Adobe ILLUSTRATOR 10 Using Manual page 341

Adobe Illustrator Help
Using Help | Contents
Printing mesh objects
Since all but the most complex mesh objects are printed as vector objects when printing
to a PostScript Level 3 printer, you can usually optimize printing results by printing to a
Level 3 printer. However, when printing transparent mesh objects, or when printing to a
Level 2 printer, the mesh objects are written both as a vector object as well as a JPEG
image. The resolution of the JPEG image is determined by the Mesh setting in the
Document Setup dialog box. (See
Note: Even if you are printing to a Level 3 printer, printing may be delayed if the PostScript
field in the Print dialog box is set to Level 2. Therefore, when printing to a Level 3 printer
only, you can optimize the speed by setting the PostScript field to Level 3.
Improving gradient printing on low-resolution printers
When a gradient fill is applied to an object, Illustrator uses the printer's default screen.
If you turn off the printer's default screen in the Printing & Export panel of the Document
Setup dialog box, Illustrator uses Adobe screens to enhance the output of gradients when
printing to low-resolution printers (600 dpi and less) that support fewer than 256 gray
levels. On some low-resolution printers, turning off the Use Printer's Default Screen option
may improve the output quality of gradients, gradient meshes, and raster images.
Note: Do not turn off Use Printer's Default Screen if you want to use a printer override
(EPSF Riders) file.
To turn off the printer's default screen, with low-resolution printers:
1 Choose File > Document Setup. Then choose Printing & Export from the pop-up menu
at the top left of the Document Setup dialog box.
2 Deselect Use Printer's Default Screen, and click OK.
Splitting paths to print large, complex shapes
If you are printing Adobe Illustrator files containing overly long or complicated paths,
the file may not print and you may receive limit-check error messages from your printer.
To simplify paths, you can split long, complex paths into two or more separate paths using
Split Long Paths in the Printing & Export panel of the Document Setup dialog box.
When Split Long Paths is selected, the Adobe Illustrator program checks whether a closed
path is too long to print whenever you save or print an image. If the path length exceeds
what the printer's memory can handle, Illustrator breaks the closed path into pieces
represented on-screen by lines through the path. These lines appear only in Outline view;
they do not preview or print. The image previews and prints as if the paths were joined.
Keep the following in mind when using Split Long Paths:
It's a good idea to save a copy of your original artwork before splitting paths. That way,
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you still have the original, unsplit file to work with if needed.
Illustrator treats split paths in the artwork as separate objects. To change your artwork
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once paths are split, you must either work with the separate shapes or rejoin the paths
to work with the image as a single shape.
Split Long Paths has no effect on stroked paths or compound paths. When you use Split
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Long Paths on an object that is both filled and stroked, the object is split into two
objects.
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