Vector logos in Autocad

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone. I'm hoping to find an answer from the collective knowledge here. 

I work with a retail developer who builds site plans in Autocad (2015, I believe) for shopping centers. Within building spaces, they place tenant logos. Typically, they are converting vector Adobe Illustrator logo files to DWG, then exporting them to Autocad.

Everything is fine for their workflow. However, when they attempt to export the site plans out to PDFs, the logos end up with tons of complex shapes/rules within the logos. This creates thousands of points that are not needed. The files become absolutely massive, and using them in a PDF viewer is difficult. I have attached an image that shows what I see in Illustrator.

They use a plugin called Mcolor to map color outputs for things like tenant space colors or different rule widths for landscape features. I'm not sure that the plugin is causing the issue.

I have isolated the layers in Acrobat, and can turn off the logos. Once I import the non-logo file into Illustrator, the problems are gone, so I know it's in the logo workflow.

So, my question is, are there any workflows/processes/plugins that would keep the logos simple within Autocad and when they export out to PDF? I've seen other groups use bitmaps, but I'm hoping to keep higher quality when they're output at large sizes.

I really appreciate any insight anyone can offer!

[Alfred.NESWADBA]

Hi,

>> Typically, they are converting vector Adobe Illustrator logo files to DWG, then exporting them to Autocad.

>> So, my question is, are there any workflows/processes/plugins that would keep the logos simple

Please show us a logo created from Illustrator as DXF (before imported to AutoCAD) and then the DWG which shows that lines.

As long as the Illustrator graphics is not modified in AutoCAD - and it shows that diagonal lines - I would say it's not exported as outlines from Illustrator.

When the diagonal lines only appear after the Illustrator graphics was modified (line extruding or similar 3D commands) then we have to handle that differently.

But for now, without that files: we don't know anything 😉

- alfred -

[office]

Hi

we had the same issue in my firm, we tried to attach a graphic image, which ends up with printing problems in some formats ,drivers and printing houses that dont deal well with graphics.

the best solution is

1. open  a blank dwg
2. attach the logo jpg
3. trace over it with Autocad tools like lines and hatches,
4. save it as logo.dwg
5. in your real drawing or template, insert it as a dwg

if you ever need to update the logo, you can do it in logo.dwg, than insert it again to your drawing, 

this way the logo will be redifined.

[Anonymous]

Hi Alfred - Thank you for the reply. I really appreciate it.

I have attached a sample DXF and DWG file of a logo exported out of Illustrator. The "maximum editability" radio button was selected on export.

The diagonal lines all over the logo are what I see when I open up the PDF in Illustrator that was exported from CAD. The diagonal lines are not in the actual CAD file.

From what I can tell, the logos look fine when I saw them in their CAD file. In fact, when I open their DWG file for an entire shopping center, the logos appear in Illustrator fine, with no diagonal lines.

It seems to be part of their exporting process to PDF. I'm hoping to find if there is something they can do differently to export clean vector PDFs that are simple and will render quickly.

Thanks again!

[Anonymous]

Hi there - Thank you for the recommendation. I believe they have re-created some in CAD, although I would need to have them test those exports against logo files that were imported as DWG. I will ask them to do that to see if it helps diagnose the issue.

The challenge is that they have over 1,000 logos and some are quite complex.

Thanks!

[Alfred.NESWADBA]

Hi,

I'm not sure why importing a logo from Illustrator to AutoCAD and then use AutoCAD to plot to PDF and then import back the logo to Illustrator, seems I missed something in the workflow.

However, as I don't have Illustrator ... I have attached a PDF that looks ok for me when opening in PDF-XChangeViewer, how does that look like in your Illustrator?

I just plotted your DXF using AutoCAD 2018 to the driver "DWG to PDF.pc3".

- alfred -

[TheCADnoob]

Have you tried changing PDF printers in autocad, or changing the PDF options to reduce DPI etc?

[Anonymous]

Hi Alfred - Thank you for taking the time to test that. I have attached what I see in Illustrator. Looks like that method did exactly what we keep running into: lots of unnecessary points created during export.

The tenant logos are used in a myriad of marketing materials. Most companies have vector (AI or EPS) versions of their logo available. When it comes time to build site plans for a shopping mall, the CAD team is applying the logos to the site plans. We then need to use those site plans on things like printed boards, online and in an app. The CAD team exports a PDF for these purposes. For digital viewing, maintaining clean vectors allows us to zoom into the plans without losing details. The overly-complex PDFs exported currently just cripple PDF rendering software.

If we don't bring them into CAD, we would have to add them manually later in Illustrator. This works, but adds duplicate steps to workflow.

The goal is to find out if there is any way to get logos to the site plans in a manner that will export to PDF without creating all the unnecessary points.

Again, much appreciated!

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the recommendation!

I've asked the CAD team to test any other method of PDF export that they can. I'll have to report back.

