Re: Reviews needed on PDFing doc using Word '97 and Acrobat 4

[Graham Wyatt <graham -at- GPWYATT -dot- CO -dot- UK>]

> I don't know how to create PDFs using Word '95 and earlier versions of
> Acrobat. I don't know how to optimise PDFs for print (a very daunting task
> for the uninitiated) in Acrobat 3 and earlier versions to create crisp
> graphics when printed.

Joe,

Everything that you need to know is in the online help files provided with
Acrobat, and I recommend that you spend some time reading through them.
There are also some excellent books on the subject.  The Adobe Classroom in
a Book on Acrobat is pretty good and, if you want more details, I can
recommend Ted Padova's Acrobat PDF Bible. The Adobe site and
http://www.pdfzone.com  are also a good sources of information

Having said that, if you want an opinion, here's mine:

Creating PDFs:

Avoid all print to PDF, Export PDF and similar commands in applications.
They may promise simplicity, but you will lose a lot of control over the
process, and these commands are specific to that application. Also, some of
these commands seem to make use of the PDF Writer printer driver, which is
definitely NOT the best way to produce a PDF.

The method outlined in the following steps will work for ALL of the
applications installed on your PC. It is a little more complicated to set
up, but will provide a lot of control and give you a grasp of what is going
on.

1. Use the Adobe PostScript printer driver application to install a
PostScript driver using a suitable PPD (Xerox Docutech 135 is my choice, but
I think that any of the Linotron PPDs will work as well). Set it up to print
to file (you don't need to have the printer available) .

2. Run Distiller and use its settings menu to set up a watched folder. This
can be any available folder on your drive and doesn't have to be empty, but
for simplicity I use a dedicated folder called "Output". Distiller will
automatically create two folders (called "In" and "Out") within your watched
folder.

3. Set up the various job options in Distiller (see below).

4. When you want to produce your PDF, use File/Print as if you were going to
use your desktop printer. When the requester appears, select your PostScript
printer (from step 1). Set up your print options (page size etc.) and then
click on OK.

5. A file requester will appear. Enter a file name, and point the requester
at the "IN" folder (in the watched folder that you set up in step 2).

6. Run Distiller (if its not still running after step 3).

7. Distiller will check the folder, distil the file and will create your new
PDF in the Out folder. You can then open it in Acrobat and make any changes
that are required.

Once this is all set up, all you have to do is print the file to the In
folder using your PostScript driver, run Distiller, and then collect your
PDF from the Out folder. If you need to tweak the file, adjust the Distiller
job options

As I said, this has the advantage that it will work with any application
that is capable of printing a file, and the process is identical each time.

Optimising PDFs:

The job options in Acrobat 3 can be confusing and I can see that it can be
difficult choosing which ones to use. Unfortunately, the correct settings
for any particular situation depend on what you are trying to do and the
details of the printing system that you are using. Adobe have obviously
recognised this, and Acrobat 4 now allows you to choose between predefined
job settings including one called Optimise for Print. This provides a kind
of "one size fits all" configuration, which should be OK for most jobs, but
can still be tweaked for specific problems.

Adobe have also added a lot of other stuff that generally makes creating and
working with PDFs easier and I recommend that everybody upgrade to version 4
as soon as possible. If that is not possible, the best non-specific advice I
can give is to read the online documents and talk to your printers about
what settings will be optimal.

One thing that I should add is that you should make sure that all fonts are
embedded in the PDF and don't subset them if there is any chance that you
may want to directly edit the PDF. Subsetting should only be used if there
is a real issue with file size, and the only reason not to imbed the fonts
is if you are absolutely sure that the end user has the fonts you are using
installed on their machine. My experience is that this is an assumption you
shouldn't make.

Having said all this, I think that I also ought to point out that you can do
a great deal to optimise your output before you get to the stage of
producing your PDF. We do a fair bit of this for clients and we often spend
more time working with the original application and graphics files than we
do in Acrobat. Generally it comes down to two things:

1. Create your documents in the most efficient way. Keep the number of fonts
used to a minimum and ensure that all graphics are cropped and sized to suit
the resolution of your printer before you import them into the application.
Where possible, use vector graphics in preference to bitmaps.

2. Ensure that the print options are set correctly. Word doesn't provide a
lot of scope for this, but many other applications do. Again, read the
documents and talk to your printer about what settings are important.

I hope this helps. If there is anything specific that I have left out
perhaps you might want to contact me direct.

Graham Wyatt

GP Wyatt Technical Services Ltd
Training and Product Documentation Specialists
mail: graham -at- gpwyatt -dot- co -dot- uk
Brochure at: http://www.gpwyatt.co.uk

 From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=