i'm having trouble PPML and VPS to Creo 650

I am trying to print PPML and VPS out of Fusion Pro to my Creo with no luck.

 

The PPML always fails when i try to import the file. I have tried composing as PPML and HP PPML and have not been able to get either one to import into the creo without failing. Is there something else i need to be doing?

 

The VPS file imports into the creo 650 fine but the art is not correct. An example would be that i have a postcard with a white bar across the bottom that fades off the side using a feather effect. When i compose to VPS and print, the bar prints out as a solid. I have had no luck getting transparencies to print correctly either. They always print out at 100% instead of at the lower percent designated. Is this just a function VPS to not be able to handle transparencies and feathers or do i need to be doing something different?

Are you generating the FusionPro PPML output from a Mac or PC?

What version of FusionPro and Acrobat?

 

Keep in mind that the PPML output stream is a PostScript based output format, and your pdf needs to have its layers, artwork and transparencies flattened in the template so that it can print correctly.

Please ensure that you are importing the file in its "zip" format as generated by FusionPro to your Creo RIP command workstation.

 

-Alex

Mac 10.5.7 - Acrobat 8 - Fusion Pro 5.8

 

I have been exporting my files from InDesign using the Fusion Pro plug-in into Acrobat. I guess I have been assuming that the layers are automatically flatted when they are exported by Fusion Pro. But I guess that is not the case?

 

As far as importing the zip file verses the ppml file, I can tell the creo to import the zip file (select the zip file and hit import) but nothing happens. That is why I have been opening the zip file and importing the ppml file inside. When the PPML file fails I get the error message - "The high res file: pst-30.dos was not found, please check the search path." There is no file by this name in the zip file with the PPML. I have been at a loss as what to do since the zip and ppml file do not work.

Try the following.

When FusionPro generates the zip file, extract the contents. The key files needed are the ppml, pst.30..,. For some reason, the file generated contains the directories as opposed to the base files needed.

Then simply create a zip of these files. Import to your Creo and test.

Ok, Here is where i am at. My Creo does not import zip files. However, I did manage to find the dos file (it was in a folder within a folder within a folder ect within the zip file) and the ppml does work with the Creo IF I import the ppml file and the dos file at the same time not zipped. Great! Now for my other problem with the transparencies. When i flatten my file and compose to ppml, sometimes Fusion Pro "unexpectidly quits" or if I do get my zip file, it does not open. I get an error message that says "Error 1 - Operation not permitted." I have tried flattening the PDF 2 different ways with the same result. I have used the "preflight...flatten layers" and the "Print Production...Flattener Preview Option." Are there other ways to flatten the pdf before i compose?

The way your PDF is constructed from a design application point of view, is contingent on your PDF Presets setting in Indesign or Quark.

You can define these settings in a specific profile for your FusionPro templates.

If you have no control over the design of your documents, then the PDF Optimizer in Acrobat is your best option. Simply prep your PDF before adding the FusionPro elements so that it renders correctly when composed to a postscript based output format such as PPML.

You may also choose to flatten the artwork and transparencies in Adobe Photoshop as well.

I have tried the PDF Optimizer in Acrobat and checked my settings in InDesign. I can get my file flat but every time I try to compose the flattened document the program quits or crashes. I am not having problems when the file is not flattened. It does not seem to matter if the flattening was done while the pdf was being created or after the pdf was created and before fusion pro elements.