So, I’m trying to get the following effect: some text with a white outline around it and a black outline around that. The way I created the image was to convert the text to outlines, paste a copy with a stroke behind that and finally behind that paste a third copy with a greater stroke (if you can imagine). No problem so far.
What my client (hot damn, I have a client) wants is to have a .psd of this. So, I think to myself, I can just export to .psd and I’ll be fine.
It works…sometimes. There are several of these items per page and all except for one export correctly. The other one will only export the bottom of the stack making a big dark blob on the page.
I’ve tried everything I can think of: ungrouping and regrouping, making sure the stack order is correct, reversing the stack order, trying to export to multiple types (pdf, tiff, psd, svg…), putting each layer of stack on its own layer…but nothing seems to work.
Try converting all strokes to outlines (object>outline stroke). If that alone doesn’t work, use the merge/knockout to make them all one group of shapes that don’t require stacking, so you have outeroutline/inneroutline/text as separate shapes without any “stacking” required. Or find out why the guy wants it in .psd anyway…an eps might work just as well for him.
Also, try just opening the .ai file in photoshop as a .psd…it might be your export feature that’s trouble. Unless he wants path info in the psd and so doesn’t want it rasterized.
Well, I’m pretty sure you can save as an Illustrator PSD in AI 10 and CS. Not the same as PS PSD, but pretty darn comparable.
I would also think that you could make each element of your vector art into a different layer, and then drag the layers directly into photoshop. Then it’s a simple matter of realigning each of the layers in PS and flattening.
If they really don’t need the path data, you could ‘export as TIF’, open the TIF in PS, and save as PSD.
I think the real question is does the client need the vector data in the PSD or do they simply want the file in a format they’re familiar with.
I believe the client is more comfortable with PS than Illustrator. There are going to be some extra things composited under the stuff I’m supplying and he’s more familiar with PS.
I did try everything I could think of: export, save as, opening in PS, saving as EPS then exporting, even save for web dropped the damn thing out. I tried saving as a tiff, but had the same problem with the text turning into the blob…Converting to .pdf through Acrobat leaves me with the same problem. What’s even stranger is that I have three examples of this “effect” I used. One always comes out as the blob, no matter what method I try, one sometimes comes out that way and one never comes out that way. I created the things a couple of days ago and IIRC, I used the same method to create all of them, so I’m not sure what’s happening there…
If I try copying the second level of the stack and paste it into PS, then I get something reasonably close, although there are a couple odd areas where there appear to be chunks taken out of the outline.
Merging will knock out the back of the stack, so unfortunately that doesn’t work.
I sent him the ai files to see what it should look like and he was quite happy with it. I don’t know if he had the same export problem.
Can you export just the front item, without the rear objects? If so, then take it into photoshop and just use the stroke tool on that layer twice there–once black, once white.
As far as the original problem goes, I have no ideas right off. I had problems early on with the concept that each individual item in a layer has a transparency value of its own that is a percentage of the layer’s value, and the entire layer itself has another, totally-separate transparency value. I would certainly check them all.
… however…
I have never been employed specifically to do graphics work so I may be wrong here, but it is my understanding that -generally speaking- you should not be using any lines with pixel widths of anything other than zero. The reason is because pixel width is a discrete value that does not automatically scale with the rest of the image.
The other thing is that normally you convert all text to shapes during the final exporting. The reason is to avoid the external dependency of a font file that they may or may not have–or their print shop may not have, especially if it’s a customized font. The only reason you leave it as actual text is if they will need to edit the text later, and if you know they will have access to the font file used.
~
…And here’s how to fix it if anyone’s wondering (or, what Gaudere said):
Someone suggested that the transparency was screwy. If I select the object and remove the “knockout group” option in the transparency palette, I can finally export the damn thing correctly.