Regarding DPI, these PDFs are entirely vector (no images), which I want. Good vector PDFs can pack a lot of content into a small file size with no loss of quality when zooming into details. When printing these plans, there really is no significant issue. The problems are in the digital uses.

[john.vellek]

Hi @Anonymous,

I see that you are visiting as a new member. Welcome to the Autodesk Community!

It looks like you are getting good suggestions here so I will keep my post to a minimum.

I typically have no problem going from Illustrator to a DWG. I can even edit the "logo" in AutoCAD and it still looks good going back to Illustrator.

The line work you are describing when going the other way (Export from AutoCAD to Illustrator) tells me that the CAD person exploded the text to get outlines. It usually takes very little time to remove the lines and create a Polyline, spline or Region that should go to Illustrator cleanly.

If you would like to share a file for each stage of the workflow I am happy to investigate deeper to get a clearer idea of what your process looks like.

Please select the Accept as Solution button if my post solves your issue or answers your question.

[Anonymous]

Hi John - Thank you for the welcome and the assistance.

I have attached an AI file that accurately represents the sort of logo files we deal with. I imagine a test would include: converting the AI file to a DWG, importing it to CAD, then exporting a PDF out of CAD. I believe this is what Alfred did with the previous DWG file I posted.

I can then open the PDF to investigate if it has stayed clean. If so, any instruction on what I can tell the CAD team to do (or not do) with the logo file once it is in CAD would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again!

[Alfred.NESWADBA]

Hi,

>> I have attached what I see in Illustrator

Can you please try:

• using a standard font and export again the same from Illustrator to DXF
• if possible (with the font originally used) output only contours instead of text

Maybe we can get more done with that.

- alfred -

[leeminardi]

The description for Autodesk AutoCAD Raster Design doesn't say much...

Edit, enhance, and maintain scanned drawings in a familiar AutoCAD® environment with powerful raster-to-vector tools.

but it may be worth looking into although the price may be a bit steep. I'd like to know what it does with something like the Chico's logo.  Does it convert the outline to splines?  A few examples of what it can do would be nice.

http://www.autodesk.com/store/products/autocad-raster-design?licenseType=desktopSub&support=basic&te...

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies so far. I'm going to try to simplify what I'm looking for.

Can anyone use the attached logo-test.ai file to accomplish the following?

1. Import the logo into cad

2. Export the cad file to a PDF

3. Assure the PDF version includes the vector, filled logo without the myriad of lines shown in the attached screenshot.png file

If so, please tell me the steps you went through to do this. I believe this would tell me what I need to relay to the client.

I really appreciate the help!

[john.vellek]

Hi @Anonymous,

I believe the issue is that the paths (outlines) are vector but the fill is not. When I opened in Illustrator I see the complete logo (filled). I exported as a 2006 DWG (yes, my Illustrator version is that old).

When I opened in AutoCAD, I saw the fill for the I and for the apostrophe. I removed the fill so I only had the outlines showing. Then I plotted to a pdf and got clean outlines.

Please select the Accept as Solution button if my post solves your issue or answers your question.

[Anonymous]

Thank you, John. It sounds like you are running into similar issues as my client. The DWG imports of logo files are unpredictable. They are able to successfully output lines as well, but we need the fills for final output.

Maybe I can drill down even further:

Is there any type of fill (or whatever it's called in CAD) for any type of shape in CAD that can be exported to a PDF without the extra lines? I.e., create a box that should be filled with black, then output it to PDF without getting the extra lines in the fill?

Again, the help is really appreciated!

[john.vellek]

Hi @Anonymous,

I took the imported file into AutoCAD and filled the outlines with an AutoCAD solid hatch.

Tell me, is there a reason to export as PDF? Perhaps an EPS file might work better.  I have attached my PDF and an EPS file for you to look at.

[Anonymous]

Thank you, John - The PDF version included the extra lines when opened in Illustrator. The EPS appears to be only the outlines.

The client uses an app that allows team members to zoom and pan around site plans when discussing the shopping center with a tenant. Vector works best for this, as we can strike a balance between file size and quality. Rasterizing the output would result in huge files with limited detail when zooming. Too many vector points, though, slows the files down considerably.

If there is a way to export the site plans and logos from CAD without all the extra lines in the filled areas, the file sizes would be perfect with no further work. Finding a workflow or plugin to accomplish this would save literally hundreds of hours of cleanup throughout a year.

I hope that provides more info on what I'm trying to discover. Thank you again for all your help!

[Anonymous]

I should also mention: if there was a method that output from CAD to EPS and did not include the extra lines in the fills, converting the EPS to a useful PDF would be quite simple.

[john.vellek]

Hi @Anonymous,

I don't see any "lines" in the PDF version when opened with Reader. Is there a reason to take it back into Illustrator?

When I open the PDF in Illustrator I still don't see the "lines"