[Tex/LaTex] Opaque-to-transparent gradient lost in embedded PDF figure

gradientpdfsvgtransparency

I have a figure created with Inkscape as SVG and exported as PDF. When I view the PDF directly (e.g. in OS X Preview), it shows correctly. When embedding it in a LaTeX document, it has problems with gradients that go from opaque white to transparent. They appear matte white on the final PDF output (after pdflatex).

I am using the `baposter.cls' by Brian Amberg. The figures appear on colored column boxes. In the attached screenshot the figure is on the left side (showing the gradient), on the right side it is embedded into the poster (showing opaque white instead).

enter image description here

The colours don't seem to matter. I can have a red-to-transparent gradient, the same thing happens (renders matte red in the final PDF).

Now this comp.tex.pdf thread suggests it might be a problem of Ghostscript. I remember installing Ghostscript 9, I have these on my machine:

/opt/local/share/ghostscript/9.05
/usr/local/share/ghostscript/8.71

But TeXShop I think uses TeX Live (I'm on version 2010), and its manual says:

Because of the importance of Perl and Ghostscript, TEX Live includes ‘hidden’ copies of these programs.

Should I point TeX Live to the other Ghostscript location? Should I update TeX Live? Thanks

Best Answer

Here is my own tests (with your SVG file saved as PDF by inkscape). First test:

\documentclass[tikz]{standalone}
\usepackage{tikz}
\begin{document}
\begin{tikzpicture}
  \node[minimum size=10cm,fill=blue!30]%
  {\includegraphics[width=10cm]{event_pushc_transp}};
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}

Second test:

\documentclass{standalone}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage{xcolor}
\pagecolor{blue!30}
\begin{document}
\includegraphics[width=10cm]{event_pushc_transp}
\end{document}

And the result:

enter image description here

Related Question