# Pdf Limitations? how to produced highest quality output?

**URL:** <https://discourse.processing.org/t/pdf-limitations-how-to-produced-highest-quality-output/12104>\
**Category:** Coding Questions\
**Created:** [June 16, 2019, 8:08pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/pdf-limitations-how-to-produced-highest-quality-output/12104 "2019-06-16T20:08:18Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Rolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/94ad74/32.png) [@Rolf](https://discourse.processing.org/u/Rolf)\
**Post date:** [June 16, 2019, 8:08pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/pdf-limitations-how-to-produced-highest-quality-output/12104/1 "2019-06-16T20:08:18Z")

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Hi there  
just written a program that draws tens of thousands of lines and exports the result to pdf.  
everything works fine, but when I open the pdf file with edge, nothing appears, when I open the file with Firefox, the lines appear just like they have been generated, but after a while the image turns blank, like a reset.

so i have two questions:

1. is there a limit of objects in a pdf file?
2. is generating pdf the way to go to print out my work in the best possible quality?

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**Author:** ![kll](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/discourse.processing.org/kll/32/964_2.png) [@kll](https://discourse.processing.org/u/kll)\
**Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 2:13am UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/pdf-limitations-how-to-produced-highest-quality-output/12104/2 "2019-06-17T02:13:27Z")

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did you try a simple  
[https://processing.org/reference/save\_.html](https://processing.org/reference/save_.html)  
to .png

* * *

[https://processing.org/reference/libraries/pdf/index.html](https://processing.org/reference/libraries/pdf/index.html)  
show 8 different ways, what you try?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Rolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/94ad74/32.png) [@Rolf](https://discourse.processing.org/u/Rolf)\
**Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 5:08pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/pdf-limitations-how-to-produced-highest-quality-output/12104/3 "2019-06-17T17:08:16Z")

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save to png : done that, but that’s not what I call print quality  
pdf files: been creating 100s of them so far withut issues in various ways, looks like that particular sketch reaches some limit though.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Rolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/94ad74/32.png) [@Rolf](https://discourse.processing.org/u/Rolf)\
**Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 6:31pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/pdf-limitations-how-to-produced-highest-quality-output/12104/4 "2019-06-17T18:31:16Z")

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so to come back to my actual questions:  
Hers’ what my research has given so far  
Looks like there’s no limitation in pdf file size or complexity. however I have seen many posts where other people have issues with complex documents.

anyway, and that leads me to my 2nd question.  
pdf files are not the preferred format for professional print shops. Best results can be obtained using rasterized images (bitmaps) using the cmyk color scheme.  
This post provides information on what resolution you need to get a good quality print: [https://dotphoto.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/91319-what-is-the-best-resolution-for-my-photos-wall-art-and-posters-](https://dotphoto.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/91319-what-is-the-best-resolution-for-my-photos-wall-art-and-posters-)

Here’s a link on how to obtain high resolution files pdf / bitmap version with processing: [https://sighack.com/post/exporting-high-resolution-images-in-processing](https://sighack.com/post/exporting-high-resolution-images-in-processing)