Publishing PDF files

PDF files are perfect for web distribution and professional printing.

For web—PDF files for web use are optimised for screen use, i.e. with downsampled images, document security, but without pre-press page marks, bleed, etc. Downsampling images leads to smaller documents for quicker loading.
For Pro print—PDF files for professional printing are high-quality reproductions of your publication that are passed to a print partner (normally external to your company). You'll typically require a CMYK document, printer marks, bleed, >300dpi images, and PDF/X-1a, PDF/X-3 or PDF/X-4 compatibility (for CMYK output).
With PDF/X compatibility, all your publication's colours will be output in the CMYK colour space, and fonts you've used will be embedded. A single PDF/X file will contain all the necessary information (fonts, images, graphics, and text) your print partner requires.

When publishing, you may be warned about overflowing text in your publication. To resolve, check your text frames for frame text that extends over the frame end.

All layers and hyperlinks created in Publisher export to PDF. Additionally, if you create a TOC or index and request hyperlinks on export, the TOC or index will be furnished with hyperlinks as appropriate.

The Soft Proof adjustment is an adjustment layer dedicated to soft proofing CMYK PDF output in advance of export. You can use this to create an accurate preview of your publication prior to exporting it.

To publish a PDF file:

From the File menu, select Export.
On the dialog, select the PDF format option.
Choose a Preset which include:
- PDF (for print)—Exports to PDF 1.7 (Acrobat 8) at 300 DPI, downsample images of >450 dpi, overprint black on, embed all fonts, use (and embed) document profile as colour space, allow advanced features.
- PDF (press ready)—Exports to PDF 1.7 (Acrobat 8) at 300 DPI, downsample images of >450 dpi, overprint black on, include bleed, embed all fonts, uses CMYK colour space, allow advanced features.
- PDF (digital - small size)—Exports to PDF 1.7 (Acrobat 8) at 72 DPI, downsample images of >90 dpi, embed all fonts, sRGB colour space, include hyperlinks and layers.
- PDF (digital - high quality)—Exports to PDF 1.7 (Acrobat 8) at 300 DPI, downsample images of >375 dpi, embed all fonts, sRGB colour space, include hyperlinks and layers.
- PDF (for export)—Exports to PDF 1.7 (Acrobat 8) at document resolution, no image downsampling, overprint black on, embed all fonts and use (and embed) document profile as colour space.
- PDF (for flatten)—Exports to PDF 1.7 (Acrobat 8) at document resolution, rasterises all content, no image downsampling, overprint black on, embed all fonts and use (and embed) document profile as colour space.
- PDF/X options are pro-print PDF presets that create PDF files that output to CMYK colour space and can embed all fonts.
  - PDF (PDF/X-1a:2003)—based on PDF 1.4, flattens transparency, no colour management
  - PDF (PDF/X-3:2003)—As for PDF/X-1a:2003, but supports spot colours and allows colour management. RGB or CMYK images with attached colour profiles are supported.
  - PDF (PDF/X-4)—As for PDF/X-3:2003, based on PDF 1.6, supports transparency
Set a Raster DPI value to set the resolution for rasterisation of effects.
Check Preview export when complete so that the exported PDF will be automatically launched in your currently assigned PDF viewer.
Select the area of the publication you would like to include in the export from the Area setting. You may choose from All Spreads, All Pages, Current Spread, and Current Page. Additionally, with an object selected, you may choose from Selection Area or Selection Only.
Enter the page number(s) you would like to include in the export into the Pages setting. You may only do this if you have selected All Pages or All Spreads from the Area setting.
Include bleed—when selected, any Bleed set in Document Setup will be included in the PDF output. Use in conjunction with PDF/X pro print output.
For fine tuning, select More then adjust the settings in the dialog. For example, for pro PDF/X output, you may wish to enable printer marks.
Click Export.

Settings:

The following options are available:

