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Question

Where is simple flattened reliable PDF export option? (MacOS)

Forum|Forum|8 years ago
August 21, 2017
5 replies
5395 views

I'm trying to switch from a Windows to Mac system for Illustrator work.

In Windows you can easily print a PDF that is flattened and is accurate and faithful to the original. If you don't print to pdf and just Save As PDF from Illustrator, I've seen occasional problems with transparency and Raster effects like drop shadows, whereas I have found the printed pdf is always consistent and prefer it in almost all cases.

Why is outputting such a PDF not a straightforward, fast, simple process?

Why is it that other applications in Mac OS let you easily create PDFs but not Adobe's own products? -- Acrobat is their own creation and it works better with other companies' applications? How does this make sense?

Why does it take two steps to create reliable output? (Save as PS and then convert it outside of illustrator as described here ... Save as PDF errors and issues in InDesign, Illustrator (Mac OS)

How is this efficient? We generate pdf proofs all the time. Illustrator should be able to export flattened PDFs reliably with one command.

And it is has been going on since Mac 10.6 -- that was 2009? Nobody at Adobe has figured out a better solution in 8 years?

I find this situation completely absurd.

This topic has been closed for replies.

K

Katie Houghton

Inspiring

Save As> Adobe PDF or Save A Copy> Adobe PDF

PDF/X-1a flattens and converts colors to CMYK (can have no RGB)

PDF/X-3 flattens and can have RGB with a color profile

PDF/X-4 does not flatten and can have RGB with a color profile

if you save it as an Illustrator Default it carries all of Illustrator's capability and does not flatten

To flatten use a PDF/X-1a or a PDF/X-3. If I am going to a digital press, I like PDF/X-3.

If you are printing directly to the printer from Adobe, it is more an Apple issue then an Adobe issue. Apple uses Common Unix Printing System (CUPS) and it prefers it's own dialog box over third party (Adobe). CUPS uses a PS or PDF to go to print. So basically you are asking Apple to create the PDF when going directly to your printer. Apple recommends if you have an issue with printing you convert to a PDF from the application, then print from that. That is the best option if you are having problems.

N

nicknameformeAuthor

Known Participant

Thank you Katie. This is helpful information about those PDF flavors that I didn't know. I will test them out.

(But I still miss the ability to rescale or size the output as printing to pdf allows in Windows.)

Curious - why would use X-3 not X-1a for printing? Don't you want to force colors to CMYK for printing? Or do you prefer to send the printer an RGB file and let them do the conversion since perhaps it results in a higher gamut possibly?

(Edit: I just did an X-3 test on a file. It is showing those hairline horizontal white lines in Acrobat (at certain zoom levels). I don't believe those actually print -- but when client's are looking at the proof it looks like an error. I'm trying to eliminate white lines (display errors) as well as actual print errors - another benefit to rasterizing).

K

Katie Houghton

Inspiring

Postscript printer and digital press is really a RGB system and can carry the color profile to control the conversion of color. You can lock it down to a CMYK and I have printers that prefer it but let's say you have a printer with a better spectrum, why not use it. (closer to the digital solution) Here is a picture using Apple ColorSync Utility comparing sRGB to my Epson printer (With specific paper) and sRGB to a generic CYMK. Remember in color management there is no matching of color just the control of the conversion. That is why when you take a picture of a vibrant apple the apple looks duller in print. The subtractive system is smaller then the additive system. If also included the ProPhoto ICC vs sRGB which was developed by Kodak for photographic output. As you can see RGB has larger gamuts.

Mike_Gondek10189183

Community Expert

HAs been awhile since I worked on windows, but yet there was a meeting that would bitmap and flatten the pdfs that does tho exist on the Mac.

Some of the issues you have be resolved by changing your Acrobat view settings to for example show overprints.

Try in Illustrator PDF/X 1a, to flatten all and prepare for printing.

Is you desire to flatten or to flatten & bitmap?

N

nicknameformeAuthor

Known Participant

Good question -- my desire is to just get a perfect representation of the AI file in PDF. I believe flattening & rasterizing (bitmap) is what has given me reliable results.

The problem with the Overprint setting you suggested is that all my clients would need that setting adjusted too. I want them to see the file faithfully when viewing in Acrobat so I want to give them a file that requires no adjustments are their part.

Mike_Gondek10189183

Community Expert

We personally do not use the old overprint found in attributes, to avoiding our clients having to turn overprint view on in Acrobat. We use the multiply instead, easier to proof and troubleshoot also.

We also send out files as CMYK pdfs, so printers can proof the separations and spots are down correctly. This makes the PDFs smaller in most cases than RGB, which helps for multiple files email attachment staying under 10mb.

Now for the type to be sharp when the client zooms in you probably do not want to bitmap or the type will look soft.

Can you show a screenshot sample of preview issues you are experiencing, and if possible a copy of the file via dropbox or similar ftp sharing.

@mj

Community Expert

Transparency effects like drop shadows and placed PSD files will result in flattening.

This is an important requirement of the PDF 1.3 specification from the ISO. PDF/X-1a (2001)

The PDF 1.5 specification allow for no flattening. PDF/X-4 (2008)

If you have to save to PDF/X-1a then use the Transparency Flattener panel to determine how the file will be flattened.

More info here: How to create Adobe PDF files in Illustrator

HTH

Jeff Witchel, ACI

Community Expert

I've been using PDFs with Transparency for as long as I can remember and have NEVER had a problem and neither have any of the commercial printers who output my PDFs.

Probably "nobody from Adobe has figured it out," because there's no reason to Flatten PDFs.

Anyone from Adobe want to chime in here?

N

nicknameformeAuthor

Known Participant

While you might not have had a problem yourself, I have seen transparency and drop shadow issues at least a hundred times when trying to export non-flattened pdfs. I have tried many different file and print settings over the years to correct the problem to no avail.

These errors have resulted in files printing incorrectly. On the other hand, flattened pdfs work perfectly every time. No quality issues and no surprises -- WYSIWYG. So I believe there is definitely a valid reason to flatten PDFs -- not always but the reliability and consistency, especially on complex files is valuable. What is a notable disadvantage of printing a PDF if no one is going to be editing it and it's just for output? And assuming you aren't printing at 1200 dpi.

Also, printing a PDF results in the ability to resize or set your document up or down if you are not working at 1:1 scale. Save as PDF doesn't allow that. I have seen distinct advantages to using a Print vs. Save workflow -- and yes disadvantages too, but each method has a valid use-case.

Thank you for the Acrobat 4 recommendation. I'm a little concerned about using such an old file format though. Won't it possibly introduce some compromises?

Monika Gause

Community Expert

When printing your PDF you will send your file through even older mechanisms. Printing it uses PostScript, which has not been touched since 1999. If you are afraid of something really old, stay away from printing your PDF.

Jeff Witchel, ACI

Community Expert

Not sure why you want a Flattened PDF. But if you do, here's a simple way:

File Save As
For Format, choose Adobe PDF
Change the Compatibility from the Default Acrobat 6 down to Acrobat 4
Press Save PDF

This will be Flattened, because there was no Transparency in PDFs until Acrobat version 5.

Hope this helps!

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