Corel Graphics query

[BlueDiamond]

Does anyone have experience with Corel ... specifically Version 9? I have just started using it (my old faithful was Corel 4 so it was a big jump) and I have a problem with a very basic aspect and just can NOT find out how to fix it. Anyone know Corel??

:confused: Puzzled of Perth

[Spitoon]

What's the problem??

[Wing Commander Fowler]

Yeah give us a clue....... :ugh:

[BlueDiamond]

Okay, I'm not very computer smart so I'll describe it as best I can. When I was using the earlier model Corel, if I wanted to make a cartoon using a photograph, I would open Corel Draw, import the photo (as a jpeg or bitmap) from wherever it was ... maybe the scanner or Corel Photo Paint etc. ... then I would arrange the photo as I wanted it on the new Corel Draw page by scaling to size.

After that, I would make "speech bubbles" or "speech balloons" by using the elipse tool, then I would give the bubble a white fill to block out that portion of the bitmap directly underneath it (so it wouldn't print). After that, any text I wanted would be added on top of the white speech bubble.

When the cartoon was finished and printed, it emerged as a photo with white speech bubbles and black text which is what I wanted.

With the new Corel draw, my procedure is exactly the same except that when it comes to the printing stage, the print emerges as a photo with see-through speech bubbles ... that is, the white fill has not blocked the portion of the photo which it appears to cover on the screen ... it is as though I have simply put the black outline of the bubble there with no fill at all.

I have tried reading the help menu but it's a bit tricky when you don't actually know what to look up. Any help would be much appreciated.

:ok:

[rustle]

You need the "bubble" layer to be in front of the image layer.

There's probably a "promote layer" or "bring forward layer" option somewhere in the menus.

If not, look in the help section for "layers".

What's happening now is the bubble text is "in front" of the original image, but the bubble background is "behind" it -- this might take a bit of getting used to as you may end up having the white background in front of the text when you start fiddling - which of course makes the text disappear :rolleyes:

HTH

[BlueDiamond]

Thanks, rustle ... Corel Draw does indeed have the ability to multi-layer either by arranging "to back" or "to front" or in any order at all. If I do several layers of vector graphics, they will print exactly as I intend them to with the colours all in the right places and any intended overlaps correctly placed.

The problem seems to occur only when I try to place text over a bitmap. I have done another test this evening in which I placed a small photo on the page then drew a speech bubble that was half on the blank page and half on the bitmap. I coloured the bubble light blue and added some text. As I looked at it on the screen, there was a portion of the bitmap obscured - as it should be - by the blue bubble and the text was where I placed it but when I printed it out, the bubble was only blue where the blank part of my page was. The portion over the bitmap was without any colour (except the colours in the photo).

The text is unaffected and appears as it should over the bitmap or the page but I just can not get any colour intentionally printed over a bitmap. It's driving me nuts because as far as I am concerned, it should print as I am seeing it on the screen. It was never a problem with Corel 4 so there is a new facility in this much newer version that I cannot figure out how to disable ... or even find out what it is called so I can look it up.

[P.Pilcher]

It maybe that the bubble colour you have selected is not printing because printing of the layer containing this colour is switched off. Layers and their management is much more sophisticated and useful in Corel 9 than it was in Corel 4. I have had to learn this as well as I have similarly graduated from 4 to 9 and it is indeed a whole lot different! If you haven't got the layers schematic displayed on the RHS of your screen then it's tools-object manager. Check the layers that you have and check what does what by clicking on the eye symbol of each layer to turn it off and see what disappears. Click again to restore a view of the layer. Then check the printer symbol. I suspect that it may be greyed out on the layer which gives you the colour you need. One click here and you should have the print out you require.
Well I hope that it IS that easy, but with the appropriate layers selected to be seen and to print as well, then WYSIWYG!.

P.P.

