of this entire thread this far is Quark from that Star Trek series because I remember when on that one episode Quark to late popped the cork.

Quark is Quark Xpress, the software program we use to lay out the newspaper pages. If you're interested, you can find out more about it here.

There is no relationship between the company that makes the software and the bartender from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, although if you've ever had to purchase it you might think they have similar views on economics. (Note: Only computer geeks and Trekkies - which are usually the same thing - will get that last statement.)

[Copycatted]

Quark is Quark Xpress, the software program we use to lay out the newspaper pages. If you're interested, you can find out more about it here.

There is no relationship between the company that makes the software and the bartender from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, although if you've ever had to purchase it you might think they have similar views on economics. (Note: Only computer geeks and Trekkies - which are usually the same thing - will get that last statement.)

You got THAT right. In just the one paragraugh I GOT IT-I GOT IT

[Copycatted]

About the only jargon I have understood of this entire thread this far is Quark from that Star Trek series because I remember when on that one episode Quark to late popped the cork. Just kidding matt_s

Read your article. If you ever begin a list of Sponsors to incorporate on your cork quest look me up,I'll be the first to sign on

OOPS! Got my Matt S and Matt G messed up. The Matt G story was in the H-R Sunday papers Opinion page regarding how Scientists could get a balck eye (and couldn't WE ALL) from black holes. And geese,I hadn' been to Quarks Bar all that day either though the OOPS to have compared was for real Sorry about that Matt and Matt.

But again that article was a good read for anyone supposing Scientists went out on that proverbial limb and took us along w/o asking.