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Why did my TIFF barcode I added to the PDF become JPEG

Forum|Forum|9 months ago
April 20, 2025
2 replies
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Why did my TIFF barcode I added to the PDF become JPEG after converting the PDF to press-ready?

Correct answer ls_rbls

It does automatically, I'm afraid.

Adobe Acrobat Pro is an PDF editor, not an Graphical Image Manipulation platform. As such, it is somewhat limited when it all breaks down to the basics; so, when an image is added, the TIFF becomes a JPG.

It does it based off of the Preferences settings "Convert to PDF" for TIFF files. It doesn't provide options to keep that image as a TIFF file.

Here's a side-by-side comparison:

However, you can adjust those settings (like shown in my slide below), to improve the image quality when it is uploaded onto your PDF document.

NOTE:

I only have Adobe Acrobat Pro DC, I don't have Acrobat Pro XI, but if you can find those Preferences in your version, You may appreciate better results with the settings that I've posted above:

try67

Community Expert

TIFF files are not vector-based, normally, unless they include a clipping path. Are you sure your file has that?

R

ron_6898Author

Participating Frequently

Are you responding to me, @try67 ? I plan to use TIFF barcodes for IngramSpark book covers. As far as I know, IngraSpark does not require vector files, but KDP requires vector files.

R

ron_6898Author

Participating Frequently

I do not know how to edit my above question, which might be incorrect. This might be a better question to start with: Does Adobe Acrobat Pro XI change the file type when an image is added to the PDF?

ls_rbls

Correct answer

Community Expert

Hi @ron_6898 ,

It does automatically, I'm afraid.

Adobe Acrobat Pro is an PDF editor, not an Graphical Image Manipulation platform. As such, it is somewhat limited when it all breaks down to the basics; so, when an image is added, the TIFF becomes a JPG.

It does it based off of the Preferences settings "Convert to PDF" for TIFF files. It doesn't provide options to keep that image as a TIFF file.

Here's a side-by-side comparison:

However, you can adjust those settings (like shown in my slide below), to improve the image quality when it is uploaded onto your PDF document.

NOTE:

I only have Adobe Acrobat Pro DC, I don't have Acrobat Pro XI, but if you can find those Preferences in your version, You may appreciate better results with the settings that I've posted above:

R

ron_6898Author

Participating Frequently

Thank you, @ls_rbls . I will try to improve the quality in that way you described; however, my bigger concern is that suppliers like Amazon specify certain file types, in my case for the barcode. Amazon wants a vector file (I will use EPS), but if Adobe Acrobat converts the files to JPEG, which are not vector files, I have a problem. Many other people must have encountered this apparent conflict, therefore my thinking on this matter must somehow be flawed. Or maybe everyone else is not using Adobe Acrobat to prepare their book covers for submission.

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