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Hmmm. I work with MSWord and EPS graphics alot, and I don't agree with
Andrew's approach. But then again, I don't know the type and purpose of the
graphics in the document. Andrew's approach may be better in some
situations. Use what works best in your situation...
Susan -dot- Arbing -at- Cyberplex -dot- com asked:
> After the tables and EPS, my doc is about 24 MG and doesn't print very
well.
> It is extremely slow to print, sometimes taking 30 minutes.
Andrew blurted:
Covert the EPS graphic to TIF, BMP or WMF (preferred) and then re-embed it
in
the word doc. Ideally, use a graphics program like Paint Shop Pro or
PhotoShop
to save off the file. Resize if necessary. Don't link to the image, embed it
in-line in the Word doc.
But I proclaim (atop a crumbling soapbox...):
Do not embed your graphics; link to them by reference. This minimizes the
MSWord file size because the graphics are stored as externally.
Ensure that you are printing to a PostScript printer. It sounds like you are
not. Many HP printers, for example, have both a PCL printer driver and a
Postscript (PS) driver. Make sure you are using the postscript driver. A PS
driver prints the postscript from the EPS files; any other driver prints the
clunky bitmap "thumbnail" of your graphic that is also contained in the EPS
file. (Typically EPS files contain the postscript, and another "clunkier"
version of the graphic so that it can be displayed on non-postscript
systems, such as Windows).
If you can't find a Postscript printer, then make a PDF of your document if
you have Adobe Acrobat (Use the Distiller, not the writer). Then print the
PDF to the printer.
Avoid converting your EPS files to a different format. Generally, converting
EPS to WMF screws the WMF up because WMF has fewer features and is less
accurate than PS. Converting a vector based graphic from EPS to TIFF or BMP
loses all vector and font information. This may be fine if you are
publishing to web graphics, but reduces the quality for print and PDF
documents.
David Neufeld
dave_neufeld -at- spectrumsignal -dot- com
Spectrum Signal Processing, Inc.
