Does anyone know if you can convert a DS7 file to a PDF so I can take it to have it printed out in a large format? For example to Kinko's on a 36" printer?

quote:

Does anyone know if you can convert a DS7 file to a PDF so I can take it to have it printed out in a large format? For example to Kinko's on a 36" printer?

[I sent a reply to you about this several days ago. Since I did not hear back, I do not know if you did not get my reply or if it was not what you wanted to hear. I'll copy the reply below. If this does not make sense, let me know and I'll try again. I really doubt that there is any easier way to do this, but I can provide more detailed directions if that would help.]

Yes, I've done this. First, get PrimoPDF. It's a free download from http://www.primopdf.com/index.aspx.

You do not need the more powerful Nitro PDF, just the free one. Install that. Once installed, any time you print anything, at the top of the print dialog, there should be a drop list box to select which printer you wish to use. In that list box should be your current desktop printer, but also now the Primo PDF "printer". Not really a printer, but something that will convert any document being printed into a PDF file instead. Works very easily.

Now, the only other issue you will have is setting your paper size and margins so that Dress Shop will produce one page printouts. That is not hard, but not intuitive either, depending on your version of Windows and such:

1. See File - Settings. See "Enable printing for plotters". Some users need that. Others need it shut off. Try it on first. If that fails, try with that off.

2. See File - Page Setup. Click on "Printer" and choose your Primo PDF "printer". Then, use the drop list under Paper Size to select "PostScript Custom Page Size". This might be the tricky part. Sometimes I have not seen that option, but something similar with different wording. You are looking for anything that suggests a really large paper size.

Load your pattern and print. Set the scale to 100%. You should see only one sheet showing for the number of print pages. Click on "Print This Page". Again, select that Primo PDF printer. You can make it your default printer (in the Control Panel - Printer dialog) so you do not need to select it all the time, but you probably won't want that normally. In any case, just be sure to select it when you are doing the big page patterns. Select a folder and file name for your PDF file to go to and click OK. Your PDF will be created, stored there, and opened for you to view.

The one time I emailed one of those to Kinkos, they had no trouble printing with a large format printer. I picked it up later that day.

This process works in Dress Shop 7, Dress Shop 8, or MPD. Or, anything else that can print anything at all. I hope it works for you. Best wishes...

- Bob Clardy

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dress Shop,

Bob, I tried this. Not working. The program doesn't seem to work with Win7 32bit or with WinXP. So how are you getting the files to show up? They are not showing up when you go to file in Primo.It is empty. Somehow the image does not appear to be recorded. .

This is what I did: MPD 2.5 I selected enable for plotter. Selected a pattern I created in Pants designer and saved. I opened the pattern,set the pattern to 100% and selected print this page. I have an Epson Workforce NX110. The print dialogue shows up and I select the PrimoPDF, select the paper size and hit print. This PDF program does not come with a forwarding dialogue box for the file to save to. I have set up a destination file in documents, but nothing goes there. When I go to the program, nothing is showing up as having been printed to file. I would dearly like to print to PDF, but what am I missing?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: lonestar,

Bob, I should also mention that I am able to create a PDF file with Primo and any other program, except with MPD. Even photos will transfer correctly into PDF not only through Primo, but others that we have tried. I have recreated this on two systems (Correction: WinXP 32-bit & Win7 64-bit) enough to believe it is not a problem with Primo or its driver. I have asked my son to help me in case I was missing a step, although he too following your instructions was not able to achieve the desired results. It was not until he tried recreating the issue in other programs outside of MPD to help rule out a possible Primo-related error with the program or its driver. It is in MPD that we come to an impass.

Hi Jan- Not Bob but Kaaren here, and I have used various pdf files in Win Vista, Win XP and Win 7 and had them print to both Adobe Acrobat WRITER PDF and Docudesk Pdf formats.

Each has to be set up in page set up to match custom paper size
each has to have margins set
and of course each has to be 100% on screen to a single page when using wide format paper. The printer (PDF program) must be selected as default printer to start with , or selected from the list of printers (mine has about 6 options) for each pattern piece.

We can NOT know every program- that’s not a reasonable expectation. I currently have only WinXP and Win 7 systems on my computers, and only own 2 PDF programs. That is ALL I can test for you.

