ASCII or binary eps files

[quarkuser]

I have recently updated to Quark 8. I use 10.6.3 with an 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac. I've come across having postscript errors when printing from Quark to either an HP Laserjet 5000n or an Okidata C9300 color printer. After doing some research I believe the cause of my problems are using Photoshoop eps files on my layouts. I believe some of my eps files have been encoded as binary and should be ASCII instead. Is there a tool or utility I can use in Quark or even Acrobat Pro to determine what eps files in my layout were saved as binary or ASCII formats?

[mattbeals]

If you are printing to a Windows spooler queue or a PostScrip emulator then I'd say ASCII. Otherwise binary should be fine.

[quarkuser]

I think you misunderstood my question. I cannot print because of postscript error caused by the binary eps files. I am trying to find out if there is a utility I can use in either Quark or Acrobat Pro (for the Mac) that will indicate which eps images in my layout were formatted as either binary or ASCII. I would like to change my images to ASCII but I have too many in my library. It's time consuming to open each one up and reformatting.

[mattbeals]

None that I can think of. What about setting up a PhotoShop batch function to re-save the EPS's as ASCII85 EPS's?

[gnubler]

I have recently updated to Quark 8.

My condolences.

[quarkuser]

Thanks. How do I set up this Photoshop batch function? I use CS4 v.11 Photoshop.

[DCurry]

Is there any good reason to keep them as EPS? Unless it is a duotone or has Spot Channels, it might be worthwhile to convert to TIFF. Of course that means you will have to relink them in Quark which could be a pain.

You can use the Image Processor in Bridge to do a batch conversion to TIFF format.

Another option - make a PDF and then print from Acrobat to your printer.

[quarkuser]

The files have always been in eps even before I started here (12 years now). I think it's because we use clipping paths. I thought and heard that Quark deals better with eps files instead of tiffs. I currently do print to pdf but this is an extra step to take. Right now if I print directly from Quark to my Oki color printer, blank pages will print out with lines of jibberish on each page. Printing to my HP Laserjet 5000, the page spools all the way but nothing comes out. So far, people from Quark forums have suggested that my files be formatted to ASCII.

[Joe]

I've always had problems trying to print from Quark using anything other than Appletalk and there is no AppleTalk in 10.6.3.

[Ear]

Eps was the standard years ago but anymore, .eps files cause problems. I hear this from designers all the time, "I have been using .eps for years, etc, etc, etc..." Well stop it.  :laugh:

[quarkuser]

just want to add that never had this problem in Quark 4, 5, or 6. It all went downhill in 8.

[Ear]

Agreed. Version 6 wasn't the greatest but 7 and 8 royally suck. Bag quark, get InDesign. I don't ever use .eps.... tiff for regular images or psd if I'm clipping something out or using transparency or layers. It's the only way to go, especially if you are sending to a printer with a JDF capable workflow.

[DigiCorn]

I think we have successfully deterred all our client list to NOT use Quark. I haven't seen a Quark file in forever, and the last one I did see was 6.5

[Ear]

I just ran a job from a quark PDF the other day. The damn file was 800 megs for a little 32 page signature. What the french, toast!?!? It would have been 1/10 of that out of indy.

[Joe]

I did a 64 pg'er out of Quark 8 with live transparency. The PDF was over 1.5 gb. But it worked to my amazement.