PowerPoint 2007 Notes Pages to PDF = low quality

[jmaxwell721]

We're battling a problem here where, when printing a presentation's notes
pages from PowerPoint 2007 to PDF, the result has very jagged, low quality
font edges. However when printing the same presentation from PowerPoint 2003,
the fonts are smooth and perfect. The same result occurs making a PDF with
PDF Creator, Nuance PDF Professional 5, etc. BUT, when we print the
presentation's notes pages directly to the printer (a Xerox 6060 in this
case), the presentation looks perfect as well.

Because of this, I can't tell where to start looking for help, here or
Adobe. I first thought that PowerPoint 2007 was outputting garbage to the PDF
Maker, but like I said, when I print the notes pages directly to the printer,
it looks fine.

Is there anyone experienced out there that can help shed some light on this
issue please?

 

[Rick Altman]

J-max, how are you creating the PDFs? I would like to see you using the
commercial version of Adobe Acrobat, which creates industry-standard
PostScript at the highest possible resolution, unlike PDF Creator and many
of that ilk (not familiar with Nuance so I won't label it).

If Adobe Acrobat creates lousy output from 2007, we can start trying to
speculate on what 2007 is doing that 2003 did not, but I wouldn't want to go
there until we know that we are creating clean PostScript as part of the
PDF-creation process.

 

[Echo S]

You might want to try the Office add-in for creating PDF/XPS files. It's
downloadable from http://office.microsoft.com

I find it makes cleaner PPT PDFs than Acrobat. For example, transparent
gradients actually look like transparent gradients, unlike the
non-transparent non-gradients they are when I make a PDF from Acrobat.

 

[jmaxwell721]

Guys, thanks for your replies. Let me go into a little more detail on the
things I've tried, and answer your questions. I do want to also specify that
this problem only exists when printing the NOTES pages as well. If I print
normal slide-view from PowerPoint 2007 to PDF, it looks perfect.

Rick, I apologize, I should have specified that we are using Adobe Acrobat
Professional 8.1.3 for all of the conversions. I had tried those additional
PDF converters as a "2nd opionion", if you will, on PDF converstion.

When printing Notes Pages from PPT 2007 to PDF I have tried:

- just selecting the 'high quality' checkbox in PPT 2007's Print Dialog Box
= no improvement
- saving as XPS, then converting that to PDF = no improvement
- adjusting the 'Adobe PDF' printer options to use absolutely no
compression, etc. = was an improvement, but the time to create it, and the
resulting file size is not practical
- saving as PDF with the Microsoft 2007 add-in = close, but not acceptable

Just this morning as we try some of these conversions again, we feel it has
to be something with font embedding/converting/etc. The graphics in the .ppt
file actually look pretty good regardless of the conversion method.

If I can supply you with the .ppt, .pptx, or any of the resulting .pdf
examples, please let me know!

-Jeff

 

[Echo S]

What font are you using in the notes? Anything else special? Italics, bold,
colors?

FWIW, I just printed a blank note page -- a blank slide with some dummy
notes text (added in the notes pane in Normal View) using the default
Calibri font -- using Acrobat 7. I used File | Print and chose the Acrobat
PDF printer driver. I tried both color and grayscale. It looks fine.

 

[Echo S]

I also tried Save As PDF using the Office PDF, and it also looks fine.

I bumped the font up to 32 point in the notes and made a couple words red
bold italics. Still Calibri font. Looks fine.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances http://tinyurl.com/36grcd
PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit http://tinyurl.com/32a7nx

What font are you using in the notes? Anything else special? Italics,
bold, colors?

FWIW, I just printed a blank note page -- a blank slide with some dummy
notes text (added in the notes pane in Normal View) using the default
Calibri font -- using Acrobat 7. I used File | Print and chose the Acrobat
PDF printer driver. I tried both color and grayscale. It looks fine.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances http://tinyurl.com/36grcd
PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit http://tinyurl.com/32a7nx

Guys, thanks for your replies. Let me go into a little more detail on
the
things I've tried, and answer your questions. I do want to also specify
that
this problem only exists when printing the NOTES pages as well. If I
print
normal slide-view from PowerPoint 2007 to PDF, it looks perfect.

