Workaround to High End EPS files

 

I had a nice phone chat today with one of our customers, a pleasant young woman named Carla. Being a
salesperson, she was dismayed to find out she was in suddenly in charge of providing the print file for an
upcoming job she was selling and was looking for some print specifications. She brought up a chronic
problem that we've seen in the past, so I thought I'd share a bit of experience with you.

 

The Problem:

 

End user supplies an Encapsulated PostScript File (EPS) to our customer that was created in Adobe
Illustrator Creative Cloud version. Carla can't open the file to edit it because her company maxed out at
Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 (two versions down). And, as you know, in a LOT of cases you can't go back to theend user to get a new, saved-down file.

 

The Solution:

 

I suggested to Carla that she import the EPS into an InDesign CS 5.5 Document, then export out of
InDesign to a print-quality PDF.  The resulting PDF would be editable in her lower version of Illustrator.

 

She can then either: (a)  open the PDF in Acrobat, then right-click  to Edit the page (Illustrator normally
launches as this point), or (b) drop the PDF right onto her Illustrator icon.

 

I tried this again today and it worked with no problem. I can't guarantee perfect results every time, but as a
Registered Down and-Dirty Prepress Guy, I find that this "Meatball Surgery" type of solution is the only
thing that works when you're under deadline.  Getting the job back to the customer on-time and at the
highest quality possible is a juggling act, but we've got lots of tools like this in our bag of tricks!

 

Next up: Hey!...What Happened to My Fnnts?