FrameMaker 7 Product Documents on <http://www.adobe.com>

[Dov Isaacs <isaacs@xxxxxxxxx>]

Last week, FrameMaker 7 was announced. Within a few minutes (well it seemed
that quickly), comments were posted on these lists with regards to ability
to open, view, and print the six PDF files posted on Adobe's web site on
<http://www.adobe.com/products/framemaker/indepth.html>.

I have spent some serious "time" with those documents, at least in their
PDF versions, and have done some analysis of the PDF files and what your
expectations should be in terms of being able to open, view, and print
these documents with different versions of Acrobat and Acrobat Reader (note
that current version is (5.0.5) along with your favorite printers. I printed
these documents on all my PostScript printers (all have either Adobe PostScript
Level 2 or Adobe PostScript 3) plus some recent vintage Epson inkjet printers.
The details are provided below. Bottom line is that if you have Acrobat or 
Acrobat Reader 5.0.5 and printers with Adobe PostScript or the non-PostScript
printers with reasonably recent, updated printer drivers, there should be no
significant problem opening, viewing, and/or printing these documents.

For printers "emulating" PostScript, I have tried to put helpful advise
about available software updates (and words of consolation) at the end of
this tome.

Note that the FrameMaker 7 product brochure was authored in InDesign 2.0.
The exported PDF from InDesign has quite different characteristics than
PDF created from FrameMaker documents (or for that matter, documents from
anything else). Thus, even if you didn't have problems with any PDF files
before with either down'rev copies of Acrobat / Acrobat Reader OR printing
PDF files before, this document may pose an interesting new challenge to
you.

FYI, a copy of this email along with some pithier comments on how to fix
some of the anomalies described below in terms of PDF file design and
technical defects has been sent to the FrameMaker marketing team so that
hopefully, we can fixup those documents to meet Dov's standards!  (8^)>

Enjoy!

	- Dov

PS: Careful what you ask for ...         (8^)>

=========================================================================

(1)	Document "faq.pdf"   (*)

This is a PDF 1.3 (Acrobat 4-compatible) document produced by FrameMaker 7 
and Distiller 5.0.5 under Windows. Because all text and images in this 
document are tagged with ICC profiles, this document will not properly
open and/or display and print in any version of Acrobat or Acrobat Reader
less than 4.0.5.

The document should have no problem being opened, displayed, and printed 
from any 4.0.5 or 5.0.x version of Acrobat or Acrobat Reader. There is no 
content in this document that we would expect to cause problems with any 
Adobe PostScript printers or printers emulating PostScript, regardless of
language level. For non-PostScript printers, assuming reasonably current 
drivers, we would likewise expect no printing problems.


(2)	Document "faq_xml.pdf"   (*)

Exact same characteristics as "faq.pdf"


(3) Document "accessibility_fm7.pdf"   (**)

This is a PDF 1.3 (Acrobat 4-compatible) document produced by FrameMaker 7 
and Distiller 5.0.5 under Windows. Because all text and images in this 
document are tagged with ICC profiles, this document will not properly
open and/or display and print in any version of Acrobat or Acrobat Reader
less than 4.0.5 Furthermore, even without that tagging, this document has
artwork with smooth-shaded gradients which are likewise incompatible
with earlier PDF (and Acrobat versions).

The document should have no problem being opened or displayed from any 4.0.5
or 5.0.x version of Acrobat or Acrobat Reader.

For printing to Adobe PostScript 3 printers or printers emulating PostScript 3,
we would expect no problems with any 4.0.5 or 5.0.x version of Acrobat or
Acrobat Reader. For printing to any other Adobe PostScript printers or
printers emulating Adobe PostScript (language levels 1 and 2), a serious
bug in Acrobat or Acrobat Reader 5.0 associated with flattening of smooth-
shaded gradients could cause print job failure or infinite looping on such
printers. For such PostScript devices and all non-PostScript devices (assuming
reasonably current drivers), we would recommend either the 4.0.5 or 5.0.5 
versions of Acrobat or Acrobat Reader.


