Convert PDF to EPS, is it possible?
Technically, yes it possible to convert PDF drawing content to EPS, however, practically, it is generally not.
what does it mean yes and not?
if yes, then how?
practically?
Practically, you would use our ElementReader example to read all drawn elements from each PDF page, converting each to the equivalent EPS command.
For paths, this would be fairly straightforward. Text (especially fonts support) would be more problematic. PDF supports a good deal more Image types than EPS, so they need conversion. Issues such as transparency would be very difficult to deal with.
A general purpose solution would be a very large job. Converting a few paths would not.
Does this help answer your question?
Hello,
Perhaps I misunderstood your question “Convert PDF to EPS, is it possible?”.
We do not currently offer a conversion tool for this format.
Converting a PDF Page to an EPS file is often possible, with varying degrees of success and acceptability.
A 100% conversion is not always possible, since the graphic capabilities of PDF and EPS differ.
As you point out, tools do exist for conversion. For example Illustrator can read most PDF files, and is often able to export at least some of the file as EPS (however not all drawings commands will be converted).
As I said, depending on the input, paths generally do well, text often has troubles (hinting and fonts are often lost, and the file size often greatly enlarges), and images conversion can do well. Options such as Blend Modes and some transparency issues require a lot of tricks that may cause the loss of vector information as the content must be rasterized and combined.
It should be mentioned that some EPS conversions may become very large, and in some cases, may become unsuitable (practicality of use).
It is possible to use our SDK to produce a EPS file, by reading the drawn elements, and outputting the equivalent EPS command. This would be reasonably easy for path objects, but would get very complex from there.
Joe