Gradient mesh fails on pdf-export
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Any news on this issue?
Masked mesh gradients --> bad pdf
Now a client ask for a vector pdf file and the gradient is blank.
How do I response to this?
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@Raaskot The honest answer is: It is not possible to export mesh gradient transparency to PDF.
The problem is that PDF does not support mesh gradients in transparency masks. Other gradients are fine but mesh gradients are not allowed.
I tested this with Adobe Illustrator also, and they flattened the mesh into a grid of vectors. This does not work very well as there are artifacts in the overlap between these vectors.
The bug is still open on this side, if I find some solution for this then I will add it, but for now this is a limitation of the PDF format.
My plan is to flatten this into an image when exporting to PDF (so it is realistic, but not scalable vector).Exporting to an image format should work OK.
The bottom line: I'm not aware of any app that can actually produce real mesh gradient transparency in PDFs.
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@Raaskot A quick solution: flatten the mesh gradients into an image before exporting (with Object -> Rasterize)
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@VectorStyler
Cool, thank you.Flatten with Rasterize does actually apply to the actual request. Setting adequate resolution high enough is a good fix for my purpose.
If you consider to implement this in pdf-export in a bit more straightforward manner (for the user) in future VS-versions, it may be applied, so (1) the programme on export first rasterize the gradients (with a certain amount of bleed) but (2) keep/build the vector outline and (3) then use it to mask the beforementioned raster image.
Thus sharp, non-pixilated edges will be maintained on enlargements.
Just a suggestion.
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@Raaskot In the next build (soon), the transparent mesh gradients will be automatically exported as clipped images.
The clipping will be the mesh boundary shape.
This will be only on export (document is not changed, nothing is rasterized) and only for gradients that are not supported by PDF, so normal (nontransparent) meshes should stay vector. -
@Raaskot I added the image export mode to the new build.
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@VectorStyler
Great, thanks
