Importing PDF files

[heat556@adobeforums.com]

I do the page layout for a big magazine and we except all kinds of files. My main problem is that sometimes I get PDF files that have text that is rich black or elements that are rgb or cmyk in it, and it's supposed to be a grayscale ad. Color ads are problem children too, clients submit PDF files created in all kinds of software, the whole gamut, and it might contain rich black text or might have elements that are rgb. I use InDesign 2.02 on PC. I export the mag in cmyk. We have tried to educate the clients in the media kit, and kick them back when we have time, but sometimes they slip through. Next thing you know the press is calling from the other side of the country saying there are problems. When able, we open photoshop PDF's and fix the problem, I recently figured out that even if an ad is made in grayscale mode in photoshop, it can still seperate out in rich black if an icc profile is selected. We hate to open non photoshop PDF's, like Quark or Illustrator ads in photoshop and fix that way because it rasters the type. Sometimes there are font issues as well, preventing us from opening Illustrator PDF's and fixing those. Does anybosy have any idea how to deal with this? I wish there was a way to at least change the entire color mode of a problem ad or switch all inks to the black plate. We have rip software at my real job that can swap inks to different plates. Is there anything else available to do this with PDF's?

[Bob_Levine]

You need an Acrobat plugin to take care of these problems. Quite a Box
of Tricks or Pitstop would be the top two that I can think of.

Bob

[heat556@adobeforums.com]

I think you are right Bob, you caught me looking at PitStop.
Thanks for the help.
Buddy

[Cyndee_Meystel@adobeforums.com]

I'm in a similar situation receiving copy from many sources for an
advertising magazinge (printed all in b/w except for 8 pages containing
black plus 2 specified PMS spot colors).

What I do when I receive color copy for a grayscale ad, or other color
issues, is to either save an EPS from the PDF (doesn't let you do that if
the color space is RGB it seems) and place it into ID or just place the PDF
itself into ID (my service provider is nervous about too many nested PDFs,
so I go the EPS route where possible), and then export it again as an EPS
with settings set to grayscale (this never leaves colors in it while saving
as grayscale EPS from Acrobat often does), and either use that EPS (if it is
going into a file to later be sent out as a PDF or to then distill that EPS
to get a true grayscale PDF.

True, this may not work if there are font issues, but if that's the case you
may also run into other problems.

I recently had one that was to be sent to us as a composite PDF using black
plus 2 specified PMS colors. Well, I got it with black, plus one of the
specified PMS colors, and another similar, but not correct PMS color plus
some assorted CMYK colorings (seeming done in Photoshop). It was of course
last minute and over the weekend where we couldn't reach the designer. I had
to literally take the ad apart into its different pieces, some into
Illustrator, some into Photoshop, and fix each part individually and then
put them all back together in ID. Believe me for the following issue, they
were warned about the problems and told to get the copy in earlier or it
might not get into the publication at all.

--
Cyndee Meystel

[heat556@adobeforums.com]

Sounds like a nightmare...we all share, I have had to do the same thing. Spot colors are worse I have to admit. My mag is all 4/c except for a insert for city. I am thinking the Pitstop software Bob recommended might be the way to go.
Thanks

[Cyndee_Meystel@adobeforums.com]

Pitstop would be the idea, but my publication belongs to a non-profit org
that just can't lay out money for more software. Maybe someday.
--
Cyndee Meystel

[Simon Warner]

I tried this once, and once only. I thought to myself, hey all the ads
will come from designers so they'll be OK. Boy did I get a wake-up call.

That is the only time. From now on, the ads all go straight to the
pre-press bureau to drop in to the holes I leave for them. Those guys
can sort out all the issues with fonts and spot colours in cymk pubs.

[Scott_McCullough@adobeforums.com]

PitStop rocks. I can't recommend it highly enough to anyone whose job duties include placing supplied PDFs or creating printable files from programs like Word, Publisher, Excel, Powerpoint, etc. It's got so many incredibly useful functions hidden in its squirrelly interface that even after using it for years, I still discover new functions I never knew existed. It's not cheap, but neither are reprints or missed press dates due to problem files.

[Alan_Gold@adobeforums.com]

Here's a trick from Nick Hodge in Australia (nickhodge.com) that has worked for me for fixing color space on RGB to CMYK or RGB/CMYK/SPOT to grayscale that works with placed PDF and EPS files.

Place the PDF or EPS.
Select it.
Set its transparency to 99.9%
Export to EPS, using CMYK or grayscale profile, as needed. (You could also print to PS, I believe, for the same result).
Distill the PDF using whatever settings are required.

I've probably misquoted Nick's solution, but this has saved my bacon many times.

AG

[Bob_Levine]

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

Bob

[Anne-Marie_Concepcion@adobeforums.com]

Cyndee Meystel said:

is to either save an EPS from the PDF (doesn't let you do that if the
color space is RGB it seems) and place it into ID or just place the PDF
itself into ID (my service provider is nervous about too many nested
PDFs,
so I go the EPS route where possible)





Actually, when you place PDFs in ID, ID reparses the whole thing on output (to print or to PDF) so it's like one "flat" postscript/pdf file. There's no nesting involved. Nested EPS's, that's a different matter.

Try this: Place a page from a PDF w/text and images in ID, scale it down to 25% (just to push the limits), add some ID text/images around it, then export to PDF. Open the PDF in Acrobat and you'll see you can use the Text Selection tool to select bits of text in the 25% scaled placed PDF page as well as the "regular" text in the ID page.

Similarly if you go to Doc Info -> Fonts, assuming the placed PDF used different fonts than those in the ID doc, you'll see those are embedded as well.

Well it works for me anyhow.

AM

[Stu_Bloom@adobeforums.com]

Is there a reason printing from Acrobat to a PostScript file using a B&W only printer definition, then distilling that back to a PDF wouldn't work?

[Bob_Levine]

I've never tried it. I'm just going by what the experts have said...EPS
data isn't changed from color to b/w.

Bob

[Noel_Williamson@adobeforums.com]

I regularly have similar problems with adverts for a mono newsletter for a not for profit organisation. I use the following procedure to overcome the problem of color adv's:
Open file in Acrobat 6. Select 'File' - 'Print'. Select Printer 'Adobe PDF'. Open the adjacent 'Properties' box and select 'Paper Quality' tab. Select 'Black & White' then 'OK'. Then print. I then crop the resulting pdf file in Acrobat. I know that this is a "poor man's" method but it gets me out of trouble very often, very cheaply, and very quickly. Proof the result carefully though, as sometimes (rarely) there may be a problem, but it may have nothing to do with the above process. Hope this helps.
Also I regularly have to make late spelling and price corrections on these advs, and Acrobat has saved the day on many occassions. I love it.