Problem: PDF print generates strange lines over hatch objects (ACAD 2012 LT)

[Anonymous]

I have created a logo which is included in all our drawings. The text part of the logo has been created by exploding a text object and hattched the remaining polylines. In in the model view all looks fine but when I print the drawing to PDF some gray lines appear over the text. If I plot the PDF to paper everything looks good, it is only the electronic versions that suffers from this problem. I need the electronic versions to hand out to our costumers so paper is not an option here and the print must look professional.

I have tried the following pdf generators, all with the same result:

Adobe

Autodesks built in DWG to PDF

Bullzip

Cute

I have viewer the result in both Adobe Acrobat 10 and Foxit reader. Both show similar problems. I can not find any solution to this problem. Can anybody help me out here?

I have attached two screenshots. One from the printed PDF and one from autocad model space.

[m75]

You are my favorite madafckr! I straggled with this for years XD

[Hammer.john.j]

2020 and still a problem with autocad that began when cad was a command prompt only program.  maybe in another 20yrs they will make an appropriate  PDF driver in cooperation with Adobe but don't hold your breath.  Cadzation makes better pdf's anyways, if only it'd be a direct option in the sheet set manager publish to pdf so we could abandon this cheap half baked pdf maker that autodesk offers.

[Anonymous]

That worked!!!!!!!!!

You are the man!

[Anonymous]

I changed the pdf options to not smooth the line art and I thought it fixed my problem, but it did not. 

My solution was to put a hatch over a hatch. Solid hatch behind a lined hatch at a 90 degree angle. My thought was that if it makes hatches in triangles lets just add more triangles... worked for me.

[twsmith]

Yes it worked for me too 😉 (in 2016) - message 32

[Greg-Steele]

I have a similar problem. PDFs that are xrefed into Civil 3d, the shading/solids/hatching show up as lines when plotting to pdf only sometimes. I'm using Foxit Reader. These lines do not show up in Civil 3D plot preview.

[pendean]

Only lines I see in your hatches are ones you've drawn, in Foxit too

[Greg-Steele]

Thanks for responding. You don't see the lines criss/crossing over the shading in the pavement area left of Station 103+00 and across the boxes with text in it? I did not draw those lines. 

Thank you

[pendean]

@Greg-Steele Those were not deliberate? You'll need to share your original source-file for others to test then, just not this is NOT the C3D forum so no one here is going to be testing in that software.

[nick.brazier]

Thanks for your help but I cant see PREFERENCES under EDIT in Acrobat ????

[h_s_walker]

@nick.brazier See the image below or hold down CTRL+K

[Greg-Steele]

I'm using Foxit not Adobe Acrobat but thanks for trying.

[pendean]

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@Greg-Steele wrote:

I'm using Foxit not Adobe Acrobat but thanks for trying.

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Is HELP broken in that FOXIT program? Probably not

[Hammer.john.j]

a lot of us have Civil 3d, and can test it. it's not a civil 3d problem is the adobe.pc3 which is at best not good. the deconstructed the cadzation driver in the early 2000's before autodesk could make pdf's but bluebeam and cadzation (acroplot) did! believe it or not, bluebeam started out as a cad to pdf solution not anything of what it is today. now ironically it's just a plug-in for review.

[Greg-Steele]

The lines are not in the pdf until its xrefed into CAD

[h_s_walker]

At the command line type GFXDX12 and change the value to 0, is that better?

See the explanation for the variable in the link below

How to use a previous DirectX version in AutoCAD Products (autodesk.com)

[Greg-Steele]

GFXDX12 is not a command in CIVIL 3D 2022. And btw the lines only show when you plot to a pdf. They are not visible in CAD itself.

[pendean]

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@Hammer.john.j wrote:
.. problem is the adobe.pc3 which is at best not good...

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That is a PC3 file unique to each user more often than not, created by a migration from an older AutoCAD year version, or a 3rd party add-on.

Never EVER use it if you start seeing issues with it. AutoCAD and C3D only come bundled with these choices from Autodesk

https://help.autodesk.com/view/ACD/2024/ENU/?guid=GUID-EC9C6D47-814E-476D-840F-04104CF72B78#:~:text=... 

Or create a "fresh" PC3 file like this

https://www.autodesk.com/support/technical/article/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/How-to-add-a-new-A...

Bluebeam is a great product, but not everyone wants to buy into it. If it works for you, that's great. it is sadly not a solution to anyone else that does not have it or wish to purchase it.

[peter_hultin]

Workaround: open the pdf in Adobe Illustrator and then save it as .AI file and then link it into Adobe Indesign. The AI file will be huge compared to the PDF though. It also works to make the hatches gradients instead in AutoCAD, but then they are printed/exported as raster objects and not vector (bad).

Normal hatches seem to be exported as multiple zigzag vector objects (like some sort of triangulation of the surface) with fill color as a property when I look at them in Adobe Illustrator in outline view (ctrl + y). Would have been good to be able to export solid hatches as genuine vector objects based on outline.