Making the most of Adobes Portable Document Format
| Category: PC KNOW HOW | Date: 2003-05-29 |
Not yet using Adobes Portable Document Format (PDF)? Why not?
PDF has become a way of life for many print and web specialists and once you have tried it youll never look back. But if you havent yet discovered PDF lets first look at what it is.
PDF is a cross-platform format that can be used as an electronic proof. It doesnt matter if you create your PDFs on a Mac or a PC, they will still be readable on any machine. You can embed any corporate fonts into the document and all you need to read the PDF is the Acrobat Reader software that is freely available from Adobe. You can download the 5.6Mb Reader software from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html, or install it from a cover-mounted CD-ROM from any computer magazine.
But it gets better. You client doesnt need to have Quark Xpress, Adobe InDesign or whatever to view your DTPd pages, and the Reader software allows them to print your creations in full colour. The image quality can also be varied depending upon the file size you want to create. The good news is that the files are typically very small indeed and only take a few minutes to zap across an Internet connection.
I have also found another plus point too. Print a Quark Xpress file on a non-Postscript ink-jet and the photographs will be poor. But print a PDF of the same file and the images will be repro quality. Its no substitute for a Postscript RIP, but its good enough for basic proofing.
But is PDF good enough for final repro? Well yes it is, as long as you know what you are doing. It is quite possible to create PDF files that can be used to produce printing plates. But be warned! You need to know what you are doing - discuss the process with your printer BEFORE you drop off that crucial 64-page magazine.
You can also use PDFs for e-zines and e-books. It is just a case of getting the design right. My own e-book "The Secrets of Stock Market Success" - see http://www.newsdata.org - is a PDF which means it is truly cross-platform.
If PDF sounds like it could be useful you will need to buy the Adobe Acrobat software - it typically costs less than $300. This works in conjunction with your existing software to produce the PDFs.
But there are alternatives to Adobe. Jaws produce PDFCreator that will do pretty much what it says for quite a lot less money.
About the author.
Background: Steve Nichols is a freelance journalist. He edits a free monthly e-zine for business communicators everywhere. See
http://www.cib.uk.com/ezine/ for details and to subscribe.
steve@infotechcomms.co.uk
http://www.infotechcomms.co.uk
PDF has become a way of life for many print and web specialists and once you have tried it youll never look back. But if you havent yet discovered PDF lets first look at what it is.
PDF is a cross-platform format that can be used as an electronic proof. It doesnt matter if you create your PDFs on a Mac or a PC, they will still be readable on any machine. You can embed any corporate fonts into the document and all you need to read the PDF is the Acrobat Reader software that is freely available from Adobe. You can download the 5.6Mb Reader software from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html, or install it from a cover-mounted CD-ROM from any computer magazine.
But it gets better. You client doesnt need to have Quark Xpress, Adobe InDesign or whatever to view your DTPd pages, and the Reader software allows them to print your creations in full colour. The image quality can also be varied depending upon the file size you want to create. The good news is that the files are typically very small indeed and only take a few minutes to zap across an Internet connection.
I have also found another plus point too. Print a Quark Xpress file on a non-Postscript ink-jet and the photographs will be poor. But print a PDF of the same file and the images will be repro quality. Its no substitute for a Postscript RIP, but its good enough for basic proofing.
But is PDF good enough for final repro? Well yes it is, as long as you know what you are doing. It is quite possible to create PDF files that can be used to produce printing plates. But be warned! You need to know what you are doing - discuss the process with your printer BEFORE you drop off that crucial 64-page magazine.
You can also use PDFs for e-zines and e-books. It is just a case of getting the design right. My own e-book "The Secrets of Stock Market Success" - see http://www.newsdata.org - is a PDF which means it is truly cross-platform.
If PDF sounds like it could be useful you will need to buy the Adobe Acrobat software - it typically costs less than $300. This works in conjunction with your existing software to produce the PDFs.
But there are alternatives to Adobe. Jaws produce PDFCreator that will do pretty much what it says for quite a lot less money.
About the author.
Background: Steve Nichols is a freelance journalist. He edits a free monthly e-zine for business communicators everywhere. See
http://www.cib.uk.com/ezine/ for details and to subscribe.
steve@infotechcomms.co.uk
http://www.infotechcomms.co.uk
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