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StuArtsy
Inspiring
May 22, 2024
Answered

Rotating printer's spreads from .PS file

  • May 22, 2024
  • 4 replies
  • 1773 views

*I have moved this conversation over from the PostScript sub in the hopes of getting clarification.

 

Hello,

I am attempting to generate printer's spreads from a landscape-oriented lettersize booklet. I saved the file as a .PS and dragged it into Distiller. Unfortunately Distiller does not automatically rotate my landscape spreads to fit the default portrait export, so I get a resulting portrait PDF with one of the pages on the spread partially cropped off the page.

 

I did try to circumvent this by going back to my original InDesign spreads and rotating them all 90 degrees clockwise, but the result is still the same upon using Distiller.

 

Is there an option in Distiller settings to export as landscape? Or is there a simpler way in InDesign to generate printer's spreads?

 

Thanks for your comments!

Stu

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer rob day

Thanks so much Rob, I appreciate your sharing of the process! I really didn't mean to come off as a troglodyte in my initial post (I'm just trying to print a booklet to PDF on a Mac!) but I think all the feedback and context in this thread has been very beneficial.


 I assume this is because I inherited a terminal ... I went the "archaic" route of trying to get around that by using Distiller.

 

Is your new terminal running MacOS? On OSX and MacOS the InDesign Print dialog has never had a Print to PDF option your only choice is to Save a .ps file and Distill. The OS Print dialog does have the option to Save As PDF, but that doesn’t help when printing out of InDesign, because you have to use ID’s print dialog.

 

If you are imposing dummies on a local composite printer, and not sending out to a press, you are welcome to try this script which Exports 2-up printer spreads:

 

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/2wjwe13fsrw9iszebo15e/h?rlkey=nwt5o3uex31fgra7oj15qvs7z&dl=0

 

The dialog:

 

 

4 replies

Brad @ Roaring Mouse
Brad @ Roaring Mouse
Community Expert
May 23, 2024

@StuArtsy . The Print to PDF function has been deprecated for some time from Adobe apps on the Mac ('for reasons"). This is not to say what you want is not possible, but as others have mentioned, it's not a good workflow these days, mostly because PS doesn't have the capability for higher-function PDF objects (like transparency). In which case, any PS file will flatten these objects. If you are printing to your own Postscript (i.e. non-native PDF) printer, this is not a big issue as this flattening would have to happen anyway at print time, but commercial printers (I am a printer prepress person) do not want you to do this; we want single pages. If you are dealing with one that is asking this of you, they are the archaic ones!

However, if you are printing this yourself, here's the proper way to do this these days:

Download and install the Adobe PDF 9.0 PPD (as mentioned in this thread). You CAN use your own printer's PPD if it's a PS printer and has the ability to create Custom Page sizes, but the caveat there is that this will generate PS that is specific to your printer which may not work if you take this PDF elsewhere, so best to use the Adobe PDF 9.0 PPD one.

If you are doing this regularly, save your sanity by Defining a Print Preset for the paper size and settings you will need. In your case, if you wanted letter landscape spreads with room for crops and bleed, make a page size 23" x 9.5". In each of the settings dialogs, you want to give the best information in your PS file, e.g Graphics > Images > "ALL" instead of "Optimized", etc.

 

 

 

I like to push crop marks outpast the bleed so I set my offset at 1/8" (0p9)

 

 

 

Color Handling: You probably don't want to pre-manage colors, so select "Let Postscript Printer...."

 

IMPORTANT ONE: Transparency Flattener "High Resolution"

Save.

Once saved, you can then Print Booklet:

Select your predefined Print Preset, change any setting there you need, check Preview, and print your PS file. Distill.

 

 

 

 

 

    S
    StuArtsyAuthor
    Inspiring
    May 23, 2024

    Hi Brad,

    Thank you for your comments and workflow!

    I appreciate your perspective. Ultimately I have a booklet doc that prints in-house on demand and I needed to make updates to the copy. Given that we print this doc in-house I had to generate printer spreads, but as I mentioned before, I was used to seeing "Print to PDF" as an option from the "Print Booklet" menu. I went the "archaic" route of trying to get around that by using Distiller.

     

    I had assumed the omission of the function was a result of a missing plugin, but your explanation that it is missing "for reasons" makes sense.

    Stu

    rob day
    rob day
    Community Expert
    May 22, 2024

    I did try to circumvent this by going back to my original InDesign spreads and rotating them all 90 degrees clockwise,

     

    Hi @StuArtsy , You would do it via Print Booklet>Print Settings>Setup by setting the Paper size Width and Height and setting the Orientation. Something like this:

     

     

     

      S
      StuArtsyAuthor
      Inspiring
      May 23, 2024

      Hi Rob,

      Thanks for your demo. I guess I have taken the 'Print Booklet' feature for granted in the past. I'm on a new terminal that doesn't have "Print to PDF' as a default option when exporting a booklet from InDesign.

       

      Typically in the occassions I've worked with books in the past I am used to being able to generate a PDF of printer's spreads thusly. Hence my archaic workaround. I'm on a Mac, is there some sort of plugin I have to enable in order for "Adobe PDF" to show as an option in the "Print Preset" drop down menu? All I am seeing is my local printers.

       

      Thanks for your guidance!

      Stu

      E
      Eugene Tyson
      Community Expert
      May 23, 2024

      Hi @StuArtsy 

       

      As per my first post and reply - if you use File>Export and choose PDF
      You open the PDF in Acrobat

      And in the Print menu from here you can print a booklet.

      Is there some reason you haven't tried this?

        Steve Werner
        Steve Werner
        Community Expert
        May 22, 2024

        Why are you using PostScript files and Distiller? That's a decades old workflow, long since left behind. I can't think of a single advantage in that workflow. for several reasons.

          James Gifford—NitroPress
          James Gifford—NitroPress
          Brainiac
          May 22, 2024

          In the mid-1990s, it was a highly sophisticated method to get advanced layouts to printer RIPs without layers of processing. We exported to .PS, edited headers and font references, and got back what would one day be called pixel-perfect print results. This bypassed mountains of printer, font and other drivers and conversions.

           

          But yes, that was (sigh) three decades ago.

            S
            StuArtsyAuthor
            Inspiring
            May 23, 2024

            Typically I am used to the "Print booklet" feature including a flyout where you can select "Print as Adobe PDF" by default, along with your local printers as options of course. I guess the reason I got lost in help articles (from various decades?) is that I don't appear to have that option available from InDesign on my latest Mac terminal.

            Stu

             

              E
              Eugene Tyson
              Community Expert
              May 22, 2024

              File>Export and create a PDF

              Then use Acrobat Print booklet feature

               

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