Workflow... Is there a better way?

[Matt_Wiseman@adobeforums.com]

I'm running OS X panther and using adobe CS family of products. For years (even on previous OSs and with PageMaker) I have been processing PDFs I get from various sources as folllows.

Does anyone see a better way?

First let me say PDFs rarely come to me in usable form. I can't place PDFs in their native format because my web press company's RIP cannot deal with PDFs. I have to convert the PDFs to EPS or TIFF Format. Most of the time, EPS is a problem because the PDF has mixed or incorrect colors... RGB objects in a CMYK file or RGB and/or CMYK in a black and white file. I also get PDFs where the images are not linked correctly or I get text sourced in MS Word with a color of AUTO, which has all CMYK elements in it rather than just Black, making a registration nightmare on press. I have tried PitStop and while it handled some issues like B&W conversion, it was not enough of a boon to justify the $600 price.

Here is what I do now: I use the OS "Find" command to isolate the PDFs in one list. (They are typically nested into folders based on their location in the publication. I drag all these PDFs on to the photoshop icon in the dock, select grayscale and 400 DPI for each file as it opens, I "flatten and crop each file, then save it as a tiff. Fortunately, the file defaults to the same location as the PDF, so I can process lots of files quickly.

Anyone know a way to automate this workflow? I'd love to learn applescript... but then I'd also like to speak French fluently and not have to work for a living. Just move to Paris, eat bread and drink wine all day.

Anyone have a better solution than the one I'm using?

Rasterizing to 400 DPI looks almost as good as vector output. Less than 400 gets a bit pixelly. This generates a ton of data, but I handle it well.

Pitstop never worked for me in terms of fonts. Even though the B&W converstions were working, I still have missing font issues with the EPS in ID or image problems.

The real solution is for people to make PDFs the right way.... all objects in the right color format, all fonts embedded... all images embedded. However, unless I form a Nazi-style secret police that watches over every "art director" at every content source, I doubt that's possible.

What say you? Any suggestions?

Matt

[Jon_Bessant@adobeforums.com]

You might need a consultant to answer all these questions .. ;-)

Jon