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pdf output scale

Forum|Forum|9 years ago
March 22, 2017
4 replies
2637 views

I have a 42 page document intended to be used to make 8.5" x 5.5" booklets, which has worked fine on my home printers. I need to send this file, page by page, to a printing firm who have asked for the pages in a pdf file. When I output the pdf, with printer marks, the scale nearly fills the letter size, less some space needed for the printer's marks. The bleeds are trimmed, so the file is worthless, even if the printer could change the scale.

I am using InDesign 12.0.0.81 on a Mac.

When I output a ps file, the scale and bleeds are correct, but it outputs only one file at a time, which I can only open in Illustrator.

The document set-up says that the page is half-letter. It seems impossible to get InDesign to output this correctly. What am I doing wrong? Please?

Reading the manual has been no help.

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Correct answer Steve Werner

You don't need Acrobat (the paid version). You can get the same printing from Adobe Acrobat Reader (the free downloadable version).

Barb Binder

Community Expert

As per Steve ^^, Reader has the exact same settings in File > Print, and the same ability to see the document size in File > Properties > Description.

What is your document size as displayed in the Document Properties dialog box?

~Barb at Rocky Mountain Training

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richardb75941634Author

Participating Frequently

The document is "half letter" or 8.5 x 5.5. It prints exactly as I want if I first output a pdf, read it into Adobe Reader, then output it in "actual size." That should have been obvious to me...it wasn't.

Many thanks.

Barb Binder

Community Expert

Great! That print setting (Fit) in both applications trips up a lot of people! Glad it is now behind you.

~Barb at Rocky Mountain Training

Derek Cross

Community Expert

Are you using InDesign's Acrobat PDF Presets and selecting (unless your printer has specified otherwise) PDF/X-4, and then single pages (not spreads) and ticked Use Document Bleed Settings?

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richardb75941634Author

Participating Frequently

I have done this, but it has had little effect on the output, except that now the pdf extends the bleeds properly.

Perhaps what I want to do, see the printer images to scale on my office printers, is not something that people really need. The complexities of InDesign have been a challenge, but the capabilities are extraordinary.

Thanks.

Barb Binder

Community Expert

When I output the pdf, with printer marks, the scale nearly fills the letter size, less some space needed for the printer's marks.

Is this a result of printing test pages to see if there were exported correctly? Acrobat has a Fit setting in the print dialog box that will scale the contents up or down when you print. Choose Actual Size instead.

Better yet, go to File > Properties > Description to check the paper size. What does it say?

~Barb at Rocky Mountain Training

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richardb75941634Author

Participating Frequently

My non-profit pays annually for InDesign. Does this mean that we have to pay more to control the output? I can specify the size I want in InDesign and can output a booklet on my office printer, but I was puzzled that I cannot output single page with the crop marks and bleed to scale to review. It looks as though I have to buy Acrobat, unless my printer can use it.

Thanks very much for the answer.

Steve Werner

Correct answer

Community Expert

You don't need Acrobat (the paid version). You can get the same printing from Adobe Acrobat Reader (the free downloadable version).

BobLevine

Community Expert

How do you know the size is off. Where are you measuring this?

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richardb75941634Author

Participating Frequently

That is an interesting question. I am loading the pdf with two different readers (including Adobe's Reader) and with Preview. Perhaps they just fill the page? Oddly, Preview shows the bleed properly (3mm beyond the cut marks) while Reader stops bleeding at the cut mark. But as you suggest, perhaps my printer can make this file fit the 8.5 x 5.5 form with some other software? The file cannot be directly scaled as the printer marks give it an unclear ratio. Thanks.

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