Problems when printing....

[`mishimasan`]

Thanks a lot for that information - the link of the "Achieving reliable..." is really good. I'm reading it right now.

Hmmmm, interesting. If by ID you are referring to InDesign then yes, I did use InDesign to export my book to .pdf.

When exporting I use the High Quality Print preset, modified to include the 3mm bleeds that I use and also to not downsample any images. I don't use any standard for the .pdf because I've never researched that. In saying this, I actually feel stupid now. I knew there was a lot for me to learn about these programs since I've taught myself all of the Adobe applications that I use (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Acrobat).

What are the standards for and what are the differences between them?

Also, before I forget, there was a function in ID somewhere that allows you to "prepare" the work for print or something... "Pre-Flight"... is this option absolutely necessary to apply before exporting to .pdf... because I'll tell you now... I didn't apply it and have never applied it to mine. I only found out about it the other day.

Clément aka `MishimaSan`
(holds head in shame)

EDIT: My MSN handle is clamped@hotmail.com - please add me so that I can discuss with you further about these programs. I appreciate very much your time

[Albacore]

Preflight is just a quality checker to make sure that all file links are correct and fonts are used and which ones are embedded, which spot colours are used,etc.
The Package facility is when you create a folder for the fonts, linked graphics, folder for the ID doc., a customise report for printing, etc.

Here is my take on the PDF pre-sets in InDesign:

Smallest File Size is appropriate for PDFs that are to be e-mailed or posted online. This setting resamples raster images to 100 ppi, applies aggressive compression, and converts all images to RGB while retaining spot colors. This generates a file that is inappropriate for commercial printing and results in color shifts that may adversely alter the appearance of the PDF onscreen. The PDF is compatible with Acrobat 5.0 — transparency is not flattened.

High Quality Print is meant for printing on a desktop printer. Images are downsampled to 300 ppi and compressed with the Maximum quality setting. RGB images are not converted to CMYK, but existing CMYK and spot-color content is maintained, and the PDF is compatible with Acrobat 5.0.

Press Quality is similar to High Quality Print, but it uses InDesign’s current color management settings to convert any RGB content to CMYK on the fly, while retaining any spot content. While this setting generates a healthy PDF, its compatibility with Acrobat 5.0 may cause some problems with older devices. It places you at the mercy of someone else’s approach to transparency flattening.

PDF/X-3:2002 is intended for use in a color-managed workflow. Color profiles are embedded in the PDF, and RGB content is not converted to CMYK. Don’t use this setting unless specifically instructed to do so. These PDF files are compatible with Acrobat 4.0 — any transparency content is flattened in the process of generating the PDF.

PDF/X-1a:2001 is your best choice when you’re given no specifications for PDF file creation. Any RGB images are converted to CMYK during PDF generation, spotcolor content is maintained, and the compatibility with Acrobat 4.0 will render the PDF well behaved on a wide variety of devices.

Hope you get some info from this! Cheers

[`mishimasan`]

Wicked. I like the way that you rounded that down for me. It was the last two descriptions that I needed to know about.

Thanks m8,

Clément aka `Mishimasan`