How can I flatten all the images in my PDFs?

[D_Akey@adobeforums.com]

I want to send out pdfs containing multiple images to clients. I don't want them to get anything but a flattened version of each page.

I've constructed it in inDesign. Is there a way to do this? Can I flatten everything to a single level? I don't care if I do it in inDesign or Acrobat. Just want to know how.

Thanks.

CS2 (everything is updated to latest versions so far as I know. Acrobat 7.0.8, inDesign 4.0.4) Mac G4 OSx 10.4.8

[MikeKazlow@adobeforums.com]

If you create a new pdf file from the old one using the Acrobat pdf
printer you will get a flattened pdf file with no layers.

Mike

[D_Akey@adobeforums.com]

A few different things happened and didn't happen:

I went to File>Print and selected PDF in the lower left of the pop up menu.

For some reason it is saying:

"Saving a PDF file when printing is not supported. Instead, choose File>Save."

Preview is also not supported.

When I did a 'Print", (default settings PDF), all the elements were still grab-able and copyable/saveable individually. Many of the larger images seem to be sliced (ala web) however. And all the text was still selectable.

I'm wanting to get it to where nothing is selectable individually. I want it all of a peice. But I also want the ability to have the file at a nice small size that pdfs can do (as opposed to savging as a tiff or something, which I expect to get BIG. I have a file that is roughly 800k now. And any of my pics in their native format are way above that.)

In other words everything is ideal as is. Only thing is I want it to where nothing is individually selectable. Encryptions are crackable, aren't they? I need to have my personal promotional material uneditable by others.

Sorry I'm getting long winded. I just began using Acrobat features other than the reader recently.

Thanks again.

Mac OSX 10.4.8 G4 desktop 1.25 ghz dual.

[MikeKazlow@adobeforums.com]

That is not printing to the Acrobat PDF printer, but using Apple's own
PDF technology to create pdfs. You need to select the Adobe PDF printer.

Mike

[D_Akey@adobeforums.com]

Clicking the print icon:
Pop up at top center:

Printer: Adobe PDF 7.0
Presets: Standard
[Print]

Closed the original.
Opened the new version.

The images and text are still selectable after.

[Aandi_Inston@adobeforums.com]

Flattened may mean "no transparency" or it may mean "no form fields".
It does not mean "images and text not selectable"!

What is it that you want to achieve or prevent? Please be detailed,
don't assume anything is possible.

Aandi Inston

[D_Akey@adobeforums.com]

Hi,

Jargon is sometimes misunderstood and misleading in the hands of a newbie. Appologies for any confusion. I will be more plain.

I want to send out .pdfs of varying numbers of page counts as self-promotion, in this case, maintaining corporate identity in the form of a master/template that I will be able to revise and update. But I would want to send out locked down, dated versions that cannot be modified, revised, picked apart and stolen, etc.

I am constructing the pages from a combination of elements of type and imagery both raster and vector in inDesign CS2. The look would be analogous to a normal printed page containing similar content with the digital benefits.

I would like the pages to appear as would printed pages, with the added advantage of zooming in and the luminosity or RGB.

Because of the utility of the .pdf format (for the compact file sizes and the ability to zoom in on high resolution pictures without them pixelating prematurely vs. what would happen in a .tiff or .jpeg of comparable file size), I have settled on .pdf. . . if it does what I want it to do.

Since my images are what I am selling, I would prefer to not distort the impact of a nice clean image by planting on it a visibly obvious watermark.

Again, my big concern is that my .pdfs never be broken apart where the art and text (any content at all) is removable, replacable, pirated, stolen for re-use by other people, or modified in any way from the way I send it out. I do not consider screen grabs as being something I can control, but I would like to avoid a the ability to 'copy' or 'save as' any of the content.

I'm pretty sure there should be a way to do this, but I don't know how. And encryption falls short as the warning that appears in Acrobat when applying password protection points out.

Any help to get my desired end result would be appreciated. You heard my intention. So even an altogether different solution would be welcome. But I would prefer to stick with .pdf if possible.

[D_Akey@adobeforums.com]

Was I not detailed enough?

If you want information, ask and please be specific.

[Aandi_Inston@adobeforums.com]

It seems that what you may really want to do is rasterise each page at
low resolution. I would caution though that this will make the text
look pretty terrible when printed, and may not give the impression of
a professional product. This could be done a page at a time in
Photoshop.

An alternative is to set all the text as outline in InDesign. This
slightly lowers screen quality. But the bad thing here is that it may
make the files uncontrollably large.

If you restrict your images to low resolution then copying isn't
really an issue. They'd only get the same as a screen grab. Setting
document security, however, sends out a message.

To send out a stronger message I would recommend a small and discrete
watermark on every image. The bulk of copyright offenders are actually
completely ignorant of the law, and this might inconvenience them.

Aandi Inston

[D_Akey@adobeforums.com]

Thanks very much, Aandi. That makes the parameters very clear.

So basically if it's in Acrobat images are savable by the viewer at whatever resolution the image was when put in as a raster.

I'll experiment for my current application of Acrobat. I think I can be designy and clever about low rez thumbnails showing the whole image for composition while separately showing just a portion of the image at large resolution. I prefer that to something that looks like a cattle brand. Type is less of an issue than images.

Now that I know, thanks to your kind response, I can in future design to Acrobat's strengths.

Thanks again.