4-page setup, how can client print?

[erica_rosen@adobeforums.com]

I've created a 4-page brochure. Is there a good way to create a PDF or some other file that my client can print out if she doesn't have illustrator? The only way I can figure out is to create 4 separate illustrator files, copy all of the stuff from each page to one of the single-page files, and make separate PDFs, but this seems kind of crazy.

[LenHewitt@adobeforums.com]

Erica,

Without the hot-door multipage plugin you will have to create 4 separate PDF
files, but you need not make 4 separate illustrator files to do so. If you
put a suitable sized rectangle over each 'page' in turn and then Object>Crop
Area>Make and then save as PDF, only the area within the crops will be
saved as PDF. Then Object>Crop Area>Release and move the rectangle to the
next 'page' etc.

[erica_rosen@adobeforums.com]

Thanks Len, I tried it tho and it created the crop marks but when I save it, the PDF is still all of the pages... Is there some setting I need to change to make it only save what's in the crop marks?
Thank you!!
Erica

[erica_rosen@adobeforums.com]

anyone? i've tried a whole bunch of crazy time-consuming work-arounds and can't find anything that works, this is makin me crazy! any suggestions appreciated!!

[Harron_K._Appleman@adobeforums.com]

Erica,

Time-consuming workarounds are unavoidable, I'm afraid, because you're trying to do multipage things with a program not intended for that purpose. (Yes, yes... Illustrator should have multipage capability, according to some, but at the moment it doesn't.)

If my understanding is correct, the crop mark method will only work if you are printing to Acrobat Distiller, which is installed as part of the full Acrobat application. (Distiller is now called Adobe PDF in the latest Acrobat, version 6). Neither the crop mark nor the page tiling method will work the way you want simply by saving as PDF in Illustrator -- at least, not in IL10... and others will correct me if I am wrong.

Once you have made your separate PDF pages, you can use Acrobat to combine them into a single PDF file.

Lacking Acrobat, you must resort to your original method of showing your brochure to your client in pieces.

Better options: Use the Hot Door plugin Len mentioned. Or use a program intended for multipage layouts, such as Pagemaker, InDesign, or QuarkXpress.

I'm sorry if this is not the answer you wanted to hear.

=-= Harron =-=

[LenHewitt@adobeforums.com]

Erica,

The crop marks method will work when directly saving to PDF format in
Illustrator CS, but not in earlier versions, where you would have to print
to a PostScript file and distil with Acrobat Distiller

[Tim_Cahill@adobeforums.com]

Erica I do 4 pagers and tri-folds quite a bit in Illustrator (more than I should) so maybe this will help ... some. If the piece has an 8.5 x 11 page size with bleeds I create a custom 18.5 x 13 page from print setup. On a base layer I create the 17 x 11 spread with my trim marks and any guides and lock that layer. Then I create a layer for the outside spread (pages 1 & 4) and a layer for the inside spread (pages 2 & 3). Only have visible one spread at a time when saving to PDF labeling one as outside and one as inside. Now when saving PDF will recognize the larger page size and maintain all trim marks and bleeds. You now have 2 PDF files vs 4 and all of your original art is in one Illustrator file. And if you want you can, as Len mentioned, combine the PDF's into one file - if you have a full version of Acrobat.
TC

[erica_rosen@adobeforums.com]

Thanks, this sounds a little more complicated than what I've gotten up to in learning Illustrator hehe I was able to make the crop marks, then export the cropped areas to JPGs, for some reason the client is unable to view these JPGs but I'm not sure if there is something wrong with them or if it's just her! So I'll try to work on getting it to work that way. Once it slows down around here and I get bored again I'll work on the more advanced suggestions :) Thanks everyone and if you have any other ideas let me know :) :)

[LenHewitt@adobeforums.com]

Erica,

>>for some reason the client is unable to view these JPGs <<

Probably they are CMYK JPG's and neither e-mail clients or web browsers can
display CMYK files. If you use Save for Web for creating the JPG's they will
be converted to RGB

[Mike_Hazlip@adobeforums.com]

You might have to save the JPG's as RGB. I've given out CMYK JPG's and have had them returned by people who were not able to view them (that's how I learned about this). I think the usual viewing applications most folks have installed with Windows only work with RGB. And I think Illustrator will export JPG's as CMYK by default. There's a pull-down menu near the top of the JPG export dialogue box that allows you to choose RGB or CMYK.

Edit...Just saw Len's post; so yeah, what he said.

[erica_rosen@adobeforums.com]

hehe yes i opened them in photoshop & changed to rgb and she was able to use them then, good to know i can do that w/in illustrator, i didnt even think to check at the time. thanks!

[john_wundes@adobeforums.com]

Here's a neat hack. works for CS, haven't tried it in 10...

Find a PRE-EXISTING 4 page PDF doc, and then go in and open it one page at a time in Illustrator. When you save it, Illustrator preserves all the unedited pages, so you can create a 4 page PDF one page at a time, without complicated page setups, you just need to find a PDF file with the correct number of pages. :)