[OS X TeX] converting pdf to eps ... where can I find pdf2eps?

[Maarten Sneep]

On 7 jul 2004, at 21:49, Siep Kroonenberg wrote:
> On Wed, Jul 07, 2004 at 09:52:57PM +1200, Richard MAHONEY wrote:
>> On Wed, Jul 07, 2004 at 10:05:23AM +0100, George Nurser wrote:
>>
>>> I've been using TeXShop with pdf figures for a paper. The journal now
>>> want the figures in eps format for typesetting. They claim rather
>>> strangely that they cannot resize pdf figures.
>>>
>>> So ... how do I convert the pdf figures to eps? There is supposed to 
>>> be
>>> a program pdf2eps, but  I don't seem to have it (Panther + Image
>>> magick). Anybody know where I can get it from?
>>
>> you could try using `pdftops'. it is included in the XPDF
>> distribution. usage:
>>
>>  [rbm49 at 131.203.240.72] ~/temp $ pdftops -eps input.pdf output.eps
>
> pdftops from the xpdf distro, with the -eps option, is also my
> preferred solution. But I don't know what is the best way to install
> it other than compiling from source.

Which is pretty easy: configure; make; make install work out of the box 
(though it doesn't detect my X11 install, maybe I should try again from 
an xterm).

This doesn't necessarily solve issues with embedded fonts. After 
converting a test-file, I see that the (subsetted) font is embedded in 
the eps file, which will go a long way in solving font-issues. 
Replacing the letters with the outline, may prevent clashes between the 
embedded font, and whatever the publisher has installed. In the 
discussion with Elsevier, I was told that they prefer the eps files 
with letters replaced by their outlines, as this reduces the number of 
potential issues.

I guess it is a matter of time before pdf will become the preferred 
format, but we're not there yet; I'll face a similar issue when I send 
out my thesis for printing, one of the bigger printers wants either pdf 
produced by Acrobat with their pre-sets or postscript, pdflatex 
produced pdf isn't good enough for them. However, when I need a ps 
file, I'll have to generate it through the pdf, using the ps output 
from preview or acrobat, or maybe pdftops. I guess I'll have to find 
another printer... plenty of fish in the sea.

It is nice to have multiple options though, and the eps produced by the 
xpdf package is certainly good in avoiding a known set of pitfalls, at 
least from what I can see this quickly.

Maarten

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