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Scribus => PDF Generation => Topic started by: JulienTZ on January 19, 2012, 10:55:46 AM

Title: Gradients and transparencies blocs converting to plain colours on PDF 1.3
Post by: JulienTZ on January 19, 2012, 10:55:46 AM
I have been designing pages with many transparencies (text on transparent backgrounds over images) and also with linear colour gradients (to fade out some background images and make the text readable).
My problem is that when I save my scribus 1.3.3.14 file to PDFx:1-a:2001 (PDF 1.3) as requested by my printer (to flatten the layers), all the transparents and gradient effects are converted to plain colours. Hence I miss out completely these effects.
If I save my file to PDF 1.4 which allows transparents, I then have to convert it to PDF 1.3 with Adobe Acrobat, and this makes all the text and fonts jump all over the place, making the file unsuitable for print.
Is there any way I can flatten my scribus file directly to PDF 1.3 without loosing my transparencies and gradients?

The only way I can circumvent them effects is to save my pages as JPG images, and then combine them into a PDF file compliant with PDF 1.3. That's not ideal.
Title: Re: Gradients and transparencies blocs converting to plain colours on PDF 1.3
Post by: Nermander on January 19, 2012, 01:51:06 PM
Scribus does not yet include a flattener, the suggested solution is to create an 1.4 PDF and the convert it using ghostscript.
Title: Re: Gradients and transparencies blocs converting to plain colours on PDF 1.3
Post by: Wena on January 23, 2012, 04:53:26 PM
How do you use Ghostscript?

And what dose it do?

Wena