[BlueDiamond]

Thanks, P.Pilcher, I've had a quick look at that function which is impressive as you say. I'll go and do some reading about that from the help menu and have a play around with it then get back to you. In the meantime, could you have a go yourself and see what happens? Just use a photo, add a white speech bubble over the butmap then print ... black & white is good enough to show if it works or not. Thanks for your help, I'll report back. Cheers, Bluey.

[P.Pilcher]

Don't need to mate as I am doing it all the time! One of the jobs I do is producing CD covers. These used to be B&W jobs with Corel 4 but now with 9 it is full colour. I get my digital photo and bung it into a layer it is invariably larger than the size of the cover that I want and cutting it down to the exactly correct size is difficult. So I design the wording and bung this into another layer. Then, on another layer I make a box which is exactly the same size as the CD cover I require, put a bigger box around it and fill the gap inbetween with white (turning the box lines white as well) - this is the picture frame. With all the layers turned on I see what I want and PROVIDED the printer symbols on these layers are not blanked out, I print what I see. If the layer order is wrong, it is a simple matter of click and dragging in the object manager window.

When making the labels, I have a blank with two concentric circles in the precice place that the special paper has the label stuck on it. I can then design my artwork to fit between the circles, and provided that I ensure that the printer symbol for the layer carrying the circles is greyed out, My design will print on the label without the guide circles appearing.

P.P.

[BlueDiamond]

Thanks, P.Pilcher ... everything appears to be as it should but clearly there is something I've missed. I haven't finished reading about layer management/activation/highlighting yet but I think you have it right and the answer is somewhere in there. The speech bubble layer seems to be active for printing but still all I get is a bitmap with text and no white bubble. I shall persist with reading and learning. Many thanks.

[stickyb]

What printer are you using?
Some printers treat things differently, especially postcript ones.
Check there isn't an option that affects bitmap or image printing.

Also make sure you have latest drivers

[BlueDiamond]

I just don't understand this at all. I've tried doing everything as a single layer or as two layers. Everything is visible, editable and printable according to the Object Manager and even when I request a print preview, it looks exactly as I want it to ... but I still cannot get the white elipse to print over the bitmap. The text prints as it should and so does the outline of the elipse (speech bubble) but the white fill does NOT obscure that portion of the underlying bitmap as it should.

stickyb, I am still using the same printers I have for years. A Canon BJC5000 for the colour work and an old HP Laserjet 4L for the black on white. Could I ask what is "postscript" please? I'm not very smart with computers being a Techno-Retard First Class so explanations might have to be one syllable or less.

:ok:

[P.Pilcher]

Hmm. I don't get this. I am looking at my Corel display of a CD cover . Looking at the master page displayed in the object manager, below Grid, then Guides then desktop on which printing is deselected, I have Layer 2 This carries the CD labelling.
Below this is layer 1 (the names are unimportant - they are default ones and can be changed) This layer contains my picture frame made of two 'concentric' rectangles with the gap between them filled with white.
Below this is layer 3 which contains the photograph.
If I turn off layer 2, the whole photograph prints, when I turn it on the image prints correctly with the photo cropped to the correct size. If I put further text on layer 2 which is over the 'picture frame' it prints out correctly.
The only other thing I can suggest is right clicking on one of the layers in the object manager window, then checking it's properties.

P.P.

[BlueDiamond]

Well, it's got me beat, P.Pilcher but I suspect the layer/properties/attributes thing is going to be the key to it. Everything appears to be correct, even the print preview which, in theory, shows exactly how the print will appear. I am going to get in touch with Curtin University where there is a course in Corel and ask one of their tutors. I have had no response from Corel themselves which is a bit disappointing but I'll get this sorted. Many thanks for your help and I'll definitely let you know what the problem is when I eventually find it.

[Bern Oulli]

Bluediamond, I also use Corel 9 and I am not very clued up on its workings, especially the layer management bit. I just did the following:

1.Import a picture (actually a .jpg) and size it.

2. Clear of the picture I drew my speech bubble - black outline, then did a white fill.

3. Wrote text inside bubble (black text).

4. Grouped the bubble and text.

5. Moved the group to where I wanted it on the photo. It now looked as you describe, speech bubble with black text on white background.

