Exporting grayscale pdf from color .indd file?

[Jim_Vadeboncoeur@adobeforums.com]

I want to make a lo-rez grayscale pdf file from a print-quality hi-rez InDesign document. Whenever I attempt to define a PDF Export Preset, the only options I have in the [Advanced]/[Color] field are [Leave Unchanged], [RGB] and [CMYK]. I have InDesign CS and Acrobat 6.0 Professional on Windows 2000. I have a Dell Precision Workstation with a 2 GHz Pentium 4 processor and 1.5 gigs of RAM.

How can I accomplish my goal?

Jim (|:{>

[Robert_Levine@adobeforums.com]

[url]http://www.nickhodge.com/mne.php?mcid=715[/url]

Bob

[Jim_Vadeboncoeur@adobeforums.com]

Robert,
I either too tired or too ignorant to make heads or tails of this. I don't have enough experience to parse all of the data and I don't know what the PitStop Inspector is. I'm sorry to be so slow. How do I get "Composite Grayscale" as a choice in my "Output Color" menu? That seems to be the key and I don't know how to achieve it. There's something being taken for granted here that I don't understand.

Thanks for responding.

Jim (|:{>

[Dave_Saunders@adobeforums.com]

Jim,

Do you have Acrobat 6 (the full product, not just Reader)?

If so, then use it to convert your PDF to grayscale by:

1. Open the PDF from InDesign in Acrobat 6.

2. Save As from the File menu. Choose PostScript format and then operate Options and choose Grayscale.

3. Use Distiller to convert that PostScript into a PDF.

Dave

[Jim_Vadeboncoeur@adobeforums.com]

Thanks, Dave,
That works! I also discovered (late last night) that by using [File] [Print] [Print to PDF] instead of [File] [Export] [PDF] that the [Grayscale] option is accessible in the [Color] pulldown menu. Interestingly enough, the [Print] .pdf file is 2.5 Mb, where the [Save As] .ps and Distilled version is 3.5 Mb.

I appreciate your help.

Peace, Jim (|:{>

[Robert_Levine@adobeforums.com]

Jim,

If you do it that way and you have color EPS images, the color will be
retained.

Bob

[Jim_Vadeboncoeur@adobeforums.com]

I'll keep that in mind, Bob,
Fortunately (for me), I don't have any color EPS images in the document. Thanks again for all of your help.

Peace, Jim (|:{>