Using gnuplot, how do you create an eps file of a contour plot?

Question

Using gnuplot 5.0 patchlevel 5, I am trying to create an eps file containing a contour plot. However, the contour lines are accompanied by a grid and do not have the requested color. The output using the png terminal is just fine.

Here is the minimum code I use to generate the eps image:

set terminal epscairo
set output "test.eps"
set pm3d map impl
set style increment user
set contour
do for [i=1:5] { set style line i lc rgb "black" lw 3}
splot "data.dat" w pm3d notitle

eps image created by gnuplot with the funny feature around the contour

replacing the epscairo terminal by png gives the desired output:

png image created by gnuplot, this how I would like the eps image to look like

The data file I am using can be found here: data.dat

See stackoverflow.com/a/18954245/2604213 for a detailed explanation of this problem — Christoph
I don't think that I have this type of problem. What I see in the eps figure is just an additional grid and change of color of the contour lines, no moiré. — Daniel Förster

Gavin Portwood Gavin Portwood · Accepted Answer · 2018-09-19T16:57:34

I'd recommend using the epslatex or postscript terminals so you can encode the heat map as a binary in png (see the level3 option for both terminals).

Try replacing your first line with the following:

set term postscript color eps level3

Using gnuplot, how do you create an eps file of a contour plot?

1 Answers