Skip to main content
rlis8
rlis8
Participating Frequently
March 30, 2017
Answered

how to I print to adobe pdf on a mac

  • March 30, 2017
  • 1 reply
  • 935 views

I'm new to a mac and I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how to print to pdf (from lightroom, in particular). I see how I can save as a pdf, but the file for my images is too large to email. I also see how I can reduce that size, but then the image quality is too bad to read. I have Adobe Pro DC so I should have the mac interface, right?

Thanks for any feedback!

Rebecca

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Dov Isaacs

The Adobe PDF printer is no longer available with Acrobat and MacOS due to changes Apple made in the operating system a number of releases ago that prevent the functionality that Acrobat had. Sorry, but this is nothing that Adobe can fix. There are other methods of producing PDF provided natively by MacOS and by Acrobat that don't involve distillation of PostScript.

I note that you did try the other mechanism(s) but were dissatisfied with the file size or alternatively the file quality. Sorry, but (1) the old print PDF via distillation of PostScript method would have had the same issues and (2) you simply can't legislate PDF file size. For raster images, the only ways to reduce resultant PDF file sizes is to either use lossier compression or downsample the image. Either of those methods can result is poor quality. You might experiment with various settings to see if you a combination that does yield a smaller file size but quality that is not as bad as you currently are getting.

          - Dov

1 reply

Dov Isaacs
Dov IsaacsCorrect answer
Legend
March 31, 2017

The Adobe PDF printer is no longer available with Acrobat and MacOS due to changes Apple made in the operating system a number of releases ago that prevent the functionality that Acrobat had. Sorry, but this is nothing that Adobe can fix. There are other methods of producing PDF provided natively by MacOS and by Acrobat that don't involve distillation of PostScript.

I note that you did try the other mechanism(s) but were dissatisfied with the file size or alternatively the file quality. Sorry, but (1) the old print PDF via distillation of PostScript method would have had the same issues and (2) you simply can't legislate PDF file size. For raster images, the only ways to reduce resultant PDF file sizes is to either use lossier compression or downsample the image. Either of those methods can result is poor quality. You might experiment with various settings to see if you a combination that does yield a smaller file size but quality that is not as bad as you currently are getting.

          - Dov

- Dov Isaacs, former Adobe Principal Scientist (April 30, 1990 - May 30, 2021)
Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices