Portable Document Format (PDF) files are not as commonly used as TIFF or EPS for creating individual images that will be placed in page layout documents. However, PDF images are a perfectly PostScript-compatible graphic file format. PDF is a reasonable choice for images that contain lots of elements, including type and vectors. Plus, graphics that are saved in PDF format are by their very nature cross-platform and application independent. If you want to send your image to someone who does not have Photoshop or another application that can open TIFFs or EPS files, PDF is a good solution. And rather than having two versions of an image—one to print and one to share—you can use the PDF version for both. PDF also offers the added benefits of being able to easily add security and commenting.
Perhaps the most critical point to know about saving graphic files in PDF format is that by default Photoshop will automatically apply JPEG compression (although it is high-quality compression, it is nonetheless still compression) and will downsample your images if they exceed 450ppi. You can decide what is acceptable for you. I will give you my take in the following exercise. To practice saving an image in PDF format from Photoshop, follow these steps:
1. Open the multilayered and multichannel image.
2. Choose File ➢Save As. The Save As dialog box appears. To make sure your image is simplified for printing and includes all the visible layer data, first uncheck the Layers check box. This will flatten your image as the PDF is created. Then from the Format menu, choose Photoshop PDF. The Save Adobe PDF Format dialog box appears.
3. Click the Save button. The Save Adobe PDF dialog box appears. There are three panels to configure: General, Compression, and Output. Here you will configure these panels for the high-quality printing of this image on a commercial press.
4. Configure the General panel as follows:
◆ From the Adobe PDF Preset menu, select Press Quality or High Quality Print.
◆ From the Standard menu, select None. Note that there are several PDF/X standard settings choices in this menu. These are a variety of standard configurations, mostly for prepress, that the printing industry uses for preparing PDFs for print. You need to select one of these only if your prepress manager requests it.
◆ From the Compatibility menu, select Acrobat 5 (PDF 1.4). This is the minimum PDF version that supports transparency.
◆ In the Options area, select the Preserve Photoshop Editing Capabilities check box if you want to be able to open this image in Photoshop and edit it.
5. Click Compression in the left-side list to activate the Compression panel.
From the first menu in the Options area, choose Do Not Downsample. From the Compression menu, choose None. This will prevent any compression from being applied to your image. Note that the default setting is to apply high-quality JPEG compression—not on my images, you don’t!
6. Click Output in the left-side list to activate the Output panel. Configure this panel as follows:
Option 1 From the Color Conversion menu, select No Conversion if you have already converted your image to the final color space that you intend to print with: CMYK for commercial printing, or your final version of RGB if you are printing your final image on an ink-jet device.
Option 2 From the Color Conversion menu, select Convert To Destination if your image is not in its final color space state. For example, you would choose this option if your image is currently in an RGB color space, but you intend to print it on a CMYK commercial press.
If you have opted for option 2, then from the Destination menu select the final output device to which you will be printing: here, U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2.
7. If you would like to add some password security to this image to send it to a client, click Security in the left-side list. Do not apply any security for final images that you intend to print.
8. To check all of your settings, click Summary in the left-side list.
9. Now before you create your PDF, click the Save Preset button in the lower-left corner of the Save Adobe PDF dialog box. Name your preset to match your output device. The next time you create a PDF image for prepress, you can select this preset from the Adobe PDF Preset menu (Figure 13.23) and avoid having to go through all these mistakeprone settings again. It is a good idea to make a preset for each type of PDF output you use. Note: Placing a TIFF rather than a PDF image in a page layout document will create a simpler and easier-to-RIP document, which is generally preferred by printers who are using a PDF workflow So unless you must use a PDF image for placement, consider using a TIFF instead—our old standby for ease of RIPping!
Perhaps the most critical point to know about saving graphic files in PDF format is that by default Photoshop will automatically apply JPEG compression (although it is high-quality compression, it is nonetheless still compression) and will downsample your images if they exceed 450ppi. You can decide what is acceptable for you. I will give you my take in the following exercise. To practice saving an image in PDF format from Photoshop, follow these steps:
1. Open the multilayered and multichannel image.
2. Choose File ➢Save As. The Save As dialog box appears. To make sure your image is simplified for printing and includes all the visible layer data, first uncheck the Layers check box. This will flatten your image as the PDF is created. Then from the Format menu, choose Photoshop PDF. The Save Adobe PDF Format dialog box appears.
3. Click the Save button. The Save Adobe PDF dialog box appears. There are three panels to configure: General, Compression, and Output. Here you will configure these panels for the high-quality printing of this image on a commercial press.
4. Configure the General panel as follows:
◆ From the Adobe PDF Preset menu, select Press Quality or High Quality Print.
◆ From the Standard menu, select None. Note that there are several PDF/X standard settings choices in this menu. These are a variety of standard configurations, mostly for prepress, that the printing industry uses for preparing PDFs for print. You need to select one of these only if your prepress manager requests it.
◆ From the Compatibility menu, select Acrobat 5 (PDF 1.4). This is the minimum PDF version that supports transparency.
◆ In the Options area, select the Preserve Photoshop Editing Capabilities check box if you want to be able to open this image in Photoshop and edit it.
5. Click Compression in the left-side list to activate the Compression panel.
From the first menu in the Options area, choose Do Not Downsample. From the Compression menu, choose None. This will prevent any compression from being applied to your image. Note that the default setting is to apply high-quality JPEG compression—not on my images, you don’t!
6. Click Output in the left-side list to activate the Output panel. Configure this panel as follows:
Option 1 From the Color Conversion menu, select No Conversion if you have already converted your image to the final color space that you intend to print with: CMYK for commercial printing, or your final version of RGB if you are printing your final image on an ink-jet device.
Option 2 From the Color Conversion menu, select Convert To Destination if your image is not in its final color space state. For example, you would choose this option if your image is currently in an RGB color space, but you intend to print it on a CMYK commercial press.
If you have opted for option 2, then from the Destination menu select the final output device to which you will be printing: here, U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2.
7. If you would like to add some password security to this image to send it to a client, click Security in the left-side list. Do not apply any security for final images that you intend to print.
8. To check all of your settings, click Summary in the left-side list.
9. Now before you create your PDF, click the Save Preset button in the lower-left corner of the Save Adobe PDF dialog box. Name your preset to match your output device. The next time you create a PDF image for prepress, you can select this preset from the Adobe PDF Preset menu (Figure 13.23) and avoid having to go through all these mistakeprone settings again. It is a good idea to make a preset for each type of PDF output you use. Note: Placing a TIFF rather than a PDF image in a page layout document will create a simpler and easier-to-RIP document, which is generally preferred by printers who are using a PDF workflow So unless you must use a PDF image for placement, consider using a TIFF instead—our old standby for ease of RIPping!
PDF File Format
![PDF File Format]()
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