Imposed PDF with InDesign CC

[edcushwake]

Hi there. Im using InDesign CC on Mac OS 10.8.4.

I'm trying to do something pretty simple, create an imposed pdf using the "Print Booklet" option. Before in InDesign CS6, i would:

1. Go to File >Print Booklet

2. Click on "Print Settings"

3. Adobe PDF would have been selected as the default printer

4. I would add cropmarks and bleed

5. hit ok

6. Select "Preview" to confirm everything looks good to go and hit print.

now, the tricky part in InDesign CC is step 3, since apparently some technical changes to Mac OS since version 10.6, don't allow Adobe PDF printers to be created. My Question is how do i create an imposed pdf to send to the press? Thanks a lot for your help.

[Was DYP]

Write Postscript file from printer dialog and then distill to PDF with Adobe Distiller. Distiller is found in the Acrobat folder.

[Dov Isaacs]

At Adobe, we would most strongly recommend that you don't use the internal Print Booklet facility at all. Why? Creating PDF in that manner (including the suggestion of “Was DYP”) results in a very poor quality PDF file with no color management and flattened transparency.

The correct way to deal with making booklets or imposition in general is to directly export PDF from InDesign in logical page number order, preferably using the PDF/X-4 settings with any necessary bleed areas specified.

For commercial printing, it is the responsibility of the print service provider to do the imposition of the PDF file in a manner appropriate for the printed piece and for the equipment being used. (For example, often it is much more economical to print multiple pages and spreads per single sheet, requiring more complex imposition that would ever be possible with InDesign's Print Booklet facility!) That is part of the service that you should expect from your print service provider!!!

For your own personal printing on a less sophisticated laser or inkjet printer, for example, you have other choices. For simple booklet printing, let's say two 8.5"x11" pages on an 11"x17" sheet or even two 5.5"x8.5" pages on an 8.5"x11" sheet, you can accomplish this via the booklet printing capability in the Adobe Reader or Acrobat print dialogue. Works perfectly and costs you nothing extra. If you need more complex imposition, there are a number of third party Acrobat plug-ins that do a very professional job of imposition while maintaining color management, live transparency, and even the PDF file's PDF/X status. One such set of Acrobat plug-in products are Quite Imposing and Quite Imposting Plus (available for both MacOS and Windows) from Quite Software http://www.quite.com. Another similar product is PDF Snake (Windows only) available from http://www.pdfsnake.com.

          - Dov

[Alikline]

I'm very upset that this feature is no longer available to me in InDesin CC. The licenses for the two pieces of software that you mention above are upwards of $300. When you consider the new 'subscription' plan we users are basically forces into, I find the need to pay so much extra for a function that was included in previous versions is ridiculous. It worked then. How much programming effrot would it really take to make it work now.

I'm not printing through a commercial vendor, rather an on-site copy center that has no pagination capabilites and requires a print-ready pdf. Now I'm on my own for paginating a 100+ page document into printers spreads. What once took the time for the print queue to process will now waste a lot of my valuable time.

[Peter Spier]

Take a look at Overview | IDImposer

[Alikline]

Thank you Peter. $19.95 is so much more reasonable. I'll check it out!

[jmcullinan]

This is absurd. How hard can it be to add imposition to the export to PDF functions? This is an essential function for anyone dealing with _normal_ printing services, or creating documents inhouse. And if it's not available for InDesign, then why not with Acrobat? I've been wrestling with this all morning, not for the first time, and I'm ready to chuck the whole Creative Cloud concept out the window and go back to older versions that would actually do what I needed them to do.

[Steve Werner]

You're speaking to the wrong audience. If you would like the feature added to either InDesign or Acrobat, file a feature request that the product managers will see. We're just users here:

Adobe - Feature Request/Bug Report Form

[jmcullinan]

I replied to a STAFF post. And I've already done a feature request, with no response.

[Steve Werner]

You'll never get a reply from a feature request. Each product manager considers what features to add from the hundreds and thousands of requests made.

[jmcullinan]

You are singularly unhelpful.

[Steve Werner]

I'm just a user like you. I'd personally buy the $19.95 product mentioned in post #4 above.

[John Mensinger]

jmcullinan wrote:

And if it's not available for InDesign, then why not with Acrobat?

But it is a feature of Acrobat.

[jmcullinan]

You can PRINT a booklet, like you can in InDesign, but you can't SAVE a PDF version because you can't print to PDF in Acrobat, and there's no option to impose pages and save that to PDF either. Unless you have a workaround?

What I need is an easy way to create a print-ready booklet PDF with imposed pages. Currently I have to buy additional software, impose it manually in InDesign, or go through a postscript file, losing a lot of control over output quality and other options. It would be easiest if the export to PDF function included booklet options.

[John Mensinger]

You can print to PDF.

In Windows, the Acrobat Pro installation includes an Adobe PDF print driver.

On a Mac, if I'm not mistaken, you can have essentailly the same thing, although I believe you have to go get it.

jmcullinan wrote:

What I need is an easy way to create a print-ready booklet PDF with imposed pages.

Why?

[jmcullinan]

Why? Because that is what my clients require.

And that print driver sends everything through postscript, which then has to be converted, and loses all quality control in the output, as I said above. And it doesn't work at all in Acrobat.

[John Mensinger]

Okay, while I work on both platforms, admittedly, all my print-to-pdf workflow happens in Windows, which doesn't present any of those pitfalls.

How big are these documents? I know you said you need an easy way, but if I had clients demanding imposed PDF, (I'd have to ask them 'why?' too), and had no other solutions, I'd consider adding more time to the quote and imposing manually. It isn't that hard to do.

[Peter Spier]

John Mensinger wrote:

It isn't that hard to do.

Especially if you use a script, or the inexpensive IDimposer plugin.

[Peter Spier]

Igor.Freiberger wrote:

And, more relevant, the solution. It is still perfectly possible to generate PDF files from the Print Booklet command in OS 10.8.x and 10.9.x. Here is how:

1. In ID, go to File > Print Presets and define a new one using the PostScript file as printer and the Generic PostScript as PPD.

Much better to find and install the ADPDF9.ppd file (which should be in the archive at http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=141, among other places) and use that, rather than the generic postscript.

[Igor.Freiberger]

Yes, adding the Adobe PDF 9.0 PPD makes possible to choose paper sizes. But I am unsure about the quality one can get with a PPD from 2002 which Adobe decided not to include in their recent releases. Maybe it has some issues with OS X.

To add this PPD, please follow the steps described in this thread. Although the procedure is simple, it is not obvious.

[Peter Spier]

PPD only defines selecatble options and has noting to do with the quality of the print. Age is irrelvant.

[Igor.Freiberger]

It may enable options not fully compatible with the PS/PDF schema on OS X when some elements are used (as effects or transparencies).

An official statement from Adobe on this would be useful. Do you know if they explained why this PPD was removed?

[Peter Spier]

Just a guess, but I would say since they no longer provide the virtual printer there's neither a need nor a place to include it.

[johnf7408886]

Why is this not the selected answer for this thread? This answer is exactly how to solve the problem(s) listed in a sea of disinformation. Thank you. edcushwake this is the answer, and apparently people need to see it (21609 Views). If you think this is helpful, please select Igor's answer which is a much better solution that installing a PPD from 2002.

[Peter Spier]

The reason Igor's answer is not correct is that it uses the Generic Postscript PPD instead of the Acrobat PPD which  is written for creating PDFs, not for printing to a physical printer.