Is It Possible to Preserve 1-Bit Bitmaps? (Import/Export)

Rhino
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1

Hi,

I’m looking to import 1-bit bitmap images into Rhino and export them without any loss, meaning preserving the strict 1-bit black and white format — no grayscale or anti-aliasing.
This is important in fields like offset printing, where file size and precise tone reproduction are critical.

When importing a 1-bit image using the _Picture command, does Rhino preserve the original 1-bit format internally?

If Yes on export, I haven’t been able to generate PDFs that maintain the 1-bit bitmap format. Is there any way to export a file (e.g., as a PDF/X-4 or similar) that preserves the 1-bit data, potentially allowing high-resolution output (like 1200 or 2400 dpi) without converting it to grayscale?
Also, is it possible to use a custom RIP or driver within Rhino to preserve this kind of data? On Mac or Windows?

Bitmap.3dm (6.4 MB)

PDF from Rhino
RhinoPDF.pdf (2.2 MB)

RhinoPDF
RhinoPDF1920×1188 37.4 KB

PDF X-4 from Illustrator (same .bmp as in Rhino)
AIPDFX4.pdf (812.1 KB)

AIPDFX4
AIPDFX41920×1191 38.9 KB

Thanks in advance!
Best,
Pip

2

Does this do what you need?

2 Likes
3

That’s nice, at least for the display within Rhino. Thanks!

However, the export still doesn’t seem to work properly. I tried exporting as a bitmap, but it’s not a 1-bit bitmap when opened in Photoshop. It would be great to have the option to export a clean 1-bit bitmap directly from Rhino. Even better would be if Rhino could preserve the original image file format when compiling a PDF with vector output.