6. Hit "Print" on the Stylus PHOTO 900, et voila! Printed exactly as viewed on the screen.

Dunno what I'm doing right though, apart from doing it all on one layer.!

[stickyb]

There are quite a few problems with PCL output to printers.
Search microsoft knowledge base and you will see what i mean.

As a simple test to prove the point, can you save the image you have created as a new bitmap file ? (Not a corel file) If so, can you then either open that bitmap in another program, or embed it into a word document? If it displays correctly then and also prints correctly, then I suspect the printer drivers.

[BlueDiamond]

That's exactly what I'm doing, Bern Oulli but it prints only the black outline of the speech bubble plus the black text ... the white fill remains completely missing no matter what I do. Sigh :(

stickyb, I am not quite sure what you mean. Once I have added the speech bubble and text, I cannot save it as a bitmap. There are lots of other choices such as Windows Metafile, CGM, DXF, FMV, GEM and so on but "bitmap" does not appear as an option. What did you mean by "latest drivers"?? I installed the printers years ago when I got them and neither of them is exactly new.

[Bern Oulli]

You cannot save as a BMP but you can Export as a .BMP or .JPEG or just about any other format.

Stickyb could well be right. If we are doing the same thing and it works for me and not for you the only sig diff is the printer.

[stickyb]

Indeed so, sorry for the confusion.
Export as a bitmap or jpeg, close corel, and then try openng and printing the jpeg or bitmap.
If that works, then we'll sort out the drivers.

[BlueDiamond]

Okay ... I exported my test file (one coloured bitmap plus one superimposed white-filled/black outlined speech bubble containing the word "text" in black) as a jpeg to "my documents" giving it the name Bitmaptest.

I then opened Word, started a new document, typed a bit of text and inserted the bitmaptest file. It appeared exactly the same as it did in Corel but this time, it printed EXACTLY as it is viewed ... coloured bitmap with white speech bubble containing text ... EVERYTHING that was visible was printed. I tested it on both printers and the result was the same ... both worked perfectly.

There can be only one reason for this ...... the new Corel program hates me. :(

At least, if nothing else, I have found a way to get what I want ... it's a long way around but it will work. :ok:

Now, what was this about printer drivers??? :confused:

[stickyb]

Glad that worked BD.

You haven't said what op sys you are using or what printer drivers are installed, but have a look in the printer options settings and see if you can find something like either
Print True type as graphics
Print using Raster
Print using HP/GL2

The options will vary accrording to op sys.

Try checking them and then printing straight from Corel.

Let us know the results
Cheers

[BlueDiamond]

I'm using Windows 98, stickyb and the printer drivers are the ones that came with the printers ... where do I find the "printer options settings"?? When I want to print from Corel, I click file then print and then I choose which printer. If I'm using the colour printer, there are six pages of fields which are ... General, Layout, separations, Prepress, Miscellaneous and Issues. All of these pages contain a variety of clickable choices. Is this the area I need to look in or do I need to be somewhere else? Cheers, Bluey.

[stickyb]

Try start, then either printers or control panel then printers

Right click on the laserjet printer icon, then select properties.

To download the latest frivers you wll need to visit the printer manufatcurers website.

[BlueDiamond]

stickyb, why do you need "latest drivers" when you are using the same printers you have had for years? My laserjet is at least twelve years old and I bought the bubblejet about seven years ago. I still have the discs that came with them ... a floppy in the case of the laser and a cd for the colour printer. Why would I need new drivers?

[stickyb]

Because, I am afraid, no software is written without bugs or mistakes.
The printer driver is responsible for translating instructions from one language (eg Corel) to another language (the one understood by the printer)
A new version of Corel is quite likely to expose problems in the older printer drivers.

[BlueDiamond]

Thanks for that, stickyb ... I will now try to update those drivers and see if that improves matters. Thank you so much for your advice and problem-solving expertise it has been much appreciated ... and that goes to all of you who have helped me out here. Many thanks. Bluey.