PDF Filesize & Quality Plotting Issues with TrueType Text

[qchalmersKACEH]

I recently started at a new consulting firm and have been unable to replicate the same quality of PDF plots I used to create at my previous firm. In particular the filesize and quality of TrueType text is worse in a 1:1 comparison. Attached is an example of the exact same TrueType Mtext plotted at my current firm vs what I plotted a few years ago. Both of these PDFs were plotted using the AutoCAD DWG To PDF.pc3 plotter.

The filesize has increased by approximately 7 times based on the example attached. When I compare complete plansets with 50+ sheets this can mean the difference between a 20 MB PDF and a 140MB PDF. Examining the two attached PDFs shows that the original is plotting the TrueType text as intended, to text objects in the PDF. When I try to plot the same style of text now I am getting a different result, where the Truetype text is plotting to colorless text objects (invisible but selectable) overlaid with vector based geometry. Its this vector geometry that is greatly increasing the filesize of the plotted PDF. Here is a comparison of the objects in each attached PDF:

In addition the quality of the text itself has decreased. A side by side comparison shows that the new plot, where vector based geometry is created, is plotting with inconsistent, squiggly edges:

Edit: Here is another thread discussing this exact issue. It appears the issue has never been fixed.

I thought there would be a plot setting I could change to remedy these issues but have not been able to find one. Checking the boxes on or off for "Capture fonts used in the drawing" and "Convert all text to geometry" has no effect on the plot. Increasing the vector quality from 600 to 2400 DPI also does not smooth the plotted edges.

I have tried multiple different TrueType fonts as well as plotting with AutoCAD 2022 and Civil3D 2022 on multiple different computers at work and always get the same issues.  If anyone has any suggestions help would be greatly appreciated.

[rkmcswain]

Your two attached PDF files were each created using a different driver.

[qchalmersKACEH]

Hello rkmcswain, thank you for the quick reply.

It makes sense that these PDFs were created with different drivers. The old plot is a cropped version of a PDF originally created a few years ago and I cropped it in PDF-XChange to be used as a comparison to the new plots I am creating. Here is the original plot PDF driver prior to cropping it:

Is there a way I can change the PDF driver when plotting which will solve my issues? Is this part of the page setup and/or plotting settings in AutoCAD?

[pendean]

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@qchalmersKACEH wrote:

... plotting with inconsistent, squiggly edges:

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Forgive me, but are you actually expecting someone looking at your all-text PDF to zoom that far into a letter?

[Simon_Weel]

Should be 'smooth sailing'. For some drawings, we use the default DWG to PDF printer.

This will capture the text as text in the PDF. In the new plot sample, the text is created as image. Do you happen to use a copyrighted font?

Edit: can you attach a sample file?

[qchalmersKACEH]

Hi pendean,

My concern here is if this plotting quality is connected to the greatly increased PDF filesize. If not, its not a huge concern, but an interesting bug. I'd be curious to know why a vector object is plotting with what appears to be non-vector properties (inconsistent edges).

[qchalmersKACEH]

Hello Simon_Weel,

I am using the default DWG To PDF printer and have tried toggling the "Capture Fonts Used in the Drawing" setting on and off with no success. This issue happens with multiple different TrueType fonts. Normally we use Arial.

With some further testing I have just discovered what is causing the issue: the setting for text Width Factor. Changing this setting to anything other than 1 causes both the automatic conversion of text to vectors and the inconsistent edge plotting.

What is odd is that the old drawing I have, which I was able to plot at my old firm with neither of the issues, DOES have a width factor of less than 1. So there is still some difference between how my old firm was plotting vs my new firm which I am unable to replicate.

I have attached a drawing with the original Mtext and its style which was plotted in 2021 to create the Original (Old) Plot.pdf I previously attached.

[pendean]

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@qchalmersKACEH wrote:

...So there is still some difference between how my old firm was plotting vs my new firm which I am unable to replicate.

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Your old first used a 3rd party PDF driver

have you tried that here at the new firm?

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@qchalmersKACEH wrote:

... My concern here is if this plotting quality ...

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I suspect nothing but your text zoomed too close that no one else will ever do is the only problem there.

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[qchalmersKACEH]

Hi pendean,

As I mentioned in one of my replies above the original PDF was created using a PDFsharp driver and now shows PDF-XChange after I cropped and re-saved the PDF. The default PDF producer in CAD from plots I am able to create now appears to be pdfplot16.hdi 16.01.173.00000. Do you recommend I try to find a way to plot with a PDFsharp driver to see if there is any difference?

I have tried plotting using Bluebeam and Adobe PDF printers but they appear to be using the same pdfplot16.hdi 16.01.173.00000 producer as the default AutoCAD DWG to PDF printer.

[pendean]

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@qchalmersKACEH wrote:

....Do you recommend I try to find a way to plot with a PDFsharp driver to see if there is any difference?...

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Yes. Then if it fails like your current files at the new office do, then I suspect "you used to do something else" over there. Still have friends you can reach out to back at the old shop?

[qchalmersKACEH · Accepted solution]

I have found some information on AutoCAD's TrueType Text plotting capability stating that TrueType fonts only plot correctly (to true text without conversion to vectors) if all of the following are true (source):

1. The width factor must be 1.0. Modifying the width value in AutoCAD will prevent the TTF from converting as text to PDF.
2. The oblique angle within the style must be set to 0.0. Modifying the oblique angle in AutoCAD will prevent the TTF from converting as text to PDF.
3. The font must not be set to "Fit"
4. The font must have a Z coordinate of 0.0
5. If the font is part of a block the X and Y scale factors must be the same.

Cadzation's Acroplot addin for AutoCAD has a feature which bypasses the default printer driver and correctly plots TrueType text even when the width factor or oblique angle have been changed. I just tested this and it works flawlessly. Testing on my original drawing produces a PDF which is 40kb, 6% of the filesize of the PDF created by the default AutoCAD DWG to PDF printer using pdfplot16.hdi 16.01.173.00000. The PDF driver used by Acroplot is:

My question is, is it possible for me to change settings/drivers or anything else in AutoCAD to produce similar results so that the filesize of a sheet that is mostly text isn't 17 times larger in filesize than it needs to be? Or is this result to be expected from the default AutoCAD setup?

Edit: I tested with a fresh installation of C3D 2024, same issues occur.

[qchalmersKACEH]

It appears that PDFSharp is a .Net library and not a simple driver that I can download and install into AutoCAD. A quick google search doesn't come up with a simple way to integrate a new printer driver into AutoCAD, does anyone have any suggestions on where to start?

My guess is that the CAD manager at my previous firm somehow integrated PDFSharp into that firm's AutoCAD installations. Unfortunately I don't have a close enough connection with my previous firm's CAD manager to reach out for help on it.