(4)	Document "nfh.pdf"   (***)

This is a PDF 1.4 (Acrobat 5-compatible) document produced by FrameMaker 7 
and Distiller 5.0.5 under Windows. Because all text and images in this 
document are tagged with ICC profiles, this document will not properly
open and/or display and print in any version of Acrobat or Acrobat Reader
less than 4.0.5.

The document should have no problem being opened, displayed, and printed 
from any 4.0.5 or 5.0.x version of Acrobat or Acrobat Reader.  There are a 
few font "problems" in this document that should not cause any display or 
print problems. Specifically, there are references to "phantom fonts" TT2E5o00
and TT2EAo00 on pages 4 and 6 respectively. Only "spaces" are formatted in 
those fonts. There are also some artificially "emboldened" characters on a 
few lines of page 6 created by the "micro-shift and overstrike" method.

On page 1, the workflow diagram is realized via a raster image. Text and 
graphics quality is marginal for both display and print compared to what it 
would have been if text and vector artwork was used.

There is no content in this document that we would expect to cause problems 
with any Adobe PostScript printers or printers emulating PostScript, regardless
of language level with the remote possible exception of the pages with the 
TT2E5o00 and TT2EAo00 fonts. For non-PostScript printers, assuming reasonably
current drivers, we would likewise expect no printing problems.


(5)	Document "revguide.pdf"   (**) and (***)

This is a PDF 1.4 (Acrobat 5-compatible) document produced by FrameMaker 7 
and Distiller 5.0.5 under Windows. Because all text and images in this 
document are tagged with ICC profiles, this document will not properly
open and/or display and print in any version of Acrobat or Acrobat Reader
less than 4.0.5.

The document should have no problem being opened and displayed from any 
4.0.5 or 5.0.x version of Acrobat or Acrobat Reader.  There are a few font 
"problems" in this document that should not cause any display or print 
problems. Specifically, there are references to "phantom fonts" TT35Co00,
TT361o00, and TT376o00 on pages 1, 1, and 38 respectively. Only "spaces" are
formatted in those fonts. There are also some artificially "emboldened" 
characters on a few lines of page 38 created by the "micro-shift and 
overstrike" method.

For printing to Adobe PostScript 3 printers or printers emulating PostScript 3,
we would expect no problems with any 4.0.5 or 5.0.x version of Acrobat or
Acrobat Reader. For printing to any other Adobe PostScript printers or
printers emulating Adobe PostScript (language levels 1 and 2), a serious
bug in Acrobat or Acrobat Reader 5.0 associated with flattening of smooth-
shaded gradients could cause print job failure or infinite looping on such
printers. For such PostScript devices and all non-PostScript devices (assuming
reasonably current drivers), we would recommend either the 4.0.5 or 5.0.5 
versions of Acrobat or Acrobat Reader.


(6) Document "brochure.pdf"   (****)

This is a PDF 1.4 (Acrobat 5-compatible) document directly exported from 
InDesign 2.0. Because text in this document is realized using CID-encoded
(i.e., double byte) fonts, this document will not properly open and/or 
display and print in any version of Acrobat or Acrobat Reader less than 4.0.5.

The document should have no problem being opened or displayed from any 4.0.5
or 5.0.x version of Acrobat or Acrobat Reader. Although the document is labelled
as PDF 1.4, there do not appear to be any PDF 1.4-specific features, such as
transparency, invoked by this particular document.

On pages 1 and 2, some unfortunate choice of colors can cause some text
and graphics to be barely visible both on screen and in print. On page 5, the
orange background of the FrameMaker 7 box is a slightly different color than
the orange background yielding display and print problems.

On page 2, the diagram labelled "DATAFLOW FOR FRAMEMAKER SERVER" is realized
via a raster image. Text and graphics quality is marginal for both display and
print compared to what it would have been if text and vector artwork was used.

Page 1, 2, and 5 contain a few items with poor choice of color.

