cannot print to Adobe Printer

[craigw50436734]

Hi all,

I just purchased and installed Adobe Acrobat 17 Professional DC.

I cannot print to PDF. Keep getting error state.

I deleted and reinstalled adobe. Still same problem.

Any ideas?

[gary_sc]

HI Craig,

Can you please let us know which operating system you are using and which release? Also, what application are you trying to use this with and what release of that application?

Also, please note that if you are "Print to PDF," that typically means that you are using the operating system's PDF generation (both Mac and PC) that often is "just fine" but may not provide the quality and dynamics that you may want/need. What you should be looking for is "Print to Adobe PDF," as that means that it's Adobe's code to generate the PDF.

Please let us know the answers of these questions so that we can help you.

[xanderL2019]

Like the original author, since installing Creative CLOUD I am no longer able to use "Print to Adobe PDF", (yes the pop-up within the Mac's print Dialog box.) SADLY: it now says "Save as Adobe PDF" but doesn't appear to do anything. This in MS Word, Mac Preview, etc, etc…

This is/was a VITAL function for me, so you can imagine how pleased I am forking up $$ to LOSE a crucial feature.

Should it matter,

  Mac OS Sierra 10.13.5 (PrinttoAdobePDF) worked fine till CC install)

  Tons of RAM and Disk Space.

  Adobe CS6 still on my System

Some Possibly? related issues:

  Creative Cloud keeps telling me download of InDesign, Illustrator updates are corrupt. but provides no fix. (InDesign 6 continues to work, but Illy 6 first insisted on Java 6 (which I installed), then refused to run claiming missing required plugins)

[try67]

Adobe Apple no longer allows third-party virtual printers to run on their OS, so the Adobe PDF printer can't work on Mac computers any more.

Complaints should be directed to them.

Edit: Fixed a major mix-up...

[Dov Isaacs]

Actually the issue is Apple and not Adobe doing the prohibiting!!!

          - Dov

[try67]

Of course, I know that... What a silly mistake to make.

[gary_sc]

Hi Dov,

So what is the difference from Save as Adobe PDF versus Print to Adobe PDF? Isn't/wasn't the result the same thing?

Hi Xander,

I also was having the same issue of nothing happening when I did the Save as Adobe PDF and it turns out that a previous "print engine" for this was remaining and when I installed Acrobat DC, the updated engine didn't install because the previous one was still there. I manually deleted it and reinstalled DC and all was well.

Please first try to uninstall your copy of Acrobat CS6 (DO NOT DELETE CS6, uninstall it). Then try to reinstall DC and see if that fixes it. Meanwhile I'll see if I can find what file to manually delete.

Let us know what happens,

[Dov Isaacs]

gary_sc  wrote

So what is the difference from Save as Adobe PDF versus Print to Adobe PDF? Isn't/wasn't the result the same thing?

There is a tremendous difference!!!

Printing to the Adobe PDF PostScript printer driver instance causes Word to create GDI and send it to the PostScript driver which creates PostScript which is then sent to the Distiller which creates PDF from the PostScript. All color is converted to RGB and all transparency is flattened by Word prior to sending the GDI to the driver. The resultant PDF file has no color management, has flattened transparency, may not be fully searchable, has no support for bookmarks and hyperlinks, etc. The only good feature of this method is that EPS graphics placed in the Word document come through without a hitch.

Using Save as Adobe PDF (or the equivalent function on the ribbon) causes Word to send the contents of the document as EMF to Adobe's PDFMaker software with no stink'in PostScript involved. Live transparency is maintained (if not PDF 1.3 or PDF/A-1) as is color management (including any color managed raster images). Bookmarks are an option as are live links. Searchability is maintained. The only downside is that if your Word document has any EPS graphics (very little of that done in recent memory - Microsoft still supports this but doesn't publicly acknowledge or otherwise document it), all you get are the low resolution previews of the EPS graphics.

Difference is night and day.

Same issue applies to Excel and PowerPoint PDF creation.

BTW, these comments apply only to Windows. MacOS PDF creation from Office documents - shudder, shudder!

          - Dov

[gary_sc]

Hi Dov,

That's what I thought but with all of the comments only mentioning that Apple was being dastardly (and no other issue) I was thinking there was something I was missing.

Besides, if you're going to attack the Mac with their "Save as PDF..." why not toss in your comments on Window's "Save as PDF...?

;>)

[Dov Isaacs]

The MacOS save as PDF issue is not strictly that of Apple. We'll leave it at that for now! 

          - Dov

[Peter Villevoye]

I'm happily using the cloud-based Save as / Export PDF feature in Office for Mac.

Using Print and Save as PDF has always been flawed (e.g. no hyperlinks in a TOC).

And using the PDF creation icon from the Acrobat ribbon is going astray on my OS

(maybe due to the myriad of software versions I have installed, so it might be okay).

It's strange to see how the first adopter of PostScript is alienating itself from PDF.

Maybe Apple should also pick their next CEO from the Hyderabad Public School...

[xanderL2019]

Thanks all for the input.

Based on what you've all said (and from my experience) it's a combo issue between Apple's current policies and Adobe's installers. As I mentioned "Print to Adobe PDF" worked fine under my current system until the Install of Acrobat DC.

Here's what I think has happened: Generally speaking, Apple seems to of "grandfather-in" things which pre-exist on your system (even if they don't meet current standards), at worst, I've had to right-click -> open a few the first time I use them under the new system  in order to continue using them. I have a number of 3rd party extensions which sucessfully left functioning "currently deprecated" aspects in place upon upgrades.

Adobe did not do this.

I think Dov is likely correct that"

…it turns out that a previous "print engine" for this was remaining and when I installed Acrobat DC, the updated engine didn't install because the previous one was still there.

I'm might give Dov's suggestion (delete Acro 6), then reinstall DC.