Large graphics in PDF files?

[geoff-h -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA]

 Cindy Metzger posed a problem: <<...many of our manuals
 contain schematics and wiring diagrams that, in order to be
 legible, must be laid out on 11 x 17 pages... How do I
 handle the PDF file(s) for such a manual?>>

 Piece of cake... No commonly available monitor will display
 an 11X17 page at 100% size, so the problem becomes one of
 choosing an acceptable file format for the graphic... EPS
 should do nicely, as it scales up and down (essentially)
 infinitely without image degradation. Resize the graphic
 file so that it will fit cleanly at 100% on a typical
 laptop screen (e.g., so that service technicians can take
 it with them to the field), then teach readers how to
 resize, zoom, and scroll in the PDF document.

 <<These manuals are designed to be printed out, and due to
 the nature of the manuals, our customers would prefer to
 print them out, rather than try to view them on-line.
 Unfortunately, most of them probably don't have printers
 that can handle 11 x 17 paper. Depending on their printer
 and setup, they might be able to print portions of the 11
 x 17 drawing onto 8.5 x 11 sheets, but that introduces
 readability problems when trying to follow wiring
 connections across multiple sheets of paper.>>

 Your employer is basing this approach on false economy and
 a misunderstanding of customer needs... any software vendor
 who tried this trick with me would soon be looking for a
 new customer. Let's take as a given that your customers
 will accept you downloading the printing costs to them,
 after they've already paid an exorbitant amount for your
 product. (Bad assumption IMHO, but you probably can't
 convince anyone to change their minds.) It's going to cost
 you roughly $0.50 per diagram, plus postage and an
 envelope, to send high-quality printouts of the diagrams to
 your customers, and that's exactly what I'd recommend. Why
 pinch pennies and lose customers?

 There's an even better solution that you could propose,
 which benefits both you and the customer: demonstrate the
 cost savings or increased efficiency from having the
 manuals available to technicians via a laptop or "slate"
 computer. A friend of mine did this with the schematics of
 some microwave installations he was maintaining, and
 demonstrated quite convincingly how much more useful this
 was to the poor technician. He's now a regional maintenance
 supervisor, though he had other characteristics that
 probably contributed to the promotion.

 --Geoff Hart     @8^{)}     geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
 Disclaimer: Speaking for myself, not FERIC.