Strange PDF printing problems

[Dotan Cohen]

2008/9/16 Nigel Ridley <nigel at rmk.co.il>:
> I recently downloaded a user manual from Mackie.com:
> http://www.mackie.com/pdf/onyx1640_om.pdf
>
> After downloading it I wanted to print it - but it would only print some colored heading but not
> the actual text. This was using both Adobe Reader 8 and KPDF. Actually I couldn't even highlight
> and copy any text (the resulting box only gave the option of copying a graphic to the clipboard).
>
> I ended up printing it from my wife's XP computer at work. Why should the Windows version of
> Adobe Reader 8 print it when the Linux version wouldn't?
>
> OK. things got stranger. I also use Scribus and somebody offered a script to reduce the size of
> large PDF's. It uses pdftops and pstopdf with a simple perl script (being lazy and tired, I just
> ran the script on the PDF - 'just to see').
> Anyway, there were a couple of errors:
>
> nigel at laptop:~/Documents/PDF_scripts$ ./compress-newsletter.pl
> /home/nigel/Hamaayan/Newsletters/September-08/Test/onyx1640_om.pdf
> Running pdftk ...
> Error: Failed to open PDF file:
>    /home/nigel/Hamaayan/Newsletters/September-08/Test/onyx1640_om.pdf
>    OWNER PASSWORD REQUIRED, but not given (or incorrect)
> Errors encountered.  No output created.
> Done.  Input errors, so no output created.
> Use of uninitialized value in pattern match (m//) at ./compress-newsletter.pl line 202.
> Running pdftops ...
> Running gs ...
> Running pdfopt ...
> -rw-r--r-- 1 nigel nigel  2071083 2008-09-15 19:13
> /home/nigel/Hamaayan/Newsletters/September-08/Test/onyx1640_om_new.pdf
> -rw-r--r-- 1 nigel nigel  1897192 2008-09-06 15:25
> /home/nigel/Hamaayan/Newsletters/September-08/Test/onyx1640_om.pdf
> -rw-r--r-- 1 nigel nigel 63134149 2008-09-15 19:12
> /home/nigel/Hamaayan/Newsletters/September-08/Test/onyx1640_om.ps_8U1cYk
> -rw-r--r-- 1 nigel nigel  2068838 2008-09-15 19:13
> /home/nigel/Hamaayan/Newsletters/September-08/Test/onyx1640_om.tmp_XXJ0Db
> nigel at laptop:~/Documents/PDF_scripts$
>
> but it did produce a PDF that I could highlight and copy text from - but on copying the text (and
> some graphics) into OpenOffice - it still wouldn't print (as if the text was invisible) BUT, and
> this is a bit weird - I then changed the fonts/text to a different color (80% gray - I try to
> save ink!) and it printed!!??
>
> What's going on? Anybody care to enlighten me?
>

Nigel, for me on Kubuntu 8.04 KDE 3.5.10 the PDF opened fine in
Okular. I could copy text (text, not only image) and test prionting in
the Print Preview and Print To PDF both worked fine.

Which KDE do you use? How does Print To PDF turn out? As the problem
is common to both KPDF and to Acrobat, which I do not think share any
code, I suspect your print drivers (or even the printer, if it is not
the same machine as your wife connects to).

-- 
Dotan Cohen

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