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Now the Downside...
As with all of DRAWs effects, transparency can be dangerous if
it falls into the wrong hands. First off, if you place transparent objects
on top of bitmaps, you can end up with gigantic files (particularly if
the transparent object is itself a bitmap, as is the case with our dreamy
couple). DRAW might lull you into a false sense of security if you save
the .cdr files with bitmap compression turned on; when
you create your print files, be ready for the dam to burst. Transparency
is a complex effect, and aside from large print files, they are a leading
cause of RIPing problems at service bureaus. If you encounter this, try
converting the transparent effect into a bitmap. This might sound strangeconverting
a bitmap into a bitmapand removing the intelligence from DRAWs
tools is not exactly what you had in mind when you adopted the program.
But a little bit of dummying down CorelDRAW can be a good thing. When
you convert a transparent bitmap effect into a static bitmap (done by
selecting the objects and going to Bitmaps Ø
Convert to Bitmap), you essentially freeze the effect in timeyou
are taking a snapshot of what the effect looked like at that moment. In
so doing, you greatly simplify the work; now its just a bunch of
pixels, and any old Mac-myopic service bureau can RIP a bunch of dumb
pixels.
We regularly employ the following routine when preparing print files
that might contain troublesome effects:
- 1. We save.
- 2. We convert any suspect effects to static bitmaps.
- 3. We create the print file.
- 4. We close without saving.
Now any changes that need to be made to the effect can easily be done,
as the effect is still live. Once we make the change, we repeat the four
steps.
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| NOTE DRAW 9
adds a print option to rasterize an entire page, essentially converting
all elements to bitmap. This is more convenient because it doesnt
involve your converting any of your elements (its done transparently
at print time), but its downside is that it converts all elements,
including your text. For more information, see our opus, Print,
Darn You!, Chapter 26.
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The second major risk to all of this is ugliness, and there we have no
quick fixes to offer, except to suggest that you try to avoid it. As with
all of DRAWs effects, transparency will haunt you and taunt you
into using it just for the sake of using it. You must resist with all
your might the use of transparency simply because its there.
But when its used at the appropriate time, it can be terrific.
It is one of the tools that can truly take you to another level of design,
as it allows you to create effects that you might have envisioned but
never knew how to create.
Now you can...
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