Can distiller create PDF 2.0 files?

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
September 19, 2018
4 replies
1482 views

Hi Everyone,

Can Adobe Distiller create PDF 2.0 files? Which product can I buy and install to have my own personal Distiller application?

Thanks in advance.

This topic has been closed for replies.

Correct answer Dov Isaacs

Acrobat Distiller does not currently produce PDF 2.0 files. And it is questionable whether Distiller (as opposed to other Adobe applications) will ever produce PDF files tagged as PDF 2.0.

That having been said, exactly what PDF 2.0 features do you expect to find in a PDF file created from PostScript which is effectively a subset of PDF 1.3?

Other than some new version of direct PDF RIPs that claim PDF 2.0 support for certain PDF features, there is nothing that we know of that would require PDF 2.0.

For printing, virtually all the PDF 2.0 features would require (1) PDF/X-6, a standard that is still in development and probably won't be finalized until very late 2019/early 2020 as well as applications and workflow products that actually could generate and make use of same.

- Dov

llumbabAuthor

Participant

Hi Dov,

Good day!

Actually, I am conducting a study on what applications or utilities that can generate PDF 2.0 files. I am in a printing company and we are planning to support PDF 2.0 files as one of our supported PDLs and that is why I am eager to know which adobe applications or utilities that could help me create these files for our testing purposes. I would be very glad if you can point me on all your products that could generate these PDF 2.0 files.

I hope to hear from you again.

Thank you so much and your help is greatly appreciated.

Dov Isaacs

Legend

At this point, assume that no real world applications generate files that use actual PDF 2.0 features that weren't already implemented as PDF 1.7 extensions over the years by Adobe.

No Adobe applications or tools support direct PDF 2.0 generation although our PDF library is beginning to support aspects of PDF 2.0.

- Dov

- Dov Isaacs, former Adobe Principal Scientist (April 30, 1990 - May 30, 2021)

Dov IsaacsCorrect answer

Legend

Acrobat Distiller does not currently produce PDF 2.0 files. And it is questionable whether Distiller (as opposed to other Adobe applications) will ever produce PDF files tagged as PDF 2.0.

That having been said, exactly what PDF 2.0 features do you expect to find in a PDF file created from PostScript which is effectively a subset of PDF 1.3?

Other than some new version of direct PDF RIPs that claim PDF 2.0 support for certain PDF features, there is nothing that we know of that would require PDF 2.0.

For printing, virtually all the PDF 2.0 features would require (1) PDF/X-6, a standard that is still in development and probably won't be finalized until very late 2019/early 2020 as well as applications and workflow products that actually could generate and make use of same.

- Dov

- Dov Isaacs, former Adobe Principal Scientist (April 30, 1990 - May 30, 2021)