blurry pictures in word

[Michelle]

I've been reading the previous threads about blurry pictures and
haven't found an answer yet. Any advice would be appreciated. I'm
trying to bring a logo into Word to set up a letterhead template that
can be used in Word on a pc. On System 9, I used to be able to bring
in a jpg easily. I'm now in System X and Office X. Using "Inset -
Picture - from file" - with "picture linked to file", a jpg file just
gives me a box with a red X even if the picture is under 600k. Eps
files appear blurry on screen and are blurry when printed, even if the
source file is 300 dpi. I can't find any settings or preferences to
reset but it seems as if Word is resampling the image. Suggestions?

 

[Beth Rosengard]

Hi Michelle,

It's my understanding that EPS files and the Mac are an iffy combination.
You're better off using EMF or WMF.

As for the Red X problem, this was just posted to this newsgroup a day or
two ago by MS:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To all our MacWord X customers:
 
We have been receiving reports about the inability of Word X to display
graphics in certain documents, and instead showing a ³Red X². This is an
expected occurrence when the Word cannot display the graphic, due to lack of
memory, lack of a required graphic converter or corrupt image.

We have investigated the reports and have identified 2 scenarios where Red
X¹s would appear unexpectedly:
 
Problem: Documents created or modified in MacWord X display ³Red X¹s² when
opened up in Word version 2002 for Windows (or earlier).
Solution: Word version 2002 for Windows is currently missing a graphic
filter that enables it to display certain graphics added or modified in
MacWord X. This graphic filter will be available as part of a Service Pack
update from Office Update sometime after January 2004. This graphic filter
is already included as part of the Word 2003 for Windows install.
 
Problem: Documents opened in MacWord X will sometimes display graphics as
³Red X¹s².
Solution: We have identified a conflict with certain built-in & 3rd party
components and Word. Plug-ins such as ³Endnote² as well as built-in items
like ³Camera and Scanner Plug-in² will cause this issue when they are
loaded. Endnote is loaded automatically when Word is launched, while ³Camera
and Scanner Plug-in² loads when selecting it from the ³Insert | Picture²
sub-menu. This issue can also occur in Mac Word 2001.

In order to work-around this issue one must not load these plug-ins and
disable those that start automatically by temporarily removing them from the
³Microsoft Office X:Office:Startup:Word² folder. We currently do not have an
update to Word X that addresses this issue directly.

Another item to note is that if you run into either of these issues, the
integrity of the graphics will remain and even though Word will be unable to
display the images, they will be saved with the document correctly.

Matt Centurion
Macintosh Business Unit ­ Microsoft
(e-mail address removed) <mailto:[email protected]>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please post back and let us know what works for you.

--
Beth Rosengard
Mac MVP

Mac Word FAQ: <http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/WordMac/index.htm>
Entourage Help Page: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org/toc.html>

 

[Elliott Roper]

Eps files appear blurry on screen and are blurry when printed, even
if the source file is 300 dpi. I can't find any settings or
preferences to reset but it seems as if Word is resampling the image.
Suggestions?

Word's eps handling is bobbins. It will display the low res preview on
screen which is fair enough, but when printing to PDF or a
non-postscript printer it will use the low-res preview again.
Unforgiveable for PDF, but understandable if your printer does not do
postscript. Because I don't get the red-X blues, my workaround for dual
purpose documents is to export any vector art (eg Freehand) as 600dpi
TIFF and insert from file into Word- which is kind of a balance between
between looking good on a laser and file size on the web.

WIth all the little and not so little inconsistencies between Word on
PC and Mac, I'm usually sending a PDF along with the .doc, just so the
recipient can see what it was supposed to be like before their PC
butchers it.

 

[M. Katz]

Word's eps handling is bobbins. It will display the low res preview on

screen which is fair enough, but when printing to PDF or a
non-postscript printer it will use the low-res preview again.
Unforgiveable for PDF, but understandable if your printer does not do
postscript.

I don't know anything about bobbins, but I do know that EPS printing
straight to PDF is not the way to go. I've been using EPS files
successfully in Word on Mac since v. 5. So the comment (from the MS
MacBU guy) that EPS on Mac is "an iffy combination" is the biggest
load of bobbins I've ever heard, unless he was referring specifically
to the Mac/PC (in)compatability (read: false advertising) issue, which
really rankles my bobbins, and everyone else's too.

As we all know, EPS is a great way to "encapsulate" your graphic and
have Word leave it alone until it gets to the PostScript printer. If
you're not going to print to a PostScript printer, it makes no sense
to use Encapsulated PostScript graphics, IMHO. Why would you? Also,
some of the "problems" in bringing EPS file from the Mac onto a PC
have to do with the low-res preview file (believe it or not) and also
Font embedding (as usual). Depending on the program that creates the
EPS, that low-res preview can be color, grayscale, PICT, not-PICT, and
a lot of other things. Within the comfy confines of the Mac, all is
well. Bring the file to a PC and the PC will choke on it in many
cases--even if the file meets EPS specs. You might consider having no
preview because that can actually some some problems.

