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braidedwire
Inspiring
September 3, 2017
Question

A booklet printed to PostScript results in single pages (all even)

  • September 3, 2017
  • 5 replies
  • 1288 views

Hi everyone,

I have this document, i wanted to be a pdf with facing pages. It's huge and i wanted it to be exceptionally clean and small in terms of MB. So i decided on postscript print and as far as i know (from this forum actually) the way to go with this method to get spreads is printing a booklet. I tweaked some options and under the preview i got the imposed pages to appear the way i wanted. After distilling the file i received a pdf with single pages, all appearing to be even (all page numbers and graphical elements applied from left-even page masters). Did i miss any options? What can i do to get the proper imposition with even pages next to odd ones with a correct layout?

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    5 replies

    T
    Test Screen Name
    Legend
    September 3, 2017

    Making a booklet, by any means, won't make the file smaller. You just get the same amount of stuff on fewer pages.

    B
    braidedwireAuthor
    Inspiring
    September 3, 2017

    I don't know what settings were used for previous pdf exports, but there have been many tries. This time i'll try to export a proper pdf directly from InDesign and see how it works. As for spreads, my concerns were: 1. postScr. printing didn't give me spreads after all, even though i printed a booklet 2. all pages turned out to be even(left), even though the project and imposing preview window (printing booklet) showed everything should look properly.

    rob day
    Community Expert
    rob dayCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    September 3, 2017

    Could you clarify whether you are trying to impose the document to printer spreads, or simply export reader spreads.

    Sounds like you might be misunderstanding Print Booklet’s purpose. Its only use from InDesign or Acrobat would be for light weight page imposition (i.e., an 8-page signature output as 1-8, 2-7, 3-6, 4-5). With 600 pages you would not be able to Saddle Stitch, so the only option would be 2-up perfect binding setup as many signatures.

    rob day
    Community Expert
    rob dayCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    September 3, 2017

    the way to go with this method to get spreads is printing a booklet

    Do you simply want to export spreads or are you actually trying to impose the pages as printer spreads for binding?

    Imposition - Wikipedia

    If you want to export spreads check the Spreads radio button under Export>General. Also in Acrobat you can view a facing page document as spreads via View>Page Display>Two Page view.

    Derek Cross
    Community Expert
    Derek CrossCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    September 3, 2017

    Dov Isaacs states: "For reliable PDF print publishing workflows, PDF/X-4 is strongly recommended as the PDF subset standard to use. PDF/X-4 supports live transparency and ICC color management".

    You would normally export single pages and your printer would undertake the imposition. Check with them their requirements, such as whether they want trim marks included and so on. Don't forget to check Use Document Bleed Settings (if you have bleeding images).

    BobLevine
    Community Expert
    BobLevineCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    September 3, 2017

    You’re not being clear about your needs but one thing I will tell you right off the bat: Forget distilling!

    Export the PDF and then use the tools in Acrobat to optimize it.

    If you need a booklet to be printed, you can use the booklet tools in Acrobat.

    Shoving 5 pounds into a 1 pound sack is the last thing you should be concerned with in this day and age. BTW, in the future, it would be quite helpful if you defined “huge.”

    B
    braidedwireAuthor
    Inspiring
    September 3, 2017

    Thanks for your reply. Sorry for not being clear or precise enough.

    The InD document contains around 600 pages. I'm a new person working with it, trying to make a decent pdf. The previous many attempts (that i haven't been around to see) resulted in pdf's being often way over 1 GB (there's something wrong with the project). I figured i could start with PostScript and distilling and count on automatic processes to cut all the "rough edges" for me. It worked very nicely in a way, since i managed to receive a pdf weighing 60 MB with very good quality images. The problems i got i mentioned above.

    My plan B was to create pdf from InD as you mentioned and see how that goes. I'll try some optimizing&tweaking with Acrobat.

    Oh, by the way - is using PostScript completely obsolete at this point, hence bugs and unexpected results?

    Bill Silbert
    Community Expert
    Bill SilbertCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    September 3, 2017

    If it was completely obsolete then Distiller would no longer be packaged with Acrobat. It will make a much smaller pdf as you have already noted but it is no longer the recommended way of making a pdf. I don't believe that their are any actual bugs associated with the process. Export as Adobe pdf (Print) through InDesign provides the most up to date pdfs.

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