integrated the FLY SDK into their LinkOne Publishing System to enable import of PDF and EPS graphics as Windows Metafiles. ABB LinkOne is a graphical content delivery solution that provides correct and timely part information to a large and geographically dispersed network of dealers and operators. Accuracy and reliability were of paramount importance. In addition, because Visual Integrity could simulate features that were missing in the translation between file formats, the results were precise and impressive.
United Parcel Service (UPS) has come a long way from their start in 1907 as a messenger company in the United States. Today, UPS is the world’s largest package delivery company with one of the most recognized and admired brands around the globe. To support delivery operations, UPS is continually producing ground transit maps in real time that show delivery schedules across North America. The maps are generated as WMF which is ideal for Windows printing. Suppliers like Standard Register and RR Donnelley needed to incorporate these maps into publications that they create for UPS. They use the FLY Server to batch convert the WMF files into EPS files for their PostScript-based print production flow.
Tranforming Classified Ads
Gannett is the publisher of USA Today and a leading media and marketing company. They employs digital technology and services to reach millions of people everyday through Web and mobile media. For a newspaper industry project, Gannett implemented FLY Batch Server to publish EPS classified ads to the web. JPEG was the chosen as the most appropriate format since many of the ads included photos.
SVG XML Publishing
SaabTech Electronics AB manufactures and markets products for the defense industry. The company focuses on optics, precision mechanics, electronics, and system integration systems. It products include tornado radar warning systems; EWS39 – Gripen EW system; BOQ A110 Jammer Pod; JAMMER A100 Training system; BOQ X300 Jammer and EW System; and BOW-21, a radar warning system. Engineers and tech writers at SaabTech Systems use PDF FLY on their Linux desktops to move EPS graphics into their XML content management system as Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG).” One of the primary factors for choosing PDF FLY was the accuracy of the conversion from EPS to SVG. SaabTech Systems has been a customer since 2002, using the software on both Windows and Linux. “Thank You very much for the support, I’m impressed. I have used the tool to convert PCB layout from a Mentor tool to my SSDD document, and I think it’s a great tool. It gives me the possibility to create very detailed assembly instructions. I’m very satisfied.” Best regards from Börje Karlsson
SaabTech Systems has been a Visual Integrity customer since 2002.
File Formats
There are two basic formats for graphics – vector and image. Vector graphics are made up of objects, lines, curves and text while images are made up of a collection of dots or pixels. Images are also referred to as bitmaps or rasters.
Visual Integrity can convert most PDF files into either vector or image formats. It’s important to know which is best for the job you are doing.
If you need to break a PDF file down into objects and text for editing, then you want to choose a vector format. The vector formats supported in our software are DXF, PDF, PS, EPS, SVG, WMF, EMF, CGM, HPGL and MIF.
If you do not need to edit the file and simply want a sharp copy to insert into a document or to publish on a web-site, you’ll want to go with image formats. The image formats that we support are TIFF, GIF, PNG, JPEG and BMP. If you will be printing the graphic on a laser or ink-jet printer, convert at 150 or 300 dpi (dots per inch) resolution. If publishing to a web-site, use 96 or 72 dpi is best for screen display. Keep in mind that the higher the dpi (resolution), the larger the file size. It’s best to use the lowest resolution which achieves the level of quality you want.
Note! Scanned images can not be transformed by vector mode into lines, text and other vector objects because they are not vector source files. Instead, you will get an exact replica of the PDF as an image that can be used as a tracing layer which aids in the duplication effort. To convert scanned images into vector objects, you need a special class of software called “raster to vector”.
WMF, or Windows Metafile, is the original 16-bit metafile format. It is the native vector graphics format for the Microsoft Windows platform. It is also the standard format for scalable graphics in Microsoft Office and many other Windows applications. Even though it has been enhanced and extended as a 32-bit format (EMF -Enhanced Metafile), WMF is still the most widely used and supported metafile format on the Windows platform.
It is easy it is to create a PostScript file from virtually any application on a PC. Most PC’s are likely to have a PostScript printer driver configured in its printers settings. If not, you must Install a PostScript Printer Driver before going any further.
- Open your file within your application and then select “File…”, “Print”
- Choose your PostScript printer. Note that you can use any PostScript driver included with Microsoft Windows without having the actual printer since you will simply be printing to a file.
- Press “OK” to print to file. Note that the PostScript tab under Properties should be set to Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) for best results.
- You will be prompted for a file name and location. If you do not assign .ps as the extension, the default in Windows will be .PRN. Both are valid input extensions.
- Open your Visual Integrity software and when prompted for a PostScript file to convert, go to the location chosen in Step 4 and select the new .ps or .prn file for conversion.
TIPS:
- The extension does not matter – Some systems give printer files a default extension, like .prn or .plt. This does not matter. If the file has been created using a PostScript printer driven, the result will be a PostScript file that Visual Integrity software can convert.
- Watch out for PCL: Most HP printers use a printer language called PCL. The default mode on HP PostScript printers is usually PCL. PCL can not be converted by TGC. Be sure that your HP printer is in PostScript mode to ensure a successful conversion.
- Save directly as PostScript or EPS files – Many applications allow you to save your files as PS or EPS through their “Save as…” menu. A few even produce PostScript by default. This results in good input for our conversion engine.
- Fonts – Try to use standard PostScript fonts like Helvetica and Times New Roman. Non-PostScript fonts, such as Type 1 fonts and TrueType fonts should be embedded so that the text data is available in the PostScript file. This gives our software the best chance to preserve the fonts during conversion.
The Computer Graphics Metafile (CGM) file format is used to render graphics in a wide range of technical applications. It is output by many specialized programs in the aerospace, semiconductor manufacturing, automotive and telecommunications industries. CGM is most commonly used in these organizations for product operation, maintenance, repair and other technical manuals. It is also used in the petroleum industry for mapping, lithology cross-sections, seismic traces and well logs. The U.S. military uses CGM for simple redlining on top of raster (map) data. CGM is a format supported both in print and on-line (IETMS). CGM is typically used for technical illustrations in SGML/XML documentation systems, and now, more and more, for Web-based systems like IETMS (Illustrated Electronic Technical Manuals) and e-Catalogs. Outside of these specialized, technical industries, CGM has largely been superseded by formats such as SVG and DXF. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has developed WebCGM, a profile of CGM enjoying specialized use of on the Web.
Over the years, several different versions of CGM have been spawned to meet the needs of various industries. There are specific industry profiles (ATA, MIL, PIP) and four different levels as well as WebCGM. As a result of this diversification, interoperability is often a problem: the target application is unable to reliably interpret the particular flavor of CGM generated by the source application. Many content creation applications have started outputting Level 3 or 4 CGM. However, many applications on the receiving end have not yet implemented full support for these higher levels.
Visual Integrity helps industry manufacturers, suppliers and software vendors turn graphical data into the CGM format. It does so for many source applications which do not offer CGM output, and also for applications which already do – but are incompatible with the end user’s target application. Input formats include PDF, PostScript, EPS, WMF and EPS.
CGM files generated are compliant with all levels and industry profiles. By default, our software produces the common denominator subset of CGM (we like to call it ‘vanilla CGM’) to ensure optimal interoperability with the viewing, authoring, and publishing environment downstream. This ‘vanilla CGM’ handles files typically produced and used in technical industries.
Notes on Visual Integrity’s Support of CGM:
• Output supports choice of CGM Levels 1-2-3-4
• Compliant with ATA, MIL and PIP industry profiles
• Supports vector graphics, raster images and font-based text
• Supports both metric and abstract scaling
• Curves are retained in Level 3-4 compatible output