Once upon a time, there was also a subtle issue in the Import >
Picture from File dialog. If you don't specifically select "EPS" as
the file type, but then import the file generically, Word might get
its mits on the image and kindly "convert" it to low-res WMF garbage
for you. I don't know if this is still an issue, since I always,
*always*, import and tell Word: "This is an EPS. Please keep your mits
off of it."

That said, the _only_ way to make a PDF truly work with your EPS file
is to *distill* a PostScript file using Acrobat Distiller or similar.
What that means is that you can't "Print to PDF" from within Mac OS
X's print dialog and expect it to work. It won't. I've forgiven it and
have moved on. You need to Print to PostScript. Period. Then you
Distill and, Volia, gorgeous every time.

M. Katz.

I wonder how many millions of dollars it would take to fix these
problems. For bobbins' sake, it's not like curing cancer. Hey Mac BU
guy, couldn't some of these be fixed in a single pizza-filled weekend?
Don't we deserve it? How many Billions of extra cash does MS have in
the bank? What's it for then? It was my (employer's) money until we
gave it to you. No more Starbuks for you until you guys fix this.

 

[Elliott Roper]

I don't know anything about bobbins, but I do know that EPS printing
straight to PDF is not the way to go. I've been using EPS files
successfully in Word on Mac since v. 5. So the comment (from the MS
MacBU guy) that EPS on Mac is "an iffy combination" is the biggest
load of bobbins I've ever heard, unless he was referring specifically
to the Mac/PC (in)compatability (read: false advertising) issue, which
really rankles my bobbins, and everyone else's too.

As we all know, EPS is a great way to "encapsulate" your graphic and
have Word leave it alone until it gets to the PostScript printer. If
you're not going to print to a PostScript printer, it makes no sense
to use Encapsulated PostScript graphics, IMHO. Why would you? Also,
some of the "problems" in bringing EPS file from the Mac onto a PC
have to do with the low-res preview file (believe it or not) and also
Font embedding (as usual). Depending on the program that creates the
EPS, that low-res preview can be color, grayscale, PICT, not-PICT, and
a lot of other things. Within the comfy confines of the Mac, all is
well. Bring the file to a PC and the PC will choke on it in many
cases--even if the file meets EPS specs. You might consider having no
preview because that can actually some some problems.

Since PDF is so closely allied to Postscript - it is more or less the
same thing with better font handling and with Adobe's mitts kindly
removed from the licensing nonsense - you would think that print from
eps to PDF would be easy peasy.

Once upon a time, there was also a subtle issue in the Import >
Picture from File dialog. If you don't specifically select "EPS" as
the file type, but then import the file generically, Word might get
its mits on the image and kindly "convert" it to low-res WMF garbage
for you. I don't know if this is still an issue, since I always,
*always*, import and tell Word: "This is an EPS. Please keep your mits
off of it."

That said, the _only_ way to make a PDF truly work with your EPS file
is to *distill* a PostScript file using Acrobat Distiller or similar.
What that means is that you can't "Print to PDF" from within Mac OS
X's print dialog and expect it to work. It won't. I've forgiven it and
have moved on. You need to Print to PostScript. Period. Then you
Distill and, Volia, gorgeous every time.

M. Katz.

M Katz. You are my hero!! That last paragraph got me thinking. Only
way? With Panther's much improved "Preview" Program? If you print your
Word doc with eps graphics to ps from Word, open the .ps file in
Preview, it automatically turns it into PDF *with the proper eps
rendering*

Yes folks, the new Panther Preview will now distill.

Wheee! For more than 5 years I have resisted forking out for the full
Acrobat ransom. Yayy!

It is still an ugly hack, and Word will still fragment output into
multiple files at certain section breaks, but we are getting there!

 

[anderson]

I too have been experiencing this problem, with the additional caveat
that it can happen for any type of image format (not just EPS). I
should point out that the problem occurs for multiple Mac OS X boxes
with Word X at our institution. I have the latest Word and Panther,
with all software updates. This problem is exactly as described in
earlier posts. No matter how you insert the image (cut & paste,
insert file, link to file), the image comes out looking blurry when
you print or make a PDF file with OS X PDF or Acrobat. The problem
does not always occur, but frequently it does. I too find that the
issue goes away if you start with a new Word OS X document, and seem
to get the problem when editing documents from Word 2001 and 1998.
Opening the OS X document in Word 98 (when possible), seems to also
allow you to print without blurriness. As with previous posters, I
second the suggestion that this is an issue with opening OS 9 word
documents (or at least pre Word OS X documents).

S-