Win 7 I must run DS and MPD in admin mode ( go to start find MPD right click run as admin)

I use a wide bed printer here - it is page set to 24 wide and I custom set each page length for each pattern piece so I don’t run 42 or 52 inches for a collar or an empire bodice top front and due to the peculiarities of the HP110PlusNR I can't set the length less than the width unless I’m changing from portrait to landscape.

Win 7 likes to place files in C Program (x86) files rather than C Program files used in prior OS versions. (Good luck finding everything) unless you took some Win 7 precautions to start with.


Can you print to PDF - yes I just did it on 2 systems including win7. Can I find that PDF file- yes I specifically placed it on my desktop when I created it.
Can I print from it- yes the printed page is sitting on my desk.

Was it easy - ugh no.I spent 2 days learning how when I changed systems and the various user manuals were read and re-read several times. Then I wrote myself a brief Bold type "notes" sheet which I pinned to the wall above my monitors.

Since we can not advise on each and every program - or at least I can NOT. I'm afraid its going to be up to you to find the right path/set up for your OS system, and your pdf program combination.

A User may have your combination program and win 7 that can advise you further.

Kaaren

This is Jann's son writing this post. I have been helping my mother trying to solve the issue she is having between MPD and various PDF programs. I have put the drivers of all of the various PDF print drivers though their steps attempting to resolve this issue. It is NOT an issue with Windows 7 32 or 64-bit or any other Microsoft OS regardless of bits. This all has been attempted in WinXp 32-bit and Win7 32 & 64-bit OSes.

First, I believe and surmise (and am willing to share what I have discovered) that this issue is ONLY an issue when "Draft for a plotter" option is enabled, otherwise I can print to any PDF printer or real printer of my choosing without issue. However, disabling "Draft for a plotter" I can print into a PDF document, but as you can tell this is not a desired result since it produces several pages as if it were printer through a real printer.

Second, I have put PDF print drivers through debug mode not only with MPD but with IE8, ACD See Pro 3, Firefox, Chrome Browser, Adobe Lightroom 3.3, vim, and even notepad. They all were able to send to the print driver without loss of content. I have forced several of my real printers to use the drivers of the PDF programs. Again, I was able to reproduce all the above results including MPD with "Draft for plotters" enabled and disabled. Although when enabled, the PDF document was blank.

I have also tried this in print preview through the software of my real printers with “Draft for a plotter” enabled. This resulted in blank previews as long as it was enabled. With it disabled, print preview showed what was to be printed. Regardless of what sizes I put into the advanced properties of my printers, as long as “Draft for a Plotter” was disabled it would not produce blank pages.

Last, if you are running Win7 64-bit, 32-bit programs will still be installed in "C:\Program Files (x86)". Only applications compiled with a 64-bit flag set in the source code with the properly included libaries when compiled will be installed into "C:\Program Files". Obviously MPD is not a 64-bit application.

I do not expect you to know the ins and outs of every program produce especially in the Windows realm. Frankly, that is impossible and very expensive. Selecting it as a default printer is a mute point since it changes nothing internal to the driver, Windows, or even to MPD. It is there only as a conviences to the user(s) of the OS, especially if this were an office enviroment with mulitple printers. Although for the sake of resolving the issue, I did try this.

I would love to help my mother resolve this issue, however it is not on my end that is problem is persisting.

Kevin Power

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ohiostar,

I do not own Win 7 (yet) and I do not print patterns to pdf. But I have just read Kaaren's post, and Kevin's, and I think there is a misunderstanding. Kevin, you state that you need to activate the print to plotter option, because otherwise the pdf file contains more than one page. But Kaaren described how she made a custom sized page big enough for the pattern piece, each time she uses this. So if you get more than one page, your page size is not big enough, and you need to define a bigger page size.

Hope that helps.

The key Kevin is setting your paper size in advance for that printer. Adobe et al are printers not plotters.

Lets say Mom is making blouses that are normally about 25 inches long.

you are planning on having this eventually printed on a roll feed printer (mine is 24 inches by 150feet) I set the paper length to 1 or 2 inches longer than the pattern piece so it's standard width of 24" by patetrn length of 28"

this produces 1 single page to save.

IF you are using another device with printer paper that will be 14 by 20 then that's what you set the page size to and the pattern will tile to 14 by 20 and you need to establish the margins.

IF the pattern is wider than 14 inches then you will have a second column - if it is longer than 20 as in the exaqmple above it will tile to two rows

IF you want a full both right and left view pattern printed on one page then you must determine page width and length and set the page set up accordingly.then expect whomever does the actual printing to set the tiles.