Rick, I apologize, I should have specified that we are using Adobe
Acrobat
Professional 8.1.3 for all of the conversions. I had tried those
additional
PDF converters as a "2nd opionion", if you will, on PDF converstion.

When printing Notes Pages from PPT 2007 to PDF I have tried:

- just selecting the 'high quality' checkbox in PPT 2007's Print Dialog
Box
= no improvement
- saving as XPS, then converting that to PDF = no improvement
- adjusting the 'Adobe PDF' printer options to use absolutely no
compression, etc. = was an improvement, but the time to create it, and
the
resulting file size is not practical
- saving as PDF with the Microsoft 2007 add-in = close, but not
acceptable

Just this morning as we try some of these conversions again, we feel it
has
to be something with font embedding/converting/etc. The graphics in the
.ppt
file actually look pretty good regardless of the conversion method.

If I can supply you with the .ppt, .pptx, or any of the resulting .pdf
examples, please let me know!

-Jeff

 

[jmaxwell721]

I have put together some files to demonstrate:

http://public.talentplus.com/pptpdf/index.html

Listed on this page are the powerpoint 2003 file, powerpoint 2007 version of
the same file, good ppt2003 pdf file, bad ppt2007 pdf file, and ppt2007
save-as-pdf file. In my defense, I know it's not something I'm doing wrong,
or something that's only happening on my computer. Once you get all the
details down, I can reproduce it on my home computer, my friend was able to
reproduce it, etc.

Please use either of the PPT files on our site above, go to print, choose
adobe pdf, make sure you select 'notes pages' and color, print, and it should
look similar to file #4 if you're using PPT 2007.

I also tried Save As PDF using the Office PDF, and it also looks fine.

I bumped the font up to 32 point in the notes and made a couple words red
bold italics. Still Calibri font. Looks fine.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances http://tinyurl.com/36grcd
PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit http://tinyurl.com/32a7nx

What font are you using in the notes? Anything else special? Italics,
bold, colors?

FWIW, I just printed a blank note page -- a blank slide with some dummy
notes text (added in the notes pane in Normal View) using the default
Calibri font -- using Acrobat 7. I used File | Print and chose the Acrobat
PDF printer driver. I tried both color and grayscale. It looks fine.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances http://tinyurl.com/36grcd
PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit http://tinyurl.com/32a7nx

 

[jmaxwell721]

Ahh, good question, i'm referring to the text on the slides in the slide
image above the notes text.

 

[Echo S]

Ah, so the problem is not the text in the notes in notes view, it's the PDF
rendering of the *slide image* in Notes View. Right?

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances http://tinyurl.com/36grcd
PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit http://tinyurl.com/32a7nx

I have put together some files to demonstrate:

http://public.talentplus.com/pptpdf/index.html

Listed on this page are the powerpoint 2003 file, powerpoint 2007 version
of
the same file, good ppt2003 pdf file, bad ppt2007 pdf file, and ppt2007
save-as-pdf file. In my defense, I know it's not something I'm doing
wrong,
or something that's only happening on my computer. Once you get all the
details down, I can reproduce it on my home computer, my friend was able
to
reproduce it, etc.

Please use either of the PPT files on our site above, go to print, choose
adobe pdf, make sure you select 'notes pages' and color, print, and it
should
look similar to file #4 if you're using PPT 2007.

I also tried Save As PDF using the Office PDF, and it also looks fine.

I bumped the font up to 32 point in the notes and made a couple words red
bold italics. Still Calibri font. Looks fine.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances http://tinyurl.com/36grcd
PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit http://tinyurl.com/32a7nx

What font are you using in the notes? Anything else special? Italics,
bold, colors?

