How do I print an encrypted PDF file .... to PDF

[Guest]

I have finished making a form fillable PDF.  I want to put some restrictions on the form, so that end users cannot edit the forms or add additional text/move text around.  When the users complete the form, I want them to be able to print the document to PDF.  My current encryption is as follows:

Printing = allowed at high resolution

Changes Allowed = filling in form fields and signing existing signature fields

Right now, when I print the document to a printer, there is no issue.  But, when I print the document to PDF, I get the following message:

%%[ ProductName: Distiller ]%%

This PostScript file was created from an encrypted PDF file.

Redistilling encrypted PDF is not permitted.

%%[ Flushing: rest of job (to end-of-file) will be ignored ]%%

%%[ Warning: PostScript error. No PDF file produced. ] %%

I have read countless posts about not being able to print an encrypted PDF file to PDF, but that just is not accurate.  I use form fillable PDFs all the time.  Those PDFs have encryption, yet I can somehow print them to PDF.

This is beyond frustrating, so I figured I would ask to see if anyone knew how to make this work.

Thanks!  

[Test Screen Name · Accepted solution]

This is working exactly as designed, even if someone has found a loophole. Adobe will not change it.

[Guest]

But the forms I am filling out and then printing to PDF -- without any hiccups, are not "in house" forms.  These are official forms used by thousands of people.  So, whoever created those forms, found a loophole to enable printing to PDF?

[RWassell]

Why does it say that this is the correct answer when it clearly is not? The correct answers (and there are a few of them) are further down the line. I will list them here for anyone else that comes here seeking an actual solution to this issue:

1. You can "print" the encrypted fillalbe PDF as a flattened PDF by using the MicroSoft PDF printer rather than the Adobe PDF printer.

2. You can "print" the encrypted fillalbe PDF as a flattened PDF by opening the encrypted fillable PDF online via the Chrome browser (or probably any other browser), and then printing to PDF from there.

3. You can "print" the encrypted fillalbe PDF as a flattened PDF using the Adobe PDF printer by clicking "Advanced," next to the printer drop down menu, once you have the print window open, and then choose the box for "Print as Image."

Your welcome!

[Test Screen Name]

why do you want to print PDF To PDF? Why would others? The chances are there is a better way.

[Guest]

It's a form fillable PDF.  Once the user completes the form, they need to be able to print it to PDF ... so that the fields go away, and it just looks like a regular PDF document.  Just saving it to PDF won't work, because all of the fields will be in view. 

[Test Screen Name]

Use JavaScript to flatten the form when it is complete. Quicker and easier than printing to PDF and having two files to manage.

[Guest]

The end users for the form fillable I am creating won't be able to navigate that way.  They are used to printing to PDF.  Am I just out of luck?

[andrewc74267665]

These are bad suggestions made in bad faith. Please just help people to answer their questions instead of trying to project manage them. 

[Test Screen Name]

The answer has been made many times. People just don't like to hear that Acrobat won't allow it. 

[Test Screen Name]

I certainly hope so. It shouldn't be easy to work around, for reasons that might (or might not) be evident.

[Guest]

Ok, that's ridiculous, but ok.  If someone wants to take my encrypted PDF ... print it to PDF ... and then use that PDF document (that now has zero form fields, calculations, etc) as a template ... and basically add back in all of the leg work (ie, new form fields, calculations, etc) ... then I say more power to them.  But in 99.999999% of all other situations, people will fill out these forms, print them to PDF (ie, to clean it up) and then move on with their life.  I'm not sure what we're protecting with this type of protection.

[RWassell]

Thank you! I think, to most of us, the reason for "printing" from a fillable to a non-fillable seems evident. It's alarming that someone who is chiming in with "help" wouldn't grasp something so obvious. Yikes.

I was having the exact same issue and wanting to change a fillable to a non-fillable for the exact same reasons. It's such a silly feature because one can just print out the fillable to hard copy and scan it back in. I can understand restricting a secure non-fillable form from being edited or becoming fillable (although, even in that situation, again, one can just print to hard copy and scan back in and do whatever the heck they want), but the other way really makes no sense. 

Anyway, I did figure out the best way to do this is just to open it as a PDF in the Chrome browser (or probably any browser), and then print to PDF from there. Worked like a charm. 

[Test Screen Name]

Adobe have a policy that _their_ software will not ignore the security settings in the PDF standard, even if everyone else's does. So they do not allow printing a secure PDF to PDF, since that would remove security. Simple. I suggest you examine the JavaScript route, it is the normal solution to this requirement.

[try67]

That's not going to work, either. The security policy will prevent JS from flattening the file.

The best you can do is set the fields as read-only.

[Test Screen Name]

Nice catch. I suspect, though, that taking the security off will be the answer.

[robertf42528692]

Here is another common frustration along the same lines:  I open a large secured PDF (call it several MB's worth of data in a single pdf) -- I want to excerpt and send via email only a couple of pages of the file.  Sure, I can do this by printing only the desired page range to a physical paper printer, then scanning those paper pages, then creating a pdf from those pages.  But excerpting directly from source pdf to destination pdf...fugetaboutit...this is just plain stooopid to me...

[Bernd Alheit]

Acrobat Reader can't extract pages from PDF files (secured or not).

[Test Screen Name]

Adobe didn't make the rules. Wait, they did make the rules. But that was 20 years ago and now ISO took over the rules. Adobe follow them. The problem here is not that Adobe software offers security, or that Adobe software honours the security it adds, but that some people use security when it is not convenient or appropriate. Like, if someone puts a chain across the car park, and you're still parked in there, it's bad, but it isn't the fault of the people who made the chain.

[Sh1t4brains]

Try opening in chrome browser and print to PDF. One of my banks and only one decided to owner protect my statement so I can’t combine them. Why? No idea. Adobe wouldn’t distill it. Many other programs did but it made the file grow 4x. 

[Mr. Said]

This is really helpful. Thanks

[TwisterFed]

As a note one of my users was recieveing this message and they need to fill out the form for a secured PDF then print the PDF to flatten it. What I ended up having them do is when they wnet to setting I would have them select print to PDF and then going to the Advanced setting and select "Print As Image". 

[Jaban]

I tried it and it worked.  Simple but genius...
The person (Test Screen Name) seemed a bit obtuse to not consider the "poster" had a very legitimate reason they needed a work around the issue without the reflex response being seen as an attempt to hack the software.

I for instance needed to signed a fillable PDF and didn't have access to a printer.  Normally I would simply print to PDF, then sign the flattened document "on screen". I can do that with my Surface Book pen. 

However this simple workaround is NOT possible, because the secured fillable form could not be printered to PDF.  Alas TwisterAir clued me to a solution.

Thx.

[Ashley37097629cgdc]

THIS is the answer!

[TruSake]

Best solution is instead of using Adobe PDF as Printer, on the same drop-down menu, use Microsoft Print to PDF. This will work better as it will flatten the image and make it as small as possible.