Rasterise—select an option for rasterising page elements which are unsupported by the file format. Select from the pop-up menu:
- Nothing—no elements within the publication are rasterised on export, therefore unsupported elements are not included in the exported file.
- Unsupported properties—only unsupported elements are rasterised in the exported file.
- Everything—all elements within the design are rasterised for a resulting exported file which perfectly matches your original publication.
Downsample images—select whether to downsample raster images within the publication.
- Above—if this set DPI is exceeded by raster design elements, those elements will be rasterised down to this set DPI. This option is dependent on the Downsample images option being active.
Use document resolution—ensures the export is the same DPI as the current project's setting.
Use DPI—overrides the current publication's resolution setting for the export. The exported image's DPI is set using the adjacent input box
Allow JPEG compression—when selected, rasterized page elements will be compressed to decrease exported file size. If this option is off, rasterized page elements will be exported as uncompressed.
Compatibility—sets the version and type of PDF to be exported. Select from the pop-up menu.
Colour Space—choose whether to use the document's current colour space or export using a selected colour space. Select from the pop-up menu.
Profile—choose whether to use the document's current colour profile or export using a specific colour profile. Select from the pop-up menu.
Embed profiles—when selected (default), the chosen (or document's) colour profile will be embedded in the exported file. If this option is off, the exported file will not have the colour profile embedded with it (the viewing device will need to have the appropriate colour profile installed to view the exported PDF accurately).
Convert image colour spaces—when checked, all placed images will convert to the colour space chosen on export (as set in the Profile option above). When unchecked, the colour space of the imported placed image is honoured.
Honour spot colours—when selected, spot colours within the publication are exported as spot colours. If this option is off, spot colours are converted to an equivalent colour within the exported file's colour space (see above).
Overprint black—when selected, design elements which use CMYK black are set to overprint. If this option is off, CMYK black elements are set to be indistinguishable to other colours during printing.
Include hyperlinks—when selected, hyperlinks in your Publisher document are included in the PDF. Copies of linked files will be created alongside the PDF if their hyperlink's Include File on Export setting is ticked.
Include printer marks—when selected, the PDF output will show printer marks around the page edge. All printer marks are added by default. However, particular types of printer marks can be switched off, depending on your preference. These include:
- Crop marks
- Registration marks
- Colour and greyscale bars
- Page information
Embed fonts—select an option for handling fonts used in the document.
- Text as Curves—all text is converted to curves. This ensures the resulting exported file will display correctly regardless of the fonts installed on the viewing device.
- All Fonts—any fonts used in the document are embedded in the exported file. This ensures the resulting exported file will display correctly regardless of the fonts installed on the viewing device.
- Uncommon Fonts—fonts used are only embedded in the exported file if they are not part of the fonts traditionally installed on most devices. The viewing device must have the expected fonts installed to view any common fonts in the exported file. Not available when PDF/X compatibility is used.
- No Fonts—no fonts are embedded in the exported file. A viewing device must have all the used fonts installed to accurately view the exported file. Not available when PDF/X compatibility is used.
Subset fonts—when selected, embedded fonts will only include the glyphs used in the document. If this option is off, all glyphs for the used fonts are embedded in the exported file, regardless of whether they appear in the document or not.
Allow advanced features—when selected, all design features supported by the PDF file format are exported as vectors. If this option is off, depending on the nature of these features, they are rasterized or converted to curves on export. These features include:
- Artistic text which has been horizontally or vertically stretched.
- Text which has an applied stroke.
- Linear and radial gradients.
- Non-solid transparencies.
If the Allow advanced features option is selected on export, the resulting PDF, when imported into other applications, may cause the above advanced features to be rasterised or rendered incorrectly. The third party's app may also display an error message on PDF import.

PDF export presets comparison

Digital and desktop printing presets	PDF (digital - small size)	PDF (digital - high quality)	PDF (for print)	PDF (for export)	PDF (flatten)
Rasterise	Unsupported properties				Everything
Downsample images	Yes			No
Above (dpi)	90	375		n/a
Resample	Bilinear
Resolution (dpi)	72	300		Document
Allow JPEG compression	Yes
Quality	85	98		85
Compatibility	PDF 1.7 (Acrobat 8)				PDF 1.6 (Acrobat 7)
Colour Space	RGB		As document
Profile	sRGB IEC61966-2.1		Use document profile
Embed profiles	No		Yes
Convert image colour spaces	Yes		No
Honour spot colours	Yes
Overprint black	No ¹		Yes
Include hyperlinks	Yes
Include layers	Yes
Include bleed	No
Include printer marks	No
Embed fonts	All fonts				Uncommon fonts
Subset fonts	Yes
Allow advanced features	No		Yes	No

¹ This setting's value cannot be overridden from this preset.

Professional printing presets	PDF (press ready)	PDF/X- 1a:2003	PDF/X- 3:2003	PDF/X-4
Rasterise	Unsupported properties
Downsample images	Yes
Above (dpi)	375
Resample	Bilinear
Resolution (dpi)	300
Allow JPEG compression	Yes
Quality	98
Compatibility	PDF 1.7 (Acrobat 8)	PDF/X-1a:2003	PDF/X-3:2003	PDF/X-4
Colour Space	CMYK	As document
Profile	Use document profile
Embed profiles	Yes	Yes ¹
Convert image colour spaces	No	Yes ¹	No
Honour spot colours	Yes
Overprint black	Yes
Include hyperlinks	No	No ¹
Include layers	No	No ¹
Include bleed	Yes	No
Include printer marks	No
Embed fonts	All fonts
Subset fonts	Yes
Allow advanced features	Yes

¹ This setting's value cannot be overridden from this preset.

Settings:

PDF export presets comparison

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