[scribus] Problems with PDF

[Ratofblades]

    I am having some problems creating PDFs with Scribus.  The book is 251 pages in length.  (I didn’t see the FAQ about recommended page limits until I started looking for solutions to my problems.)

First the short version:

    One day I produced a PDF of my Scribus file using CutePDF and everything went smoothly.  The next day, after making some minor changes to the file, I made another PDF using CutePDF and it took more than 9 hours and there were errors in the final product.  Every attempt to produce a PDF of that file using Cute PDF since has met with the same unsatisfactory results.

Now the long version, which hopefully includes all the relevant data:

    I prepared a PDF using Scribus, it was 31.1MB.  After viewing the PDF on my computer to make sure it was in order, I submitted it to Lulu and ordered a proof copy.  A few days later I received an e-mail from Lulu that the PDF could not be printed and that it caused their diagnostic program to crash.  Then I created a new PDF using CutePDF (it came out to 88.9MB), submitted it to Lulu, and ordered my proof copy.  This time it printed with no problem.

    I proof-read the book and found some errors so I edited the file and printed a new PDF through CutePDF, it took a little under half an hour.  I scrolled through the PDF to make sure everything looked right, and it did overall, but I did noticed a few mistakes I had missed, so I changed them and printed a new PDF (over-writing the previous one since the changes made were minor).  This time it took more than 9 hours to produce the PDF and it was 150.1MB (I didn’t note the size of the PDF I was over-writing).  When I viewed the PDF, three pages came up with an error and would not display.  I figured the error might have something to do with over-writing the previous PDF, so I tried again, saving it to a new location, but with the same results: 9+ hours to print, 150.1MB, and the same three pages producing errors.

    The book is divided into three parts, the three pages that produced errors are the cover-pages for each of the three parts.  They each consist of a graphic of the book’s title and a line of text introducing the book-part, and the standard master page.  The same title graphic appears on the title page, which has not caused any noticeable errors.  These graphics were added after the first proof copy I had made, but before the last successful PDF I made (the one that I over-wrote).  I did not alter any of these pages (including the master pages) between the last good PDF and the first bad PDF.

    I was able to print each of the book-part cover-pages to PDF individually and replace the erronious pages in the book.  The patched together PDF can be viewed without errors; I am still waiting to see if Lulu can successfully print it, however.

    But even if it dose print successfully, I do not want to have to take 9+ hours to produce the PDF for each new revision and have to paste new pages into it on top of that, especially since I know it can be done in less than half an hour.  What could have happened between the last good PDF and the first bad PDF?  I did not install any new software or change any setting on my computer until after the problems started.  Then I downloaded and installed the newest versions of CutePDF and Ghostscript (the versions I had been using sere several years old), and I uninstalled and reinstalled Scribus (I have been using the newest version), but that has not improved the situation.

    I tried cropping down the file into smaller parts, the first being 44 out of the total 251 pages.  It took 15 minutes to produce a PDF with CutePDF, and the one book-part cover-page that was included in the 44 pages produced the same error.  While it was a lot faster, relatively, that printing the entire file, the size was proportionate to the 150.1MB total of the bad PDFs rather than the 88.9 of the good PDF.

    I also re-tried creating a PDF using Scribus’ built in PDF utility and it seemed to function.  But since Lulu couldn’t print the previous PDF generated by Scribus I decided to print the PDF from Adobe Reader through CutePDF, and the program froze up.

    Then, back in Scribus, I deleted the pages that generated the errors and tried to create a PDF through CutePDF and the program froze up.


    I'm afraid the file may have gone corrupt, since all the software seems to be working alright.  I hope someone will be able to help me get things working the way they were.
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