Participant

Answered

print booklet setup option grayed out when PPD is set to "device independent"

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
January 9, 2024
4 replies
1393 views

Hey, y'all. This may be a couple of different problems, so please bear with me.

I'm working on a MacBook Pro with an M1 chip and Ventura. I'm trying to print booklet at 6x12, which I have done plenty of times before, but not with my current OS.

I have the printer set to PostScript file and when I choose Device Indepentent as the PPD, all of the page adjustment options are grayed out. When I set the PPD to any other printer, I can adjust the page size/layout to what I need, but the PostScript files and resulting PDFs have been coming out at 8.5x11 instead of 6x12.

I think I used to have the option to set the PPD as Adobe Acrobat, but I believe I read (in trying to trouble shoot this issue) that Mac has removed support for the Adobe PPD. If this is true, has anyone found a work around for this? Or some other PPD that allows for PostScript files to generate PDFs that actually stay the dimensions you set the page to?

Print

Correct answer mzulauf0

So, if anyone is having the same issue I am, use this link: https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/save-as-pdf-options-not.html

It provides you with not only the step-by-step to getting Adobe back as a PPD, but also, critically, provides you the PPD file.

Just downloaded it/went through the steps, and got my booklet PDFs formated accordingly.

Cj.amn

Known Participant

Hi — Is there any update on this issue? For booklet printing and page reordering, we still need to use the legacy PostScript export process, which requires adding the Adobe PDF PPD if there is no printer installed on the device. Otherwise, the custom page size option will be grayed out. The download link provided here has been broken for several years, although a downloadable file was shared in this thread.

I was wondering whether Adobe is planning to resolve this issue so users can directly export a PDF through Print Booklet without going through the PostScript workflow.

Brad @ Roaring Mouse

Community Expert

The reason that there are no page settings available in “Device Independent” is because what you are exporting is JUST the objects ON the page, but contains no page information whatsoever, similar to saving, say, a graphic from Illustrator. When you Distill such a file, the PostScript is rendered on the default page size defined in Distiller’s settings, which is usually Letter, hence why your spread gets cut off. Although you could redefine this page size to accommodate your spread, it’s still limited as you can’t center it as you would want, nor are there any proper Crop Boxes, Bleed Boxes and Trim boxes included in the resulting PDF. This is why you have to use a PPD for a “device” that has the ability to include page information, and the AdobePDF.PPD fits that bill.

M

mzulauf0Author

Participant

https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/kb/add-acrobat-ppd.html

M

mzulauf0AuthorCorrect answer

Participant

So, if anyone is having the same issue I am, use this link: https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/save-as-pdf-options-not.html

It provides you with not only the step-by-step to getting Adobe back as a PPD, but also, critically, provides you the PPD file.

Just downloaded it/went through the steps, and got my booklet PDFs formated accordingly.

Willi Adelberger

Community Expert

I can only recommend not to use print booklet as it is a crap because it uses postscript. Let the printer do the imposing, not the designer.

M

mzulauf0Author

Participant

Do you have a suggestion on generating colated spreads as a PDF? I'm not doing the printing myself; I'm sending them to a printing service (it's a book project that's too big for me to print myself).

Willi Adelberger

Community Expert

Why do you make the imposing yourself if you do not print it? It is not your tsk, it is the task of the printer!

Sign up

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Sign in to Adobe Community

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Scanning file for viruses.

This file cannot be downloaded