Error due to out of memory condition

[Jože@adobeforums.com]

Hi,

system: Windows XP, 2 GM RAM, Indesign CS3
I placed two files in Indesign: the first is .ai (1.1 MB, probably exported form a CAD program), the second is .psd (53 MB). When I try to print to .ps file, Indesign displays the message: "Export error: error due to out of memory condition". If I: 1. export to PDF, everything is OK, 2. rasterize .ai in Photoshop, then import the resulting .psd to Indesign, print to .ps file is OK.
Does somebody has an answer to my problem?

[Peter...@adobeforums.com]

Try copying and pasting all the elements from the .ai into a new .ai file and resave. It could be something hokey about how the original was made.

Peter

[Jože@adobeforums.com]

Peter, thank you for your suggestion.

I followed your advice and copied everything from the existing file to a new one and imported the new file, but nothing changed.

Even more, following your suggestion, that there is something wrong with .ai file, I found a TechNote "Troubleshoot damaged files (Illustrator CS3, CS2)". I went through all steps except recreating a file, but the result is still the same.

So I start with deleting elements from .ai file to see which one is causing trouble. (In fact, it was not hard to find it.)

What is bothering me now, is: I can print the problematic .ai file
from Illustrator or Indesign, I can print .indd file, if the .psd file is not over the .ai file. Does this still mean, that the .ai file is the problem?

Joze

[Peter...@adobeforums.com]

Are you saying the ID file will print with both the .psd and and the .ai, as long as they don't overlap, but errors if they do? Is there any sort of transparency effect like drop shadow applied to the .psd, or is it layered?

If so, this sounds like a flattening issue. One solution might be to try clearing out your temp folders to give ID more room to work during the process.

Peter

[Kenneth...@adobeforums.com]

We've seen this error on numerous occasions and usually one or more placed elements in the InDesign-file is the problem.
To find the file causing the error we usually delete half a page at the time, and try to create a new pdf.
If this works after deleting we know the file causing the error was placed in the deleted half.
Once we've found the error we usually delete placed file and replace it - not just relinking.
It can be a time consuming task but it's usually that way we find the culprit.

We've seen this mostly in CS2 and with jpg-files, but have seen it other files and versions of InDesign as well.

[Jože@adobeforums.com]

Peter and Kenneth, thank you

The .psd was transparent and scaled to 40 %.
This combination was obviously to much. When I reduced the .psd in Photoshop to page size, everything was OK.
Even when I open a new document, placed the original .psd and .ai (I enlarged the .ai to full page size), everything was OK.
So, it seems to me that this combination (transparency & scaling) is too musch for Indesing.

Thanks again,
Joze

[Peter...@adobeforums.com]

I wouldn't say transparency and scaling are "too much" for ID, but the combination may be more than your configuration can handle. Depending on the settings used, transparency flattening can create very complex postscript streams that require a great deal of memory and processing.

Emptying the temp files probably will help, but may not solve the problem.

I have a similar configuration, and I'd like to test here to see if I get the same results. Would you be willing to package, zip and email (under 10 mb) or post to a file transfer site and email me a link at spammercatch at comcast dot net? Include in the mail information on the print options you are using, please.

Peter

[Jože@adobeforums.com]

I would be glad to send you the package, but zipped is 31 MB.

Unfortunately, I don't know where to send neither I understand what you mean with "email me a link at spammercatch at comcast dot net".

Joze

[Peter...@adobeforums.com]

There's a list of servers where you can post large files for transfer if you don't have one of your own on this thread:
<http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx/.3bbd96ba/1>

Once you've put the package somewhere you can either post a link here if you don't mind making things completely public, or you can email the link to me at the address I provided above. It just has the punctuation spelled out to reduce the exposure to spam bots.

Peter

[Jože@adobeforums.com]

A link is:
<http://www.filefactory.com/file/c3d6bf/n/joze-test_zip>

Joze

[Peter...@adobeforums.com]

I got the same error you reported, but I didn't bother with emptying the temp folders.

Some observations, first. That is a very complex flattening calculation since almost all of the vector background needs to be rasterized. But why is the front image raster to begin with? If I ever saw something that should have been vector, that illustration is it.

I tried a couple of times to convert it using auto-trace in Illustrator, but it was too big to handle and I didn't want to waste a lot of time, so I went back to the .psd and saw you had already defined a path for the excavator (I was going to do that, and you saved me the trouble :) ), so I defined it as a clipping path and flattened the .psd, thereby removing transparency from the file in ID, which automatically recognizes clipping paths.

While this is not a technique I would normally advocate, it allowed the file to sail through printing to postscript.

I suggest you can do the same, or use a vector version of the foreground image.

Peter

[Jože@adobeforums.com]

Peter, thank you very much for everything.

I will try to make things as simple as possible in the future.

Joze

[Peter...@adobeforums.com]

You never said why you need to print to Postscript, when export was working all along.

Peter

[Jože@adobeforums.com]

Before CS3 we had CS1. In Indesign CS1 export to pdf didn't work without mistakes, so we are still used to print to .ps and then convert to pdf.
Would you say that the export to pdf in Indesign CS3 is without mistakes?

Jože

[Peter...@adobeforums.com]

I'm not sure what you mean by "mistakes," but I've never had trouble with exported PDF, and there are a lot of advantages, not the least of which are live transparency and interactivity.