Transparency and Printing

You can use transparency effects to create stunning images and complex illustrations. As with any graphic effects, however, images that appear perfect on screen can cause problems or produce unexpected results when you print a document. This section discusses some issues you should keep in mind to help ensure that your documents print successfully.

Canvas X Draw uses special techniques to print some transparency effects. Canvas X Draw can send an instruction to print an opaque rectangle, for example, to most printers; however, to print a transparent rectangle, Canvas X Draw usually converts the object to an image. This process is called rasterizing or rendering. Canvas X Draw then sends the image data to the printer.

In the Print dialog box, you can select options for printing objects and colors. The options can affect the time required to print a document, and how well colors match among objects.

Output Resolution of Transparency Effects

You can specify an output resolution for a transparent object. If you don’t specify the resolution, Canvas X Draw selects the resolution based on the following guidelines:

• If a transparent paint object overlaps other paint objects, Canvas X Draw rasterizes all the objects at the same resolution as the paint object that has the highest resolution.
• If a vector object is transparent or is behind a transparent object, Canvas X Draw rasterizes the vector object at the resolution specified for printing. You can set the resolution for printing in the Output Settings manager in the Configuration Center. (See Setting Preferences.)

To Set the Output Resolution of an Object:

1. Select the object whose resolution you want to specify.
2. Choose Object | SpriteLayers | Output Resolution to open the Output Resolution dialog box.
3. Do one of the following:
   • Select the Maximum Resolution checkbox to specify that the object should be rendered at the maximum resolution of the output device.
   • Deselect the Maximum Resolution checkbox and enter the resolution you want Canvas X Draw to use. You can set the resolution from 1 to 2,540 dpi.
4. Click OK.

To Set the Maximum Output Resolution:

You can specify a maximum resolution for Canvas X output. The resolution you specify in the Output Settings manager affects output of all objects and rasterizing of transparency effects. This setting overrides settings you apply to objects with the Output Resolution command. (See Setting Preferences.)