Why does text added to a layout and exported to EPS format appear blurry (macOS)?
Issue
When exporting layouts to EPS format from Prism on macOS, there is an issue in which some text may appear blurry and rasterized. This occurs to text that was added directly to the layout sheet, while text added to the individual embedded graph sheets on the same layout appear properly.
Why does the issue occur?
The problem arises due to the default opacity that Prism applies to text objects added to layout sheets vs. other sheet types. For layouts, the default opacity for text in Prism versions prior to Prism 11 was 85%. For graph sheets, the default opacity was 100%.
The EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) format conforms to the PostScript document format which does not support alpha transparency. This file format only supports fully opaque colors. Thus, when you have semi-transparent text, there's no way to correctly express that in EPS format. As a result, the text in the exported file appears rasterized and/or blurry.
What are workarounds?
Semi-transparent colors should not be used for EPS format. For Prism versions prior to Prism 11, we recommend trying one of the following:
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Adjust Opacity Manually: Select text objects on the layout sheet, invoke the context menu, and change the opacity level from 85% to 100%.
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Add Text in Graph Sheet: Another workaround is to add all text elements directly in the individual graph sheet before placing them into the layout, avoiding any further edits in the layout itself.
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Export to PDF: Exporting to PDF does not exhibit the same issue and serves as a solution.
Is there a fix?
The development team is aware of the issue, and plan to release a fix with Prism version 11.
For more information on the limitations of EPS format and transparency, you can refer to the following link: Losing transparency when saving ai file to eps.