Note that page 3 is REALLY a two page spread (i.e., two 8.5"x11" pages together
as a single 11"x17" page. To successfully print this document on anything less
than 11"x17" page, you MUST explicitly select the "Shrink oversized pages to 
paper size" option in the print dialogue.

With some exceptions (see **** below) associated with printing CID-encoded fonts
(and possibly Multiple Master fonts), we would expect no problems printing this
document with any 4.0.5 or 5.0.x version of Acrobat or Acrobat Reader.


Printing Notes

*	These documents have no characteristics that might cause problems
	printing assuming that the end-user is otherwise able to print PDF
	files from Acrobat or Acrobat Reader.

**	These documents might have difficulty being printed if attempted
	under Acrobat or Acrobat Reader 5.0 as opposed to 4.0.5 or 5.0.5
	if printing to a PostScript Level 1 or Level 2 device.

***	These documents might have difficulty being printed to printers
	with "emulation of PostScript" due to font issues. See "PostScript
	Emulation Problems" note below.

****	This document might have difficulty being printed to printers
	with "emulation of PostScript" that do not have support for
	either CID-encoded fonts fully and properly implemented, Multiple 
	Master fonts fully and properly implemented, and/or have other
	implementation problems that are incompatible with the PostScript
	generated by PDF constructs used by exported PDF from InDesign.
	See note below. See "PostScript Emulation Problems" note below.


PostScript Emulation Problems

All the PDF files mentioned above are known to fully and properly print
on Adobe PostScript Level 2 and Adobe PostScript 3 printers via Acrobat
or Acrobat Reader 5.0.5. As with all printing to PostScript devices, you
may need more memory than minimal memory configurations that sometimes
ship with some lower-end devices.

We are aware of a number of problems associated with incomplete or improper
implementation of emulations of PostScript on some devices. Based on feedback
from end-users with such devices, we offer the following information vis-a-vis
available "fixes" from vendors of these devices:

	Hewlett-Packard LaserJet 8100:

	A printer firmware update is directly downloadable at no cost from
	Hewlett-Packard's website including software and directions for 
	performing the update yourself. 

	HP LaserJet 4xxx, 5xxx, 3xxx, 80xx, 9xxx (not 8500 or 8550!):

	Updated printer firmware to fix bugs is available via Hewlett-Packard
	Technical Support. HOWEVER, first level Tech Support generally is unaware
	of such updates and based on reports from end-users, you may need to
	go to second, third, or fourth level HP Tech Support or Tech Support
	management before you reach someone who is aware of the available fixes
	and/or is authorized to send them to you. You may expect to be "grilled"
	at length as to the symptoms you see to ascertain that you really need
	the firmware updates. Reports are that there is no charge for the updates.

	Also note, though, that Hewlett-Packard supposedly slip-streamed these
	firmware updates into the product lines during their lifetime. Thus, it
	is possible that different samples of these products exhibit no problems
	while others are highly problematic. Don't bother HP Tech Support unless
	you experience PostScript job failures from these PDF files.

	GCC Printers:

	Unless you have a "maintenance agreement" with GCC, expect to pay a
	significant upgrade fee plus shipping and handling for firmware upgrades
	to fix anomalies in GCC's PostScript emulation.

	Lexmark:

	Updated printer firmware to fix bugs in PostScript emulation is reported
	by end-users to be readily available from Lexmark Technical Support at 
	no cost and without any hassle. 

	Harlequin:

	Harlequin RIP software (Scriptworks) commonly found in many imagesetters
	and specialty devices does not fully and/or properly handle CID-encoded
	(double-byte) fonts prior to version 5.3. Updates are available only
	via Harlequin's OEMs through whom this RIP software is interfaced with
	marking engines and subsequently marketed and supported. Update availability
	and cost varies from one Harlequin OEM to another. Call your Harlequin RIP
	supplier for further information.



** To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@omsys.com **
** with "unsubscribe framers" (no quotes) in the body.   **