Portable Document Format is a file format designed to transfer documents between various computer platforms. Working in PDF format saves a lot of heartache if you need to move documents of any level between creators and printers.

For instance, if you are working on a book in Adobe InDesign, you have a collection of files that are linked or embedded in the InDesign 'working file' and you have fonts and colours that are defined by stringent industry standards and all of this information can be gathered very tidily into a 'Press - Ready' PDF file.

Well, here's the best part...Your job is presented in a single file; colours, fonts, text and images all coming together as one.

PDF files are easily compressed as they are created and generally have output sizes that can be sent via email or ftp transfer.

But here's the rub: Making a PDF file does not fix problems with the original files. The originator needs to have an appreciation of colour management to achieve a technically correct PDF, because once you have created the file it is difficult for the prepress department to do any correction to colour.

Likewise, once you lock in the text, there are severe limitations to the ability of a third party to make changes. Simple typos are generally not a problem, but if text flow is affected by the change, the program used for making that change does not have the sophistication of InDesign as far as tracking and reflow is concerned.

PDF's are great if you know what you are doing.

Making something that prints out kinda nice on your office laser does not mean you know enough.

Microsoft Publisher can generate PDFs but Publisher is not a commercial design application. If you thought it was, you need to see our Designer's Primer.

Applications that can generate PDFs have job options settings that include printing industry standards such as PDF X/1a. Use the presets as a starting point when making a PDF.

PDF's use JPEG compression, but you should not use it elsewhere until you know all there is to know about colour management and resolution issues and then you probably won't want to anyway.

Distiller is not needed to make a PDF, if you are using Distiller, the application you are using may not be up to scratch and if it is, then you should be exporting directly to PDF and not going through postscript/distiller workflow, which is obsolete.

Talk to your printer/prepress people, and ask what their recommended method is for making PDF's.

If you are using InDesign or other Adobe products (except Acrobat) or Quark and they mention Distiller, get another printer. If you ask about colour management and they say 'turn it off' ... RUN, don't walk, run... to another who knows what it is. If you are producing a job that is not colour critical, feel free to carry on without colour management, but if you want consistent colour, it is essential.

Read our Colour Management Primer.

Export as PDFX/1a with 3mm bleeds, output to ISOcoatedv2eci.icc profile.

Here is a link to download our press profile. You will need this....

Macintosh - command/option click to download......

Windows PC - right click and save as...

goanna print press profile

Further enquiries or comments to Phil Tarrant