[Scribus] Scribus PDF - some tests and results

[Peter Linnell]

I have been testing Scribus exported PDF 1.3 and 1.4 files with other
applications, which can import PDF like Indesign 2, Quark Xpress 5,
Illustrator 10 and Pagemaker 7.0. 

Very good news in brief:

Indesign 2.0.2 and Illustrator 10.0.3 can import and work with them
flawlessly including handling all the alpha channel transparency
features in PDF 1.4. Indesign will create a Tiff preview, which can be
set to high resolution for high quality on screen viewing. 

You can open a Scribus 0.9.8+ PDF in Illustrator 10 and edit all the
objects, including text, curves etc,  just as if it were created with
Illustrator itself. Re-exporting them results in clean hi res PDF's
which pass two different professional pre-press pre-flight applications
flawlessly.

Pagemaker 7.0.1 on Win2k will import them as well, but has trouble with
PDF 1.4, not a Scribus flaw,  but a weakness in the import filter. PS
from Pagemaker distills fine including re-embedding the fonts in the
original file.

Quark Xpress 5.01 on Win2k will import a Scribus PDF fine. Two problems
are:

The import filter looses the transparency effects. This I suspect is a
weakness in the PDF import function. 
It will not pick up the embedded fonts in the PDF. 
Fonts which are embedded, still have to installed on the local machine
otherwise Xpress substitutes Courier. 

Both of the above, I attribute to Xpress bugs, not flaws in Scribus PDF.

I have more detailed notes which will be included in updated docs. 

Bottom line.. Scribus' PDF is ready for prime time commercial printing.

The use of placed PDF inside of other DTP applications is becoming quite
common. One of my clients recently did a local town guide which has 75%
of the ads coming into the layout as PDF. 

Comments welcome..

Peter
-- 
Peter Linnell <scribusdocs at atlantictechsolutions.com>