Print quality is unusually poor / Adobe Acrobat Reader

PDF-XChange Drivers API (only) V4/V5
This Forum is for the use of Software Developers requiring help and assistance for Tracker Software's PDF-XChange Printer Drivers SDK (only) - VERSION 4 & 5 - Please use the PDF-Tools SDK Forum for Library DLL assistance.

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apx
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Print quality is unusually poor / Adobe Acrobat Reader

Post by apx »

If I print a PDF form filled in via DDE on the Acrobat Reader, I get a poor quality PDF (Screenshot Tracker_Printout_pdfa2b. png). If I print with the PDFCreator (on open source software which uses Ghostscript) I get a much nicer printout (PDFCreator_Printout_pdfa2b.png). In addition, I can also mark and copy the text during the printout, which I can't do with the other printout.

My PDF-XChange Printer Settings (PDF-Xchange Printer V6 (6.0 build 322.7)):
"General.Specification" PDFA2b
Fonts.EmbedAll" TRUE
Fonts.EmbedProtected" TRUE

How do I have to adjust the PDF-XChange to get an equally good print result? The text should also be selectable.

I also noticed that the two PDF documents are very different in size.
PDF Creator printout: 37kb
PDF XChange printout: 165kb
Could it be that the PDF XChange saves the printout as an image? I also added Screenshots from the Fonts Panel in Adobe. Seems that PDF-Xchange did not add all fonts.

Any Help would be nice.

Greetings
AP
Attachments
pdfcreator_fonts.png
pdfxchange_fonts.png
PDF Creator Testprintout
PDF Creator Testprintout
PDF-Xchange Printer V6 (6.0 build 322.7)
PDF-Xchange Printer V6 (6.0 build 322.7)
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Tracker Supp-Stefan
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Re: Print quality is unusually poor / Adobe Acrobat Reader

Post by Tracker Supp-Stefan »

Hello apx,

Can you please add the actual PDF files generated? If they are sensitive - please e-mail those to support@pdf-xchange.com with a link back to this topic.

Also - can we please have the full list of parameters you apply to the printing drivers to check if anything else might be causing the problem.
From the images it seems like e.g. the content was reasterized, or maybe printed as curves instead of fonts, but we should be able to tell more once we look at the options you use and the files produced.

Regards,
Stefan
apx
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Re: Print quality is unusually poor / Adobe Acrobat Reader

Post by apx »

Hi Stefan,

I sent you an E-Mail with the subject "Requested Files for Topic Print quality is unusually poor / Adobe Acrobat Reader"

Thanks for help.

Greetings
Alex (apx)
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Re: Print quality is unusually poor / Adobe Acrobat Reader

Post by Tracker Supp-Stefan »

Thanks Alex,

Got the mail, and checked the files.
Seems the PDF we create is raster based, but this is most likely due to the way the tool that prints the files sends the print job to us.

Please try the latest build of our drivers, and both XPS and GDI modes in that - and see if it makes any difference!

Regards,
Stefan
apx
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Re: Print quality is unusually poor / Adobe Acrobat Reader

Post by apx »

Where can I get the latest files?
I downloaded the "PDF-XChange PRO SDK" with the current Version 6.0 build 322.7 from 11.08.2017.
I cant find a newer version from your SDK. (Source: https://www.pdf-xchange.com/produc ... fileid=568)

In the help is nothing documentated about XPS or GDI modes.
https://help.pdf-xchange.com/pdfxpsdk6/

Greetings

Alex
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Re: Print quality is unusually poor / Adobe Acrobat Reader

Post by Tracker Supp-Stefan »

Hi Alex,

Just spoke with a colleague in the Canadian office - and it seems like there's still no V7 of the Drivers API SDK :(
So apologies for asking you to try that in the first place.

Can you use a different tool for generating the original PDF file with the data in the form fields? And see it can print to our drivers better?

Cheers,
Stefan
apx
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Re: Print quality is unusually poor / Adobe Acrobat Reader

Post by apx »

Just spoke with a colleague in the Canadian office - and it seems like there's still no V7 of the Drivers API SDK
Is there a release date? Because from reading other topics, there are changes like DevMode is deprecated,..
Can you use a different tool for generating the original PDF file with the data in the form fields? And see it can print to our drivers better?
I dont understand what I should do. You can reproduce it, when you open the empty form (sent by E-Mail) in Adobe Reader DC and print it by hand (CTRL+P) to a PDF-XChange 6 SDK Printdriver. And I tried it with the PDFCreator too, with the same result.

Can you try it out with the v7 SDK, because I would at least have to know if it's possible in the near future, even if not with the SDK 6.0 build 322.7, the statement that it works from a certain version and an approximate release date would help me internally.
apx
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Re: Print quality is unusually poor / Adobe Acrobat Reader

Post by apx »

My Current test result:
I have installed the current version of the PDF-XChange Editor (7.0.324.2) for testing. When I open the form with it and print it on the PDF printer "PDF-XChange Lite". I get an identical print image. The form is again rasterized and the text cannot be selected. I tested it with the GDI and XPS modes.
And I don't understand that. When I open the PDF form in the XChange Editor, I can also select the text there. Why does it change so much during printing that I can't select it afterwards. When I print to the PDF-Xchange printer in Microsoft Word, I can select the text afterwards.
I have also noticed that the Microsoft PDF printer that ships with Windows 10 only generates a raster PDF document.
So is it rather the exception that PDFCreator (Postscript Printer) in collaboration with Ghostscript is able to create such a selectable PDF document?
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