Back to Dye Printing Tricks & Tips
If turning a Word Document into a PDF* doesn't help you, you can get the graphics and photos back "out" of Word with this little trick:
Open your Word document.
Got to >File>Save as Web Page
Word will create a text file and a folder that contains low and high resolution versions of any graphics and/or photos. (Now remember: if low rez crummy items were used, they aren't going to magically improve in quality.)
You can open the PNG or JPG files and check the resolution in Photoshop or use on the fly!
If the file is using some ".wmf" files (Word MetaFiles), then try this trick:
Open the Word doc, copy the offending graphic .wmf and copy it. Open Illustrator and Paste.
Delete the Text Anchor (if there is one you can see it in the Preview Mode). You can also check to see if there are thousands of anchor points (and there probably are). Use the Direct Selection Tool to select a portion and then apply Simplify Path. Continue until you get a much more workable file. Change the mode to CMYK (or grayscale if that is your target).
Save As to another file name to shake out any ghost colors that might still be in there by the dozen. Then you can make an EPS file to place into InDesign, or leave it as an AI file to place. InDesign can now even edit anchor points and paths from Illustrator so have fun!
*Use PrimoPDF at www.primopdf.com
It's a free download and acts like a virtual printer in your print dialog.
Choose it instead of your deskjet of imagesetter and click on Print or Press
quality.