Illustrator

Printing long, complex paths

If you are printing Adobe Illustrator files containing overly long or complicated paths, the file may not print and you may receive limit-check error messages from your printer. To simplify long, complex paths, you can split them into two or more separate paths. You can also change the number of line segments used to approximate curves and adjust the printer resolution.

Change the number of line segments used to print vector objects

Curves in artwork are defined by the PostScript interpreter as small straight line segments; the smaller the line segments, the more accurate the curve. As the number of line segments increases, so does the complexity of the curve. Depending on your printer and the amount of memory it has, a curve may be too complex for a PostScript interpreter to rasterize. In this case, a PostScript limit-check error can result, and the curve won’t print.

  1. Choose File > Print.
  2. For Printer, select a PostScript printer, Adobe PostScript® File, or Adobe PDF.
  3. Select Graphics on the left side of the Print dialog box.
  4. Deselect Automatic, and use the Flatness slider to set the accuracy of curves.

    A lower setting (toward Quality) creates more, smaller straight line segments, more closely approximating the curve. A higher setting (toward Speed) results in longer and fewer line segments, creating a less accurate curve, but improving performance.

Split paths for printing

Illustrator treats split paths in the artwork as separate objects. To change your artwork once paths are split, you must either work with the separate shapes or rejoin the paths to work with the image as a single shape.

It’s a good idea to save a copy of your original artwork before splitting paths. That way, you still have the original, unsplit file to work with if needed.

  Do any of the following:

  • To split a stroked path, use the Scissors tool .

  • To split a compound path, choose Object > Compound Paths > Release to remove the compound path. Then break the path into pieces using the Scissors tool, and redefine the pieces as compound paths.

  • To split a mask, choose Object > Clipping Mask > Release to remove the mask. Then break the path into pieces using the Scissors tool, and redefine the pieces as masks.

    To rejoin a path after you split it, select all of the split paths that made up the original object, and click the Add To Shape Area button in the Pathfinder panel. The path is rejoined, with an anchor point placed at each intersection where a split path was reconnected.