This is a very common problem with PDF's it seems (from the number of queries on the net) - PDF's are printing way too light: text is faint and lines/ boxes are just plain missing. This is hopeless when printing forms with boxes requiring ticks - the boxes ain't there.
I have had a hate/ loathe relationship with Adobe since forever and have now moved to PDF-XChange Viewer in the hope that I could get darker prints. No luck so far! My initial prints were no better than Adobe's.
Can someone please let me know how to darken my PDF's for printing? I need lines and boxes on the print. Any help would really be appreciated.
PS I have already set the printer to maximum dpi and its darkest setting.
PPS The usual suggestion is to export to Photoshop (don't have) or similar - which I find ludicrous: this is the 21st century; surely a PDF viewer can be set to darker? What's the point of needing 2 programs to do 1 job? i.e. I really don't want to hear that this is the only solution.
I need darker PDF prints - how?
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Stefan - PDF-XChange
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Re: I need darker PDF prints - how?
Hello broigel,
Are your affected PDFs image based? If they are - then please check your printers settings for printing images (sometimes those are different than the settings for vector objects and text), and see if that will have any effect. Then please also try the "Pint as images" option in our Viewer's print dialogue.
If neither helps - please attach a sample file (and if possible a scan of the printed result) so that we can take a look and run some tests at our end.
Best,
Stefan
Are your affected PDFs image based? If they are - then please check your printers settings for printing images (sometimes those are different than the settings for vector objects and text), and see if that will have any effect. Then please also try the "Pint as images" option in our Viewer's print dialogue.
If neither helps - please attach a sample file (and if possible a scan of the printed result) so that we can take a look and run some tests at our end.
Best,
Stefan
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broigel
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Re: I need darker PDF prints - how?
Thanks for your help. I really don't know if my PDF's are image based but I have checked the printer settings and there is nothing for images only. I have tried 'print as images' in the Viewer's print dialogue - it made no difference: the PDF in question is super-faint.
So I attach a copy of the file in question: it is an HMRC form P85. HMRC want us all to download their forms - and when I do and print them they are illegible. Perfect. I have phoned HMRC to get an original P85 sent in the post because 21st century technology doesn't work (and they don't remember how to send forms by post either. Perfect.) I mustn't rant but I am finding that the more up to date the technology, the less it works! Case in point: I am attaching a couple of scans as requested but in order to do that I have to fire up my old Windows 98 computer because my scanner doesn't work with Windows 7. Thank you Microsoft. (I would add that lots of my programs and hardware items don't work with Windows 7 - there's progress for you.) So I then try to attach these 2 scans and get a little red message "The extension png is not allowed". Perfect. Why not exactly? Who says it's not allowed? So now I will plug in my scanner again and redo these 2 scans in a different format. And copy them to my flash drive and copy them onto this machine and try to attach them again. Should only take another 10 minutes - just as well I have nothing else to do. (Wrong.) All of this because the PDF is too light. I have spent most of today trying various options - to no avail. See what I mean about up to date technology? It's worse than useless. (Rant over now, apologies.)
OK. 10 minutes later and you can guess the score: "The extension jpg is not allowed." Perfect. Why not exactly? Just as an afterthought: what scan extension IS allowed exactly? Because I can't send you a png file or a jpg file, can I? Would it like a bmp file? Who can say?
Before I recommence ranting, I will butt out now. I can't attach a scan but hopefully the original PDF is attached. Good luck.
So I attach a copy of the file in question: it is an HMRC form P85. HMRC want us all to download their forms - and when I do and print them they are illegible. Perfect. I have phoned HMRC to get an original P85 sent in the post because 21st century technology doesn't work (and they don't remember how to send forms by post either. Perfect.) I mustn't rant but I am finding that the more up to date the technology, the less it works! Case in point: I am attaching a couple of scans as requested but in order to do that I have to fire up my old Windows 98 computer because my scanner doesn't work with Windows 7. Thank you Microsoft. (I would add that lots of my programs and hardware items don't work with Windows 7 - there's progress for you.) So I then try to attach these 2 scans and get a little red message "The extension png is not allowed". Perfect. Why not exactly? Who says it's not allowed? So now I will plug in my scanner again and redo these 2 scans in a different format. And copy them to my flash drive and copy them onto this machine and try to attach them again. Should only take another 10 minutes - just as well I have nothing else to do. (Wrong.) All of this because the PDF is too light. I have spent most of today trying various options - to no avail. See what I mean about up to date technology? It's worse than useless. (Rant over now, apologies.)
OK. 10 minutes later and you can guess the score: "The extension jpg is not allowed." Perfect. Why not exactly? Just as an afterthought: what scan extension IS allowed exactly? Because I can't send you a png file or a jpg file, can I? Would it like a bmp file? Who can say?
Before I recommence ranting, I will butt out now. I can't attach a scan but hopefully the original PDF is attached. Good luck.
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broigel
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Re: I need darker PDF prints - how?
OK, didn't see my attached file there so here we go again.
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Stefan - PDF-XChange
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Re: I need darker PDF prints - how?
Hi broigel,
Due to some bots attaching inappropriate images to these forums we've blocked all but .pdf and various archive formats from being able to be uploaded. So if you want to attach images - .zip or .rar them first and you can then attach the archive file without problem.
As for the issue with this form - is your printer black and white? I would assume so - and that the colour conversion it does from the light green on the HMRC forms turns out quite unreadable. Maybe the "print as greyscale" option in our Viewer (right above print as images) will help?
Cheers,
Stefan
Due to some bots attaching inappropriate images to these forums we've blocked all but .pdf and various archive formats from being able to be uploaded. So if you want to attach images - .zip or .rar them first and you can then attach the archive file without problem.
As for the issue with this form - is your printer black and white? I would assume so - and that the colour conversion it does from the light green on the HMRC forms turns out quite unreadable. Maybe the "print as greyscale" option in our Viewer (right above print as images) will help?
Cheers,
Stefan