Heroes of Adventure

...and it turned out great. I'd never used them before and was initially a bit worried because Lulu warned that there were layers with transparencies. I couldn't find or fix the issue so I just printed the pdf as is and it seems to be fine. I can't find any printing errors. It cost me $16CAD in total and I'm more than happy.

Nameless DesignerDeveloper1 year ago (1 edit)

Excellent! Feel free to post a few pictures when you receive it to let us see how it turns out.

I also want to print a copy via Lulu! Were there any special settings i should use?

I used Premium Black & White, 60lb paper, Paperback, Matte Cover. The only work I had to do was to download the image for the cover.

Hey Miggins, just thinking would it be helpful if I uploaded the front and back cover as a separate image file?

For sure. That would be great.

If you take a quick peek at lulu.com, you will see that they require a cover file that includes the front, spine and back side-by-side as one large image (i think).

I've just uploaded the cover images for the Players Handbook, Referees Guide and Monsters Compendium to each of their respective pages. Hope that helps.

Hey Zsolan, I've just printed a step by step guide for the online printing service I use here

Thank you! Reading it now.

Nameless DesignerDeveloper1 year ago (1 edit)

Hey Miggins that looks great, thanks for posting the pictures. Unfortunately, there is a nice new colourful version just released which looks even better than the last one. :)

Ha! I saw that. It's perfectly fine, this was a printing test for a game I'm going to run for my kids and their friends this winter. They can have this copy and I'll make myself some nice new shiny versions.

Cool, let us know how the game goes. Would be good to hear of a real world experience (i.e. does everything hold up).

Miggins, how did you create the front/spine/back cover pdf to use, as Lulu needs that additional file. I've tried to create one, however it needs to be a specific formatted pdf 11x17 in size (front beside back).

https://nameless-designer.itch.io/heroes-of-adventure-players-handbook

I am not an image editing expert and this explanation will probably reflect that. I downloaded a high resolution image of the cover, opened it in Paint.net, and resized it to 8.5 x 11. I created a second canvas that was the exact size required by Lulu (~17 x 11) and, using the dropper tool to get the exact same colour, painted that canvas red. Then I copied the cover image over onto the right side of the second canvas and exported it as a pdf. It definitely took me a few tries to get exactly right.

Khoram1 year ago

Did you not get errors when uploading the pdf? Lulu is showing the following errors when I upload the pdf:

Conversion Error: Transparencies and layers could not be flattened. Please retry uploading or contact support for additional assistance. Review print guidelines.

We've found an error in your PDF and can't automatically repair it. Please revise the file or contact support for more assistance. \nError Message: Invalid content stream parameter.

We've found an error in your PDF and can't automatically repair it. Please revise the file or contact support for more assistance. \nError Message: Error in PDF syntax.

It won't let me continue without addressing. I've tried "repairing" the pdf, I've tried flattening it, I'm not making any headway. Any ideas?

Nameless DesignerDeveloper1 year ago (2 edits)

Hi Khoram, I personally don't use lulu as a printing service (no issues with them I just use another provider) but I've had a quick look at this.

When I export the .pdf from my desktop publishing software there is an option to 'include layers' which seems to relate to the error message you've encountered.

As a test I have uploaded a new version of the Players Handbook at the link below and have not included these layers.

Would you like to see if this makes a difference? If so, then I can export the other pdf's in the same manner.

If anyone else has any insight on ways the .pdf should be prepared for printing then let me know.

Khoram1 year ago

Nameless,

that did indeed solve the problem! Thank you so much.

Looking forward to printing these out! Merry Christmas!

Ok, I will have to update the other files. I'll message again once these have been completed.