Specifying Save Settings

[John_Dikmen@adobeforums.com]

I am using Acrobat Professional 6.0 on Mac OSX.

I have just assembled a multi-page document in Acrobat and when I go to save the document as a single combined PDF, I do not get a PDF Settings option. I am used to getting a second dialog in apps like IllustratorCS, but I cannot find where to select settings such as image compression, embed fonts, etc when saving from Acrobat 6.0? What am I missing?

[MarkATS@adobeforums.com]

What am I missing?




Nothing. That's how Acrobat works. But if you need to make the file size smaller, check out Advanced>PDF Optimizer

[John_Dikmen@adobeforums.com]

MarkATS,

Thanks! That did the trick.

[Aandi_Inston@adobeforums.com]

Remember: these are options that are concerned with making a PDF. You
already have the PDF when you are saving it, so the options you are
talking about aren't relevant.

That's not to say it isn't useful to be able to change font embedding
and recompress images; just that it isn't a normal part of saving a
PDF you already have.

Aandi Inston

[John_Dikmen@adobeforums.com]

So are you saying that when I open Acrobat and select "Create PDF from Multiple Files" all of the font embedding, image compression etc. is being done on IMPORT even before the document is saved?

Every other application I use to create PDFs always gives me a dialog box upon saving to choose whether the PDF is for Screen, Print, Custom, etc., but not the Acrobat application itself. Therefore, when I save a document in Acrobat 6.0, how do I know what kind of PDF it is saving (Screen, Print, etc.)? It must get this information from somewhere - right? I expected a preference setting for default behavior, but do not see one. Still think I am missing something.

[Jon_Bessant@adobeforums.com]

Check out the PREFERENCES and CONVERT TO PDF ...

Jon

[John_Dikmen@adobeforums.com]

I still don't see any settings for things such as Image Downsampling, Font Embedding, etc.?

[Aandi_Inston@adobeforums.com]

>So are you saying that when I open Acrobat and select "Create PDF from Multiple Files" all of the font embedding, image compression etc. is being done on IMPORT even before the document is saved?

Absolutely. These have to be done as part of making a PDF. Only once
you have a PDF can it be seen on screen. Even though it isn't saved,
it is in every other sense a complete PDF containing all of the final
information.

>
>Every other application I use to create PDFs always gives me a dialog box upon saving to choose whether the PDF is for Screen, Print, Custom, etc., but not the Acrobat application itself.

Yes. Because it is too late. Acrobat is very different in concept.

>Therefore, when I save a document in Acrobat 6.0, how do I know what kind of PDF it is saving (Screen, Print, etc.)? It must get this information from somewhere - right?

No. It's just copying what already exists. It doesn't have to know or
care about this.

Aandi Inston

[Jon_Bessant@adobeforums.com]

John,

I've re-read your post and I can see you are ONLY dealing with PDFs ....
My suggestion about the preferences can affect on-the-fly PDF
conversions for non PDF files such as postscript, EPS, BMP, JPEG etc ...


Jon

[John_Dikmen@adobeforums.com]

Ok, so if I understand this correctly, Acrobat may not be ideally suited to creating a Press-Ready PDF (PDFX-1a, etc.) without checking every element prior to importing to Acrobat which would be too time consuming. Apparently Press-ready PDFs are better handled by either saving a file to EPS then dragging to Distiller or by using the other individual Adobe CS apps which have this feature built-in? Right?

Apparently the primary function of Acrobat is to create PDFs that are to be bounced back and forth between clients for mark-up etc. who also have a copy of Acrobat installed on their end (and know how to use it). I have over 50 corporate clients, none of which own Acrobat and still have tech questions using Adobe Reader. So in my case the only use I have found for Acrobat so far was one project for Cirque du Soleil which entailed me assembling a 1000+ page PDF manual for CD-ROM delivery - this would have been hard to do any other way.

I deal with lots of printers around the country and when I talk to the Sales staff, most say submitting a PDF is fine for print. But when I talk to the people in Production or Pre-Press at those shops, so far they have ALL told me that PDF is their last choice and would prefer native files (and most of the samller print shops have no choice). I guess that means the answer to Adobe's question in their commercials, "Is it better to give or receive a PDF?" - is it is much better to "give" a PDF.

[Aandi_Inston@adobeforums.com]

>Ok, so if I understand this correctly, Acrobat may not be ideally suited to creating a Press-Ready PDF (PDFX-1a, etc.)

Well, Distiller is. But Acrobat - in this case - is just a tool for
combining existing PDF elements.

Think of it like a binder. If you are binding sheets of paper, it's
not the time to be making correction. That should already have
happened.

>without checking every element prior to importing to Acrobat which would be too time consuming.

Why? That's the basis of any reliable workflow - effective
pre-flighting.

