Choosing the Best PDF Preset in InDesign
InDesign provides PDF presets so that you have fewer choices to make (and fewer details to actively remember). Presets group multiple panels of choices into the most common combinations for various workflows, such as commercial printing, desktop printing, and digital publishing.
But can you really trust a preset to take care of the piece you worked so long and hard to create? At the same time, how in the world would you expect to remember all of the available print options every single time you need a PDF?
Donāt worry about the learning curve; InDesignās PDF presets arenāt standalone. If youāve used other Adobe Creative Cloud applications to generate PDFs, youāll likely notice something familiar about InDesignās available preset options. Youāll find the presets in similar places when creating PDFs from both Illustrator and Photoshop.
You can quickly access InDesignās PDF presets right from a flyout in the File menu. Go to File ā Adobe PDF Presets, and youāll see all of your options right there.
If you ever need a quick reminder of what a particular preset does from within your InDesign document, you can choose File ā Adobe PDF Presets ā Define, and as you choose each preset, youāll see a straightforward āPreset Descriptionā right there in the dialog box.
Letās go ahead and look at the best applications for each.
āHigh Quality Printā PDF Preset
According to InDesign, this preset will produce PDF files suitable for āhigh-quality printing on desktop printers and proofers.ā What settings are most suitable for this particular application? Both color and grayscale images above 300 ppi will be downsampled to 300. Colors are left alone, so RGB and CMYK images will each remain in their native color spaces.
All transparency settings will also be left alone. Note that Acrobat and Acrobat Reader 5 are the minimum versions required for compatibility with these preset settings (which shouldnāt be a problem these days).
What is PDF/X?
PDF/X standards are the best choice when your printer hasnāt provided you with specs. Theyāre a safe bet if you want to be sure your printer will be able to open your file, while also minimizing any printing errors. Adobe developed this set of ISO standards for print workflows by addressing input from other industry professionals and vendors. Because these standards are geared toward producing more universal print-ready PDFs, printers will often take the easiest route and encourage clients to choose the PDF/X presets.
āPDF/X-1a:2001ā PDF Preset
PDF/X-1a:2001 takes away compatibility with Acrobat 5 and downgrades it to Acrobat 4. All of your colors (whether RGB or CMYK) will automatically be converted to CMYK, although any spot colors youāve set will stay intact.
Youāll also need to be proactive about transparency flattening, and may want to specify your own settings for transparency treatment.
To do this, you can go to File ā Adobe PDF Presets ā Define as shown above, then choose āPDF/X-1a:2001ā and click the āNewā button.
Then, select āAdvancedā from the left menu and use the āTransparency Flattenerā down to make your choice.
The āHigh Resolution Transparency Flattenerā preset will best maintain the quality of your text and vectors, if thatās what you want. All images above 300 ppi resolution will be downsampled to 300 ppi if you have theyāre higher.
āPDF/X-3:2002ā PDF Preset
Again, with this preset, your transparency will be flattened. If you want to choose your transparency settings proactively, you can follow the same instructions as above. PDF/X3:2002 is like the previous PDF/X setting, except it allows embedded RGB profiles to remain (no automatic conversion to CMYK).
Itās a helpful setting if your printer is planning on optimizing the color based on the printing environment. European printers tend to make more use of this format than American printers.
āPDF/X-4:2008ā PDF Preset
With this PDF/X present, since compatibility is set to the more recent Acrobat 7, youāll be able to keep any transparency in your document intact.
This is the biggest advantage of the PDF/X-4:2008 formatting. Youāll also be able to maintain the quality of any high resolution images. Color-wise, youāre allowed to use RGB, CMYK, and greyscale. Your spot colors will stay intact, and you can even continue to use LAB or ICC profiles.
āPress Qualityā PDF Preset:
This is another bundle of settings thatās often commonplace when working with high-quality commercial printers. This preset will allow you to keep all transparency live in the document (no flattening required). Adobe Acrobat works well with live transparency, and also creates satisfying separations, so a printer who works out of Acrobat will be happy with any file output this way. It will be compatible as far back as Adobe Acrobat 5. Any RGB values will be converted to CMYK, and all images will be downsampled to 300 pp in cases where the actual resolution is higher.
āSmallest File Sizeā PDF Preset:
āSmallest File Sizeā is most important where size matters, and size matters most on the web. In order for your document to be accessible to as much of your audience as possible, youāll want to choose this preset for anything youāre planning to send via email or display on a screen.
Anything thatās both color and high resolution will automatically be downsampled to 100 ppi. Grayscale images can stay as high as 150 ppi. Youāll be able to play well with anything as far back as Acrobat 6, and you can keep your transparency and any layers intact.
Custom InDesign Presets
The above settings will satisfy your print-worthy document needs almost all of the time, especially when youāre part of a professional environment using a typical print workflow. If, however, you have special considerations (or just want to get fancy), thereās more than one way to customize presets for your needs in InDesign.
We donāt need to cover every possible preset customization, but here are a couple of suggestions for more common needs:
- If you need to make your InDesign files interactive once saved as PDFs, you can go to File ā Adobe PDF Presets ā Define, then choose your preset setting and hit āNew.ā
- Then, choose āGeneralā from the left side menu and pick your desired Hyperlinks and Interactive Elements from the bottom of the dialog:
- If your printer is asking you for crop marks, bleed marks, or other printerās marks, you can go to File ā Adobe PDF Presets ā Define, then again choose your preset setting and hit āNew.ā
- Then, in the dialog box, choose āMarks and Bleedsā from the left side menu and check the box for āAll Printerās Marksā in the top section.
Saving Your PDF Preset
Once youāve added your additional customizations to any of the PDF Presets in InDesign, youāll want to name your preset in the top field of the dialog box.
Then, click the āOKā button at the bottom right of the dialog box.
Your preset will have automatically been added to the Adobe PDF Presets dialog.
Congratulations, and happy customizing!
Need help with your printing? Talk to a live print expert today:Ā 800-930-7978.