Im not sure what the adobe/docudesk or other pdf writers max page width or depth is.but that will certainly play into the settings.

In fact I am not personally (this not a company position- just mine) convinced that pdf is the format you really want. That seems to me to be designed for documents more than huge graphics like a pattern.

So what is the ultimate use you need?
Storeage or printing or something else, that would need conversion.

If you are merely trying to eliminate paper taping smaller pages to make one large pattern-for LOTS of patterns the least expensive system hardware I have found that is very efficient is the HP110PlusNR for approx 1000USD -paper width 24" by 150feet , paper costs are nominal 14-18$ per roll, ink and print heads run around $350 a clip but last a very long time when printing in draft mode, black only. The device is 41 inches wide and needs a stand ( which my DH built for me rather than paying an extra 350$).

It is NOT a plotter- therefore I do not use the setting for plotters. Some plotters do benefit from that setting, others do not.

If you have access to a specific model of plotter I suggest trying the settings on or off for plotters to determine the most efficient setting for what you are trying to accomplish. This may require a call to the manufacturer's tech support line or at least view the plotters user manual.

Kaaren

quote:

This is Jann's son writing this post. I have been helping my mother trying to solve the issue she is having between MPD and various PDF programs. I have put the drivers of all of the various PDF print drivers though their steps attempting to resolve this issue. It is NOT an issue with Windows 7 32 or 64-bit or any other Microsoft OS regardless of bits. This all has been attempted in WinXp 32-bit and Win7 32 & 64-bit OSes.

First, I believe and surmise (and am willing to share what I have discovered) that this issue is ONLY an issue when "Draft for a plotter" option is enabled, otherwise I can print to any PDF printer or real printer of my choosing without issue. However, disabling "Draft for a plotter" I can print into a PDF document, but as you can tell this is not a desired result since it produces several pages as if it were printer through a real printer.

Second, I have put PDF print drivers through debug mode not only with MPD but with IE8, ACD See Pro 3, Firefox, Chrome Browser, Adobe Lightroom 3.3, vim, and even notepad. They all were able to send to the print driver without loss of content. I have forced several of my real printers to use the drivers of the PDF programs. Again, I was able to reproduce all the above results including MPD with "Draft for plotters" enabled and disabled. Although when enabled, the PDF document was blank.

I have also tried this in print preview through the software of my real printers with “Draft for a plotter” enabled. This resulted in blank previews as long as it was enabled. With it disabled, print preview showed what was to be printed. Regardless of what sizes I put into the advanced properties of my printers, as long as “Draft for a Plotter” was disabled it would not produce blank pages.

Last, if you are running Win7 64-bit, 32-bit programs will still be installed in "C:\Program Files (x86)". Only true 64-bit compiled programs with a flag set in the source code with the properly included libaries when compiled will be installed into "C:\Program Files". Obviously MPD is not a 64-bit application.

I do not expect you to know the ins and outs of every program produce especially in the Windows realm. Frankly, that is impossible and very expensive. Selecting it as a default printer is a mute point since it changes nothing internal to the driver, Windows, or even to MPD. It is there only as a conviences to the user(s) of the OS, especially if this were an office enviroment with mulitple printers. Although for the sake of resolving the issue, I did try this.

I would love to help my mother resolve this issue, however it is not on my end that is problem is persisting.

Hello Kevin. All the added detail you provided is certainly helpful and I have 3 observations for you:

1. First, the problem certainly is on your end as Dress Shop does not provide PDF support. We can offer advice and the experiences of others that have successfully produced PDF documents using Dress Shop. But, that is all we can offer since PDF output is not a part of Dress Shop.

2. Sounds like the "Draft for a plotter" setting does not work for you in this case, on the system you are using. No big surprise there. That setting is useful for some plotters, not all. I doubt it would be helpful for PDF printing.

3. With that setting off, you get 8.5" by 11" pages, it sounds like. That just means you need to set the paper size properly before you print to PDF. To do that, select File - Page Size. You probably will not see an option for the paper size you need because the default pritner for your system is probably a desktop printer. Use the "Printer" button in that dialog to select the PrimoPDF "printer". Then, look for an option that will let you set a larger paper size. Mine reads "Postscript Custom Page Size", but you may see something different, depending on which PDF printer addon you have installed. Some may have paper size in inches. Others may not.

If you are able to set the paper size properly, then you should end up with a one page PDF document.