PDFs fuzzy on LCD - Is there a way to improve this?

[Muse]

The main reason I like my LCD display (Planar PX191) over my CRT display (NEC FP2141) is the crisp text. I read a LOT with my computer. However, when reading PDF's with fine print, I don't get that crispness. Is there any kind of workaround for this (or anything I can do to improve this) or am I doomed to fuzziness when viewing PDF's? Thanks.

 

[Bar81]

The non-free acrobats have a text sharpener with several different settings for LCD screens.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Bar81
The non-free acrobats have a text sharpener with several different settings for LCD screens.

That's news to me. Thanks. How effective is that? Is it worth the money? I know, that's relative. Is there a way I can get a demo before I plunk down the bucks?

 

[Bar81]

Apparently its in the free 6.0 also. It's in Edit, Preferences, Smoothing

 

[BFG10K]

Make sure you are running at the native resolution and make sure your PDF is at 100% and isn't scaled.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: BFG10K
Make sure you are running at the native resolution and make sure your PDF is at 100% and isn't scaled.

I always run at the native res, 1280 x 1024. Normal text is razor sharp, as is what I'm typing now. But the PDFs I'm looking at are never that sharp. It's an online newspaper I just subscribed to, cheaper than the printed version, but there are drawbacks. Mainly, it's never real sharp - like I've come to expect text to look on my LDC display.

 

[niall]

It could very well be that your newspaper subscription sends out low-resolution PDFs, such as 72dpi, to keep the filesizes low; as well, it depends what compression method they used. For example, from my copy of Photoshop, I can save PDFs as "JPG quality" or as "ZIP quality"; the former is always fuzzy, the latter is always crisp...

You need to check a variety of PDF sources, and if you know someone who can create them, have them send you the same text at different resolutions and compression methods so you can compare.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: niall
It could very well be that your newspaper subscription sends out low-resolution PDFs, such as 72dpi, to keep the filesizes low; as well, it depends what compression method they used. For example, from my copy of Photoshop, I can save PDFs as "JPG quality" or as "ZIP quality"; the former is always fuzzy, the latter is always crisp...

You need to check a variety of PDF sources, and if you know someone who can create them, have them send you the same text at different resolutions and compression methods so you can compare.

Is there a way I can determine if they provide low resolution PDFs? I go to their website, login and open PDFs. I then save to my HD because it seems smarter/better to run Adobe Acrobat Reader on a PDF on my HD rather than within an IE window. I don't have the IE toolbar (which I don't need) and I figure the speed has to be better with a PDF on my HD rather than one loading through my DSL connection.

Is there any way to tell if a particular PDF is jpg quality or zip quality?