Crippled pdfs from ai

[rich_orielly@adobeforums.com]

Here’s the deal...
99% of my packaging printing is done in Hong Kong.
I submit an Illustrator file w/ fonts converted to outlines.
I also submit a lo-res pdf in a folder named soft_proof_pdf for visual reference.
However every once in a while they print from the pdf and it looks awful.
How can I bullet proof this to keep it from happening?
I tried to make a stamp in Acrobat that says proof on it but if you open the resultant pdf into Illustrator (which the printer might do) the stamp is gone.
The art for the stamp in Acrobat is a png.
Password protection in Acrobat is too cumbersome and has its pitfalls.
One solution is to export my .ai file, with text on top of the file that says “Proof – Do NOT Print” as a .psd then open it into Photoshop and save it as a pdf from there but it’s kind of a funky clunky extra step workaround.
Does anybody have a more elegant solution to my situation?
Oh yeah, the printer knows they aren’t supposed to use the pdf for print and switching to a new printer is NOT an option.
I just want to cripple/birthmark my pdfs so they won’t get used for print.
Thanks in advance for any ideas!

[Russell_Goodman@adobeforums.com]

Do you title the PDF "Proof ONLY"?

If the printer knows they aren't supposed to use the PDF, then they should also know that if they do use it they should have to eat the cost of having the job reprinted.

[Jon Bessant]

I think the word 'security' would be just perfect for this situation.
Once you configure within Acrobat as a policy it's one key click and can
lock the PDF so it cannot be printed ....

Jon

[Russell_Goodman@adobeforums.com]

Hi, Jon:

In Rich's first post he says:

Password protection in Acrobat is too cumbersome and has its pitfalls.




So, I guess he doesn't want to go the security route.

[Jon Bessant]

I know.

I'm making a case to use it.

If anyone states it's too cumbersome then I want to promote the
benefits, one key click.

Remember, you can also add watermarking and security within a batch
process - very slick.

Jon

[Russell_Goodman@adobeforums.com]

What he should do is just send the final .ai file with PDF compatibility turned on. That way the people in Hong Kong could also open the file in Acrobat to view it.

[rich_orielly@adobeforums.com]

Thanks for the suggestions! However we're going to try what Steve Fairbairn suggested over in the Illustrator forum which will probably be blasphemy here... screen shot the pdf for the printers visual reference since it's the fact that they have a pdf at all is where I'm getting bit.. The thing I find truly odd is that a stamp applied via Acrobat to a pdf is not there/visible when opened into Illustrator. And I stand by the fact that while security is functional it is cumbersome, especially en masse.

[Jon Bessant]

Not wanting to waste time but ... I've just opened a PDF inside
Illustrator CS3 with a watermark and it renders the text ... and it was
secure ..

???

Jon

[rich_orielly@adobeforums.com]

....ah, potentially very useful info. have been trying Acrobat using "Stamp" while it may very well be that "Watermark" is what I really want (they're apparently 2 different animals). thanks for the clue, I'll research tomorrow.

[nwanderson33@adobeforums.com]

Rich, Jon and Russell,
I have a similar situation with my printer in China. I submit the .ai (saved down to ai 10) file and a "smallest file size" pdf for viewing purposes. Sometimes they print from this pdf and it is usually distorted. Recently I sent them more files with the low res pdf and now the pdfs are coming back with text only. Here is what it says on the page:

“This is an Adobe Illustrator file that was saved without PDF content. To place or open this file in other applications, it should be re-saved from Adobe Illustrator with the “Create PDF compatible file” option turned on. This option is in the Illustrator Native Format Options dialog box which appears when saving an Adobe Illustrator file using the Save as command.”

So I went through the steps of re-saving my PDF and there is no “Create PDF compatible file” option to check. When I re-open the small pdf in Adobe Acrobat, it looks fine – no text as above. My recipient is in China and I thought maybe it was her software that is corrupting the file, but now I am not sure. Any ideas? Also, Russell, re:
What he should do is just send the final .ai file with PDF compatibility turned on. That way the people in Hong Kong could also open the file in Acrobat to view it.
My question: How do you turn this on?

[Russell_Goodman@adobeforums.com]

nwanderson33:

What version of Adobe Illustrator are you using?

in CS3:

When you "save as" your Illustrator file, first choose Format = Adobe Illustrator Document.

Then in the Options select "Create PDF Compatible File"

This will result in a .ai file (native illustrator), but it can also be opened in Acrobat.

[Gary_Newman@adobeforums.com]

You can add a watermark to your PDF by inserting type ("Proof Copy"), scaling it, rotating it, and controlling its transparency. Or you can save an AI file with the outlined type, and apply it as a watermark from the file, with the same parameters as above. Both types of watermarked can be saved as settings, so you can apply them from the drop-down. When the PDF is opened in Illustrator, both types appear as you would expect, with properties intact.