savefig as pdf not generating vector graphics?

per freem <perfreem@...287...> writes:

you're right, i don't need to use "usetex" -- i removed it, but the problem
still persists. here is the pdf that it generates (code below). any idea
what is happening here? thanks very much for your help.

The file you sent was not generated by the pdf backend but by "Mac OS X
10.5.6 Quartz PDFContext", which probably means that the OS X backend
saves pdf files using the OS X machinery and not the pdf backend. Indeed
the formulas look like bitmaps.

from scipy import *
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
from matplotlib import rc
rc('font',**{'family':'sans-serif','sans-serif':['Helvetica']})
import matplotlib
matplotlib.use('PDF')

You are trying to use the pdf backend, but the last line quoted above
has no effect because you have already imported pyplot, which causes the
backend to be set as directed by your matplotlibrc file. Any call to
matplotlib.use needs to be done before you import pyplot.

···

--
Jouni K. Seppänen