Lines appearing through boxes when powerpoint is printed

[sbaden]

Version: 2004
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger)
Processor: Power PC

When I receive powerpoint slides to print (on HP 5000ps Designjet), on occasion horizontal lines appear through boxes. Generally this happens in boxes with visible borders (graphs, text boxes, tables). It also occurs when the problem ppt file is converted to a pdf.
These lines are not visible on the screen, in either ppt or pdf forms, yet when they are printed, the lines appear, crossing directly through the print.
Mostly these files are created on a pc, and converted to pdf's using Office 2007 on pc's. I have tried printing from mac & pc. The only fix I have found is to rasterize the file in PhotoShop, then resave and print the jpeg. This causes extremely long rip times, not to mention the added time involved in rasterizing and resaving the ppt files.
What could be causing these lines? What do you suggest to prevent? ANY IDEAS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED
Thanks

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Version: 2004
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger)
Processor: Power PC

When I receive powerpoint slides to print (on HP 5000ps Designjet), on

occasion horizontal lines appear through boxes. Generally this happens in
boxes with visible borders (graphs, text boxes, tables). It also occurs
when the problem ppt file is converted to a pdf.

These lines are not visible on the screen, in either ppt or pdf forms,

yet when they are printed, the lines appear, crossing directly through the
print.

Mostly these files are created on a pc, and converted to pdf's using

Office 2007 on pc's. I have tried printing from mac & pc. The only fix I
have found is to rasterize the file in PhotoShop, then resave and print
the jpeg. This causes extremely long rip times, not to mention the added
time involved in rasterizing and resaving the ppt files.

What could be causing these lines? What do you suggest to prevent? ANY

IDEAS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED

I used to run a service bureau, and we'd see this sort of thing in some
gradient fills and especially when a gradient fill was overlaid by a shape
with transparent fill or bitmap with transparency.

If possible, set your output device to a resolution that's an even
multiple of 300dpi. 600, 1200 etc. If the device does any sort of
resolution enhancement or the like, try turning that off. Some printers
offer odd modes that have different resolutions in one direction than
another. Avoid those.



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Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
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