Operation Manual

88
USING ACROBAT 9 STANDARD
Creating PDFs
Last updated 9/30/2011
Typically, the Extras and Settings folders for default settings are found in (Windows) Documents and Settings/All
Users/Application Data/Adobe/Adobe PDF, (Vista) ProgramData/Adobe/Adobe PDF, or (Mac
OS)
Library/Application Support/Adobe PDF. The default settings files installed with Distiller are Read Only and Hidden.
The custom settings are found in (Windows) Documents and Settings/[username]/Application Data/Adobe/Adobe
PDF/Settings, (Vista) Users/[username]/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/Adobe PDF/Settings, or (Mac OS)
Users/[username]/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe PDF/Settings.
Some presets are not available in some Creative Suite applications.
Review your PDF settings periodically. The settings do not automatically revert to the default settings. Applications
and utilities that create PDFs use the last set of PDF settings defined or selected.
High Quality Print Creates PDFs for quality printing on desktop printers and proofing devices. This preset uses PDF
1.4, downsamples color and grayscale images to 300 ppi and monochrome images to 1200 ppi. It also embeds subsets
of all fonts, leaves color unchanged, and does not flatten transparency (for file types capable of transparency). These
PDFs can be opened in Acrobat 5.0 and Acrobat Reader
5.0 and later.
Oversized Pages (Acrobat Pro and Pro Extended) Creates PDFs suitable for viewing and printing of engineering
drawings larger than 200 x 200 in. (508 x 508 cm). These PDFs can be opened in Acrobat and Reader 7.0 and later.
PDF/A-1b: 2005 (CMYK and RGB) Used for long-term preservation (archival) of electronic documents. PDF/A-1b uses
PDF
1.4 and converts all colors to either CMYK or RGB, depending on which standard you choose. These PDFs can
be opened in Acrobat and Reader versions 5.0 and later.
PDF/X-1a (2001 and 2003) (Acrobat Pro and Pro Extended) PDF/X-1a requires all fonts to be embedded, the
appropriate PDF bounding boxes to be specified, and color to appear as CMYK, spot colors, or both. Compliant files
must contain information describing the printing condition for which they are prepared. PDF files created with
PDF/X-1a compliance can be opened in Acrobat 4.0 and Acrobat Reader 4.0 and later.
PDF/X-1a uses PDF 1.3, downsamples color and grayscale images to 300 ppi and monochrome images to 1200 ppi. It
embeds subsets of all fonts, creates untagged PDFs, and flattens transparency using the High Resolution setting.
Note: (Acrobat Pro and Pro Extended) The PDF/X1-a:2003 and PDF/X-3 (2003) presets are placed on your computer
during installation. However, they aren’t available until you move them from the Extras folder to the Settings folder.
PDF/X-4 (2007) (Acrobat Pro and Pro Extended) This preset is based on PDF 1.4, which includes support for live
transparency. PDF/X-4 has the same color-management and International Color Consortium (ICC) color
specifications as PDF/X-3. You can create PDF/X-4-compliant files directly with Creative Suite 3 applications
(Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop). In Acrobat 9, use the Preflight feature to convert PDFs to PDF/X-4 DRAFT.
PDF files created with PDF/X-4 compliance can be opened in Acrobat 7.0 and Reader 7.0 and later.
Press Quality Creates PDF files for high-quality print production (for example, for digital printing or for color
separations to an imagesetter or platesetter). However, it does not create files that are PDF/X compliant. In this case,
the quality of the content is the highest consideration. The objective is to maintain all the information in a PDF
file
that a commercial printer or print service provider requires to print the document correctly. This set of options uses
PDF 1.4, converts colors to CMYK, and downsamples color and grayscale images to 300 ppi and monochrome images
to 1200 ppi. It embeds subsets of all fonts and preserves transparency (for file types capable of transparency).
These PDF files can be opened in Acrobat 5.0 and Acrobat Reader 5.0 and later.
Note: Before creating a PDF file to send to a commercial printer or print service provider, find out what output resolution
and other settings are required. Or, ask for a .joboptions file with the recommended settings. You sometimes must
customize the Adobe PDF settings for a particular provider and then provide a .joboptions file of your own.
Rich Content PDF (Acrobat Pro and Pro Extended) Creates accessible PDF files that include tags, hyperlinks,
bookmarks, interactive elements, and layers. This set of options uses PDF 1.6 and embeds subsets of all fonts. It also