[Scribus] Embedding a PDF inside a page

[Michael Petroni]

I'm trying the pdftk way and the first thing that I found out is, that

$ pdftk input.pdf burst

produces the following error when input.pdf is a scribus 1.3.3.3 
generated 1.4 pdf file:

Internal Error: invalid top_outline_p in ReportOnPdf()

has somebody any idea about that?

thx & rg.
michael


Craig Ringer wrote:
> Gregory Pittman wrote:
>> Michael Petroni wrote:
>>> The problem by placing the pdf inside an image frame is, that it is 
>>> automatically converted to a bitmap (settings seem to be the same as for 
>>> eps graphics in preferences, default 300dpi) by ghostscript.
>>>
>>> I'm planning to produce an ezine with contributed pages by other people 
>>> which I will receive as pdf files. By placing inside an image frame, all 
>>> text will be converted to bitmaps. This means not only loosing quality, 
>>> the text is not markable in the pdf reader in the final output pdf any more.
>>>   
>> One of the things we keep seeing is an apparent obsession with the idea 
>> that:
>>     bitmap = bad
>>     vector graphics = good
> 
> Yep, and while it's certainly not that black and white, ther's some 
> truth in it:
> 
> 	- When targeting a press, bitmaps leave the RIP little leeway
> 	  for clever halftoning and other processes to ensure crisp
> 	  text;
> 	- Bitmaps usually result in bigger files, which while rarely an
> 	  issue for sending to a press, can be a problem for online
> 	  publication;
> 	- As noted earlier, when working with the electronic document,
> 	  you can't select a bitmap as text and copy it (you need an OCR
> 	  tool that understands PDF, and then the results are iffy
> 	  at best).
> 
> So, overall, I do think output paths that avoid rasterising inputs in 
> favour of retaining the original form are preferable in most situations. 
>   Not all, and it's never black and white, but more often than not I'd 
> rather not use a bitmap if I can include the original vector/mixed form.
> 
>> If what you are trying to do is to take PDFs and disassemble-reassemble 
>> to a larger PDF, Scribus is not the right tool. Adobe Acrobat will do 
>> this, or you might try pdftk for a free program to do this job.
> 
> Yep. Hopefully Scribus will be able to do it one day, though I've not 
> yet done much in that direction personally, but right now it's not the 
> way to go. HOWEVER, you can sometimes get good results by converting the 
> PDFs to EPS files, then using those in Scribus using the PostScript 
> output path and an external PS to PDF conversion tool. Unfortunately the 
> best results are obtained by the Save as EPS tool from Acrobat and 
> Adobe's Distiller (gs is pretty darn good for PS -> PDF, but not so 
> great for PDF -> EPS unfortunately). It's still worth a try if you 
> REALLY need to avoid bitmaps, but you'll run into a whole extra set of 
> issues, and there's no guarantee you'll retain editable text (nor any 
> guarantee about how much of the PDF might be rasterised during 
> conversion to EPS anyway).
> 
> --
> Craig Ringer
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