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edrees
United Kingdom
779 Posts |
 Posted - 17 Dec 2015 : 15:18:52
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On one pcb design I'm using Arial Bold Text (normally I use System Font). Trying to preview the final design I have printed off 3 PDFs, -one using EPC PDF driver and 2 third party PDF virtual printers. I have also printed off a Windows hard copy on my laser printer.
The two 3rd party PDF virtual printer drivers and the Windows hard copy give the same result (but the text is slightly stretched compared to the view in the PCB editor and on the Gerber output produced viewed on a 3rd party Gerber viewer), whilst the EasyPC PDF driver gives a much smaller font size. The Gerber output seems to be consistent with the PCB editor view which is at least reassuring.
I haven't tried any alternative EasyPC fonts but I suspect all fonts other than System Font might give similar results. EasyPC PDF driver has been blamed for incorrect print results in the past, - I just wonder if it's the EasyPC fonts that are to blame in some way? |
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Iain Wilkie
United Kingdom
1015 Posts |
Posted - 17 Dec 2015 : 19:38:19
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Ed,
I have also noticed this in the past. I never use the system stroke font and use Arial Bold all the time. However it only seems to affect PDFs, the important thing is that the gerbers are absolutely ok.
The only thing to watch is if you submit to PCB Train, you must put a note on to not alter the silk screen in any way if you are using true type font such as Arial Bold.
The reason is that PCB train work to a 6 thou resolution. These true type fonts are built using 1 thou lines. Unless told otherwise PCB train upsize the 1 thou lines to 6 thou resulting in a gastly blurry silk screen.
Iain
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edrees
United Kingdom
779 Posts |
Posted - 18 Dec 2015 : 09:13:41
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Hi Iain,
It affects my (laser) hardcopy output using the EasyPC Windows printer driver in exactly the same way, -so it's not just PDFs that are affected.
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Peter Johnson
United Kingdom
498 Posts |
Posted - 22 Dec 2015 : 12:00:45
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It's usually better to copy posts like this to the support email address, otherwise they might get missed. If you've got a problem such as this one, it's always important to know which version of the program you're using, as there's always the possibility that we know about it and have already addressed it.
The pdf problem will be investigated, but you should all be aware that Windows has a long standing bug with True Type fonts which means that what you see on screen isn't necessarily what you'll get when you print. The relative size can even change with different zoom levels. The effect isn't pronounced, but it's there. I've even seen it reproduced inside Word, so it's definitely a Windows bug, not one of ours! |
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Font scaling on PDF outputs