Difficulty converting an InDesign file to a PDF file

One place to get specific details about the PDF/X specification is from the source: The PDF Association and the ISO committee that develops the specification.

Details about the difference between the specs are at https://www.pdfa.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/PDFX-in-a-Nutshell.pdf

In addition to transparency effects, it handles layers, RGB graphics, and OpenType fonts (and a few other items, see below).

Quote:

PDF/X-4: Transparency The previous PDF/X variants do not support the features of more modern  (beyond PDF 1.4) versions of PDF. By 2008, it was time to bring PDF/X up to date with current PDF specifications. PDF/X-4 is based on PDF 1.6, published in 2004. This specification  added support for new features, including layers, JPEG2000, OpenType fonts, and 16-bit images. In addition,  PDF/X-4 allows the use of transparency, a PDF 1.4 feature forbidden in PDF/X until PDF/X-4.

Transparency and OpenType fonts are 2 that most concern me. Given that we designers now use InDesign's effects and transparency tools at the drop of a hat, I want them printed to look as glamorous on paper as they do on my screen.

PDF/X-1 processes those effects on my system (with whatever settings I've set) while PDF/X-4 keeps them live so that they can be RIPped by my print shop at (hopefully) higher resolution and quality.  I also can keep RGB images in RGB and the prepress RIP will convert them with better color fidelity than anything I can do on my end.

And OpenType fonts are based on Unicode—the international code base that provides up to 64,000 glyphs on a single font, including advanced punctuation, STEM symbols, ligatures, fractions, multiple alphabets, full set of diacritical marks, and much more. View the code charts at http://www.unicode.org/charts/  That's way beyond ASCII !

We find that about 50% of our jobs use a Unicode/OpenType extended character in it. I really don't want to use pre-2000 TrueType and PostScript fonts anymore. They don't accommodate so much of the work we produce.

Unless you have an extremely simple job, I'd use PDF/X-4 to ensure the highest quality from my print shop. I echo the recommendations of my colleagues @Derek Cross and @BobLevine  above.

I don't understand why a printer today would require a 20-year-old standard for their clients' files, especially one that is so limited and out-of-synch with today's software technologies. Is it ignorance?

Yes, it takes time, money, and education to update their workflow.

But the visual improvement to their clients' print projects is worth it, IMHO.

FYI, PDF/X-6 is in development and will update the standard to use some of the features now available in the PDF 2.0 standard which was released in July 2017 (a year ago). Read more at PDF 2.0 adoption accelerates – PDF Association

Remember, PDF is more than PDF.

The core PDF standard is PDF 2.0 (ISO 32000-2). Some of the standards that are subsets of it are:

• PDF/A Archival (ISO 19005)
• PDF/E Engineering/Architectural/3D (ISO 24517)
• PDF/UA Universal Accessibility (ISO 14289)
• PDF/X Graphics Exchange (ISO 15930)

—Bevi Chagnon

(A US Delegate to the ISO PDF committees)

In InDesign select:

1. File;

2. Adobe PDF Presets;

3. If just for viewing select: [Smallest File Size];

    If sending to printer select: [PDF/X-1a:2001];

4. Save to your destination;

5. Select General; Pages; select All;

6. Select Pages if you want then as single pages in same order.

    Select Spreads if you want then as spreads, the same as your document if they they are designed as spreads.

You export your InDesign document to PDF using the InDesign Adobe PDF Presets, you usually select PDF/X-4, but check with your printer. You can specify in the subsequent PDF dialogue box the printers marks (crop marks etc) and tick Use Document Bleed settings and select Pages (not spreads). It's the printers job to do the imposition, not yours.

How many pages is the booklet?

Depending on how it has been created you might be able to tick Create Separate PDF Files when you Export to PDF.

You would then need to recombine those individual pages in the correct order in a new Binder file.

Are you newbie?

What the problems with CTRL+E? Where do you find blank pages? Needs more info from you.