Best method to export a file for precise Adobe Illustrator compatibility?

[gaftalik]

PDF would be my recommendation. PDF is one of two native file formats for AI and is probably more up to date than the AI or AI EPS file formats.

PDF supports editable text, bitmaps and vectors. And PDF is a universal file format.

Thank you Gary, do you know which pdf version compatibility is best or any other settings suggestions?

[handrawn]

following on...

when you export to PDF remember that xara will export everything that is on your page area, and nothing that is off page

I use the commercial print PDF setting - anything before PDF version 1.4 does not support transpaercy at all, I use the default

Not all fonts will save to PDF - if they do not then you can convert them to editable shapes before export, but they will then no longer be editable as text if you do

[gaftalik]

following on...

when you export to PDF remember that xara will export everything that is on your page area, and nothing that is off page

I use the commercial print PDF setting - anything before PDF version 1.4 does not support transpaercy at all, I use the default

Not all fonts will save to PDF - if they do not then you can convert them to editable shapes before export, but they will then no longer be editable as text if you do

That is good to know, thank you much !

[gwpriester]

[X] Commercial Printing to start. I think this exports to PDF/X 1a

There are more recent filters that follow. But for all the book covers I have done I have used PDF/X 1a and the results have been excellent. For my last cover I used a lot of transparency without even thinking about it and the cover printed fine.

[ernie-f]

If you will deliver print-ready-pdf then do it in X1. X1 doesn't allow RGB-colors.
Since quite 10 years was introduced PDF X4. This is a version that save transparencies native and is compatible to the AI-format. X4 allows RGB and CMYK colors.
But attention with fills and transparencies (shadows are transparencies too) they will be in all 4 print colors so a manual recoloring in AI is necessary if they must overprint or be only black (K).

[gwpriester]

Ernie - Is there a difference between PDF/X 1a 2001 and PDF/X 1a 2003?

[ernie-f]

Ernie - Is there a difference between PDF/X 1a 2001 and PDF/X 1a 2003?

Hi Gary,
the only difference is that PDF/X1a 2001 is based on PDF version 1.3. PDF/X1a 2003 is expanded to the functionality of PDF 1.4.
For the printing process it is not relevant which version you choose. Both versions allowed only CMYK and spot colors and
flatten all transparrencies to bitmap.

@ gaftalik:
AI and PDF are calculating with 72 ppi/dpi. Xara calculate with Windowsstandard 96 ppi/dpi. So it can come to some rounding errors.

[gaftalik]

If you will deliver print-ready-pdf then do it in X1. X1 doesn't allow RGB-colors.
Since quite 10 years was introduced PDF X4. This is a version that save transparencies native and is compatible to the AI-format. X4 allows RGB and CMYK colors.
But attention with fills and transparencies (shadows are transparencies too) they will be in all 4 print colors so a manual recoloring in AI is necessary if they must overprint or be only black (K).

Sorry I overlooked this post, i am learning a lot here thank you !

[gaftalik]

Great information Gary ! Do you know if importing a PDF/X 1a to Adobe Illustrator will keep the objects dimensions precisely the same too ?

[handrawn]

ERNIE HAS POSTED WHILST I WROTE THIS:

I think Ernie and Gary are looking at this from a printing point of view; if you need to provide a file that is editable in Illustrator it may not be quite that straightforward

precise accuracy is not actually xara's strong point unless you work in millipoints; if you work in other units you may get rounding errors; the larger the base unit [ eg cm rather than mm] the more likely these are to occur; you can mitigate these by increasing the number of decimal places xara works to but you hve to do that through windows and more than 3 places can be difficult to work with in the UI

for example I made an 8cm square in xara, which when imported via PDF to illustrator was 226.711 points square; changing the units in xara to points showed 226.8 points; you need to be aware and careful

and as said before, because xara does not handle gradient/transparency the same way as illustrator, these effects may be flattened to bitmap in illustrator depending on how they are constructed; I cannot really be more specific as, from experience, I now avoid those attributes in xara for export to illustrator or harmony