How to create a userfriendly PDF that shows a background color on screen but automatically does not print it?

[boroiris]

Dear indesign community,

my wish is to create the following: a PDF that has a (yellow) background which is visible on screen but when send to any regular printer will automatically not print the background.

i seem to be missing an option either in the creation of the indd file or in the export options and i cannot wrap my head around it.

non of the following options seem to work:

1. create the background on an extra layer which i mark in the layers options panel with yes to "show layer" and no to "print layer". with this i tried to export it to a PDF (printing) with all given options of exporting / not exporting printable layers, but it never lead me to my wished result. It seems as if - when exporting - i merch all layers again.

with exporting it to a PDF (interactive) it just does not show the yellow background layer.

2. create a non-printable button and then an interactive PDF. This leads to the outcome of showing my button (which is supposed to be the background) suddenly appearing in front, covering all the text.

I am using Indesign CC 14.01 on a Mac Mojave.

It seems like an easy problem but I am not finding the right way around it. So really thank you in advance for any help!

Iris

[G_Hoffmann]

Please try:

Start as explained with two layers, one with objects "Non printing" by Attributes.

Export with checked option "Non printing objects".

In Acrobat choose the non printing layer.

Choose Options (Layer Properties) and change: Print: Never Prints.

Save by old name.

Here it works ... tested by stone age equipment CS2 and Acrobat 8 Pro.

Best regards --Gernot Hoffmann

[boroiris]

Yes! Both your answers work perfectly, thanks!! Its very helpful for now ... and there is only a small but: Since i need to do this a lot ... I would still hope for a possibility directly from indd so I dont have to reopen every PDF after exporting in Acrobat again. Maybe there is a third answer ...

[Steve Werner]

Acrobat has an Action Wizard which lets you create actions for many things including adding a watermark. I haven't used it for a while, but I think it may let you automate the process of applying watermarks to multiple PDF files. Ask about it more in the Acrobat forums.

[jane-e]

Hi

When you export to a Print PDF from InDesign, confirm (or change) to at least Acrobat 6 in the upper right and then enable Layers. (Acrobat 5 does not support layers.) Save this as a preset (lower left) for reuse.

I can’t test this next part because I’m not in my office, but try making the layer non-printing in InDesign and see if that carries into Acrobat.

When you open a layered file in Acrobat, the Layers pane will automatically appear in the left hand side with Pages and Bookmarks.

~ Jane

[Jeffrey_Smith]

Here is a method:

- In Indesign, create a single page of the yellow background and apply a multiply effect, export PDF

- In Acrobat, use the function "Add Watermark" select the yellow page PDF.

- Assign it to appear on top and all pages, and under appearance options turn off printing.