Illustrator CS4 - Clean up procedure

Question

Hi
I've googled and yahooed around but can't really find answers to the following...
I've made a character logo in illy cs4 and now i want to finish it off and archive it.
on close inspection there are multiple layers/sub-layers of small vector pieces where i used pathfinder. many don't even have a colour assigned to them. I need to export this for print but im sure there will be problems at the RIP stage.
can i ask you illy pros a few questions?
1. what is the best method of cleaning up a file without having to zoom into the max and deleteing TONS of little vector shapes/stray points/empty layers? (i've ran object > path > clean up. but saw TONS of extra shapes, etc...but illy didn't notice up to 70% of them)...is there a way to specify a size for the clean up tool? or some other clean up procedure (as these were leftover pathfinder shavings)
2. whats the best/fastest way to flatten/outline the character? (his made of shapes but mainly strokes)...as i know strokes are not a good thing for RIPing at print time.
3. this character is being used on different packaging, etc of varying sizes. should i export the small images of him as a flattened transparent tiff? as the small sizes are going as low as 1.5 to 2 inches on final print. (or is this not a problem as long as the character is coverted to outlines...ie: no strokes)
4. is there a quick way to remove multiple empty layers?
5. I have some transparent shapes overlapping others. how do i 'flatten' these so that the colour remains the same?
6. lastly, how should transparent gradients be treated for printing? (can you tell me which is better; object > expand > "expand gradient to.." mesh OR objects? and why?
thanks for your help

Answer 1

Peter,
You need to show a screenshot of the
whole graphic so others have a clue as to the magnitude of what you are dealing with here. With that still missing, these would be my comments:
> 1. what is the best method of cleaning up a file...whats the best/fastest way...is there a quick way....
Don't take offense at this gentle admonition, but: What do you want, the
best way, or the
easy and quick way? They are often at odds.
Here's why I make that comment: You said, "this character is being used on different packaging, etc of varying sizes." So this is an identity or product graphic to be uses rather extensively. That means it should be constructed as cleanly as possible. How did you end up with "TONS" of extra shapes, etc.?
A proper final graphic for widespread and versatile use as an identity mark in a marketing campaign should be cleanly constructed. It's one thing to use all the clever but sloppy instant tricks (Pathfinders, autotracing, outlining, offsetting, transparency, 3D Effect...) in a program like AI while developing the conceptual drafts in a project. It's quite another to then properly render the tidy final product.
If I had drawn a "character" (I'm assuming by this you mean a character in the sense of a cartoon or mascot, not a text glyph) that ended up with "TONS" of unwanted artifacts and that is going to be used as a repeating identity graphic, I would redraw it as cleanly as possible with efficient paths. When you use repeated path operations and expansions of automatic effects to get something to look the way you want for approval, you most likely end up with even the
essential paths of the artwork containing much more complexity than necessary and desirable, too.
For example: Suppose I used 3D Effect to quickly render something
Now, assuming you are going to foo-foo the above advice, and just want to eliminate the deadwood from your existing artwork as-is, a method I often find more practical than trying to work out a bunch of clever "select same" schemes is as follows:
1. Zoom out just until you have room on your screen for two complete copies of the artwork, not overlapping, with the original artwork at the left edge of the screen.
2. Select all of the artwork involved. Note its width in the Transform Palette.
3. Select one "keeper" object in the artwork.
4. DoubleClick the black pointer. In the Move dialog, enter a rightward movement distance a little more than the noted width of the artwork. Click OK. The object moves.
5. Select another "keeper" object in the original artwork. Type Ctrl-D (Transform Again). Repeat the click/Ctrl-D on additional objects in the original until the artwork is assembled at the right, and nothing but unwanted junk remains at the left.
6. Marquee select around the moved artwork. Select>Inverse. Delete.
> what's the best/fastest way to flatten/outline the character?
The
best way would be to carefully redraw it with carefully, accurately drawn paths and intelligently placed anchorpoints. The
fastest way might be to select the whole thing, run OutlineStokes on it, followed by the Merge Pathfinder. Doing that may clean up most, if not all, of your unwanted deadwood, too. But again, I most likely would not use that as the final for a proper commercial-quality identity graphic final.
> is there a quick way to remove multiple empty layers?
1. Select All.
2. Layer Palette: CtrlClick each Layer that has an object selection marker (the little colored square).
3. Layer Palette flyout menu: Collect in New Layer.
4. Select all the Layers, deselect the new one, drag the selected ones to the trash.
> I have some transparent shapes overlapping others. how do i 'flatten' these so that the colour remains the same?
Depending on the kind of objects resulting in translucent shapes, I would redraw them as opaque objects that
look transparent.
> lastly, how should transparent gradients be treated for printing? (can you tell me which is better; object > expand > "expand gradient to.." mesh OR objects? and why?
If the final look of the areas overlaid with translucent gradients can't be rendered with simple gradients, rasterization of the whole artwork might be in order, or of just the object with the translucent effect, with the resulting raster contained in a clipping path. But I would avoid rasterization if at all possible, even at the expense of altering the design, given that the artwork is to be handed off for use by others in a resolution-independent fashion.
JET