>pparently Press-ready PDFs are better handled by either saving a file to EPS then dragging to Distiller

No, don't distill EPS files. Distill PostScript files.

>or by using the other individual Adobe CS apps which have this feature built-in? Right?

I'm missing something here. You say you are combining PDFs. That
implies they were ALREADY made, so you have already used Distiller or
some other PDF creator. What am I missing?

>
>Apparently the primary function of Acrobat is to create PDFs that are to be bounced back and forth between clients for mark-up etc

Acrobat is an interactive tool with all sorts of functions. But I'm
not sure in what sense you would use it (rather than Distiller) to
"create" press-ready PDFs.

>
>I deal with lots of printers around the country and when I talk to the Sales staff, most say submitting a PDF is fine for print.
>But when I talk to the people in Production or Pre-Press at those shops, so far they have ALL told me that PDF is their last choice

Opinions definitely differ. There are many shops which will only
accept PDF, or ready-preflighted PDF, or PDF/X versions. This seems
more prevenant in Europe, though, it's more anarchic in the US and UK.

To just say "accept a PDF" is indeed dangerous, if you won't enforce
other rules, like minimum resolution or PDF/X. If you can't enforce
good PDFs, it may be better for the print shop to have original files
they can tinker with. Perhaps the problem is that US sales staff are
too aggressive at selling to accept fancy pants rules that might turn
away business...


Aandi Inston

[Jon_Bessant@adobeforums.com]

John,

Actually, PDF is the best file format in the publishing and pre-press
sector for both creating, delivering and rendering content for accurate
delivery to the press. It can yield a smaller file size than its
competitors, limited editability, an exceptional degree of reliability
with pre-flighting and choosing the correct output vendor and can be
re-used as digital-film.

Pre-flight technology does an excellent job in automating checking and
auto-correction (if required) of files which are required for press-work.

Your description of a 'press-PDF' and then combining EPS and Adobe
applications is inaccurate. Basically, a 'press-PDF' is one which can be
rendered successfully in a CMYK colour-space - in fact, an LAB colour
space as well. This does not mean it is good quality - in fact, the
coined-phrase 'press-PDF' could really mean anything .... Hence why
Adobe and other companies are adding job options such as PDF/X-1a:2001
and PDF/3:2002 within their products. This ensure that if the content is
good (fonts, colours, resolution if required etc. etc) then a PDF is
generated which an output intent and an internal 'PDF/X' badge in the
metadata of the PDF file.

Yes, there is education needed out there in that big-bad world, but I
for one can be confident in stating that more and more PDFs are being
used for high-quality press-work across the globe.

I used to consult for a large UK printer and PDFs enabled the company to
reduce staff from 45 to 19 and increase digital processing from 2K pages
per month (with manual film) to over 25K pages per month in an automated
PDF workflow environment.

It does come down to education .... but the tools are out there ..

Jon

[John_Dikmen@adobeforums.com]

Thanks again for all your helpful comments.

I have been using PDFs for some time without any problems out of Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, etc. For some reason, I just have a really hard time getting around in Acrobat (the application) both conceptually and visually. I think it is primarily because I don't seem to have a frequent need of it and don't fully grasp all of its functions. One glance in the Preferences dialog and I know I am missing 95% of its functionality. I guess it would be similar to someone who uses Photoshop to do nothing but convert images to greyscale - they would probably wonder what all the other thousands of controls are for? Like I said earlier all I have ever needed Acrobat for so far was to bind a few already existing PDFs together into one document.

I have gone through training manuals and training DVDs from beginning to end on Acrobat and I can successfully perform every "mechanical" function in the tutorials and understand how each task works - I just always end up thinking "That is cool - just can't see where I would ever need to do that"? So I guess the problem is I am trying to justify my time spent learning the mechanics when I have no current practical application (other than occasional binding together of several existing PDFs).

Also part of my problem may be stemming from the fact that this is the only Adobe application that does not visually change the way things appear on a page (if it is working right). It is more like a "utility" program vs a graphics creation program. Every other program I can start out with nothing and end up with something. With Acrobat I must start out with something and redefine it under the hood so that it still comes out looking the same. I feel like I am manually having to do things that used to be handled in a Postscript RIP. I realize Acrobat also has a collaborative set of tools, but I have never come across a client that was that savvy enough and /or had the software to to make this workflow work for me. I wish Adobe had some kind of "automated" training site (if that is even possible) for these features where one could send and receive using these features so that I could feel confident in their use before promoting such a workflow on my clients.

[Jon_Bessant@adobeforums.com]

John,

Well put - and Adobe and other software houses have training providers
to facilitate specific uses of their applications.

Cheers!

Jon

PS - my company can provide training - bit I always hate stating this in
these forums ...