[OS X TeX] gradients and PAINFULLY slow previews

[Ross Moore]

> Since graphics appear to be the topic du jour, here is one that has been
> plaguing us for some time.
> 
> We like to use gradients when we draw stuff in Illustrator since they look
> so darn good. We mark up the files using the Marked Object Plug-In and then
> save them as .eps files. We then include the .eps files in a LaTeX document
> and typeset them using the xy and warmread packages using TeX and
> Ghostscript to get typeset labels on the figures. At this point we can

Way to go, Gary!

> either use the resulting .pdf file (with the proper viewport since it does
> not have the proper bounding box) for inclusion in our documents or with a
> little more processing, we get .pdf and .eps files with the proper bounding
> boxes. When the original Illustrator .eps file has gradients, it takes a
> huge amount of time for the preview to appear when we typeset the original
> .eps file (or when we include the marked up file in a subsequent document,
> assuming we are willing to wait for the original typeset to finish). Last

This is only for the .eps graphic, right ?
What's it like when rendering a PDF of the same graphic;
e.g. in Acrobat Reader?

> night, I created an Illustrator .eps file with a large number of gradients
> and it took almost 20 minutes for the preview to appear on a 667 MHz Ti
> PowerBook G4. That is insane!

It certainly is.
Can you share that file?

 
> I should mention that the resulting .pdf file also takes forever to appear
> in Acrobat under OS X. Is this a bug in OS X? Are we creating gradients that

What about Acrobat (Reader) on other platforms ?

It's worth reporting this on our Adobe bug-reporting site:

 http://www.cds.caltech.edu/~wgm/WARM/adobe/tfaa/

along with one (or more) examples and any other useful information.

  

> are overly complex (we are using the default settings)? How can we remedy
> this?

Off-hand; I've no idea.


Cheers,

	Ross

> 
> Thank you,
> 
> -- Gary
> 
> 
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