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Marshall_Brooks
Inspiring
September 4, 2025
Question

FrameMaker PDF Creation questions

  • September 4, 2025
  • 1 reply
  • 266 views

For reference: We use FM 2022. We use "Print to PDF" to create our PDF's with a PDF printer. We do not print to postscript and distill to PDF. We do not use the "Save As PDF" option - have had issues with it locking up FM on large documents. We are in the process of getting the Adobe PDF Printer driver installed for all of our writers.

We noticed some of our writers having issues with image quality in the PDF's - especially with text on imported .TIF files at high zoom levels.

I tried to test with the various image quality settings in the Adobe PDF Printer Preferences and I couldn't tell much of a difference, either in quality or file size between Standard and say, High Quality Print, but another author saw a marked difference. Then I noticed that in the File>Publish>PDF settings, I was using High Quality Print.

That leads to the following questions:

  • Do the publisher settings take precedence over the printer preferences when printing to the Adobe PDF printer? It doesn't seem like they should, but that seems to be what I am seeing.
  • Hopefully OBE, but it seems like the Publisher settings DO overwrite the printer preferences. For example, I personally seemed to be better quality using the Adobe PDF printer at standard than using the Power PDF printer at 2400 DPI lossless. I'm guessing FM was using the HQ Print setting with the Adobe PDF printer and not recognizing that setting and not honoring the selected settings with the Power PDF printer. Does this seem correct?
  • Where are the settings stored and can they be exported to other users? (It appears to be a default.sts file in FrameMaker\Plugins\fminit\Publisher.) Is this correct?
  • @Matt-Tech Comm Tools mentions at https://techcommtools.com/framemaker-pdf-tips-and-tricks/ a SetPrint plugin from Sundorne that will set the AdobePDF printer as the default printer in Framemaker. I found the file here: https://web.archive.org/web/20160713071521/http://www.sundorne.com/FrameMaker/Freeware/setPrint.htm but when I installed it per the instructions, I got an error from FM about swap files and not being able to initialize the plugin. Is there another plugin that can accomplish this? (We typically use an ExtendScript to bring up the Print dialog. Extendscipt has an option for doc.PrinterName but it is not supported in Windows.

Thank you all in advance!

 

1 reply

Jeff_Coatsworth
Community Expert
Jeff_CoatsworthCommunity Expert
Community Expert
September 4, 2025

Phew - quite a few things going on here.

  • The new Publish workflow doesn't impact the Print to Adobe PDF printer instance. It uses the "new" engine and "Print" uses the "older" one. NB - you can get the Publish route to use the older engine if you tell it use the Distiller in the Settings. Then you can hook up any of your joboptions files for print quality, etc.
  • The Print route will use the joboption file you specify in the printer properties (just like it always has)
  • Publish Settings files are .sts files
  • the SetPrint plug-in does not work for newer versions of FM; I've got the source code, but haven't found anybody who can update it for me
M
Marshall_BrooksAuthor
Inspiring
September 4, 2025

@ Jeff Coatsworth - Thanks. Regarding SetPrint, Google confirmed it is not compatible with 64-Bit FrameMaker. It said that Silicon Priarie had an alternative in a free bundle, but I didn't see it on https://www.siliconprairiesoftware.com/Products.html - I didn't see any freeware there, although their payware is very good - particularly AutoText.

Let me reframe my question:

  • We have previously been using Kofax Power PDF printer b/c the Adobe PDF printer didn't install with FrameMaker (although it is supposed to and has now been installed with the assistance of Adobe Technical Support).
  • A co-worker got the new Adobe PDF printer and made some test PDF's. As far as I know, he hadn't touched the Publisher settings. Using Print-To-PDF, we found:
    • Power PDF file was 276 Kb and acceptable quality.
    • Adobe PDF standard was 433 Kb and marginally lower quality than Power PDF.
    • Adobe PDF High Quality Print was 712 Kb and better quality than either one. Adobe Press Quality was about the same file size and quality as High Quality Print.
  • I tested on a different file and saw no difference in output or file size between standard quality and High Quality Print, standard was 289 Kb and HQ Printer was 290 Kb.
  • Previously, we thought we got better output with Adobe PDF rather than Power PDF. I tested with all the settings and basically Microsoft Print to PDF was poor quality and double any other file size. Adobe PDF was good whether using Standard or HQ Print settings. Power PDF was not as good as Adobe - including Power PDF at 2400 DPI and lossless image compression.

Based on the above, I assumed that the HQ Print selection in Publish was overriding the Print to PDF settings.

If that is not the case, what do you think could account for the variation between authors with the same printers, same FrameMaker versions, same PDF creation methods, etc.

End goal is to ensure our PDF's look the same no matter which author happened to create it.

Jeff_Coatsworth
Community Expert
Jeff_CoatsworthCommunity Expert
Community Expert
September 4, 2025

First step to achieving uniformity is to toss out using the non-Adobe PDF printer instance - you're just comparing apples to oranges in persisting with that.
Next, look at the "printer" properties of the Adobe PDF printer instance - are they all using the same joboptions file settings? 
Then have a look at the Publish to PDF workflow - supposedly the new PDF engine is faster, but I've read that it creates larger PDF files. Pay particular attention to whether you've got the Publish settings using the older Distiller method or have skipped that setting in the Settings.

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