FWIW, I just printed a blank note page -- a blank slide with some dummy
notes text (added in the notes pane in Normal View) using the default
Calibri font -- using Acrobat 7. I used File | Print and chose the
Acrobat
PDF printer driver. I tried both color and grayscale. It looks fine.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances http://tinyurl.com/36grcd
PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit http://tinyurl.com/32a7nx

 

[Echo S]

Wish I'd asked that earlier. I thought it was the text in the notes. Now
that I see an uploaded PDF, I understand that.

 

[jmaxwell721]

well, we now see why things look so different. when you look at the notes
master of a blank, new presentation in ppt2003, the scaled down slide area at
the top is a 'slide object'. in ppt2007, it's already converted to an image,
and right-clicking it gives you 'edit images' options....

if there was a way to make the miniature slide section a 'slide object' in
2007, we might have this problem licked!

Wish I'd asked that earlier. I thought it was the text in the notes. Now
that I see an uploaded PDF, I understand that.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances http://tinyurl.com/36grcd
PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit http://tinyurl.com/32a7nx

One thing I'd like clarified: when you refer to low quality fonts on
notes
pages, do you mean in the notes text itself, or the text on the slides in
the
slide image above the notes text?

Jmaxwell721
wrote:

 

[Rick Altman]

Jeff, that is precisely what I did with the print sample that I uploaded.
That is indeed the ticket out of town -- using a Slide object and not just a
low-res bitmap -- but it implies a fair amount of elbow grease...or a
script...Steve...?

1. Copy Slide.
2. Switch to Notes view
3. Remove existing thumbnail
4. Paste as Object
5. Position.



RA

 

[jmaxwell721]

A fellow collegue I'm working with is researching using some sort of VBScript
to make a custom 'slide object' for the Notes Page Master. So far he came
across something like this, but neither him nor I know much about VBScript:

Sub createCustomHandout()
Dim oSl As Slide
For Each oSl In ActivePresentation.Slides
' find the slide shape on the notes page
With oSl
//oSl.NotesPage.Shapes. ???
End With
Next ' slide
End Sub

Do "we" know how to accomplish what you and I are both talking about with
some sort of custom Notes Master and VBScript?

 

[Rick Altman]

The larger "we" might know how, Jeff. I suspect that Steve Rindsberg and
John Wilson could have this for lunch.

Jeff, I'd love for you to stay in touch with me about this. I think this
story would make for a great sidebar in the second edition of my Why PPT
Sucks book, which I am writing now. Please let me know if/how you resolve
this.

You can reach me at ricka AT altman DOT com.



Thanks...

 

[Jeff Maxwell]

Here is what we were thinking:

With the limited knowledge that we have, we were just wondering if the
following approach could be used:

1. In the existing notes master we delete the 'image' square of the
notes page
2. Add a 'empty slide object' in the master from the 'insert object
menu' within the master
3. Now using VB somehow assign the slide square to source or refer to
the individual slide for which the notes page renders itself.

Now of course we don't have the VBScript knowledge to accomplish this (if
it's even possible.) Is this something you guys can help with, or as least
point us in the right direction?

Guys, thanks for your help in advance, we appreciate the help!

-Jeff

 

[Jeff Maxwell]

Success!!!

I have updated my troubleshooting page with the below macro text as used,
and the resulting PDF. Printing to 'Adobe PDF' was good, but our logo is
still a little fuzzy. Using 'Save as PDF' generated a near-perfect copy,
almost better than the PPT copy!

http://public.talentplus.com/pptpdf/

Now this brings us to another question. How can we make this into a
more-easily-implemented add-in? I haven't stated this before in previous
posts, but we'll pay if necessary!

-Jeff

 

[Enric Mañas]

Jeff,

but our logo is still a little fuzzy.

Don't use jpgs... *use* pngs

If you have the originals of the images... save them as png

If you don't have the originals, use the jpgs you have to convert them to
png and use the png on your masters (they won't be as good as *real* pngs
saved from the original images, but the conversion will give you better
results)

PNG vs JPEG
http://lbrandy.com:80/blog/2008/10/my-first-and-last-webcomic/

Very cordialmente

Enric

 

[Rick Altman]

I'm honored!

This will all make a very nice sidebar with a happy ending in the 2nd
edition of my Sucks book...



RA