I.

Color Management
And Printing

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1. Color Management
A. Color Management Basics
1. Cardinal Rules
ColormanagementisbestcontrolledwithinAdobeApplications
o DocumentsshouldbeinAdobeRGB(1998)Workingspaceunlessyou
arepreparingimagesforthewebinwhichcasetheyshouldbeSRGB.
Alwaysimbedcolorprofileinanimageparticularlypriortosendinganimage
acrosstheinternetormakingaPDF.Ifyoudonttheimagewilltakeonthe
colormanagementofthehostcomputerandmaylookhorrible.
Documentsshouldbesavedatdpisinmultiplesof90ifprintedonainhouse
printer,i.e.180,270,360or
Documentsshouldbesavedat72dpi(screenresolution)ifimagewillonlybe
viewonamonitororprojectororweb
ColormodeshouldbeRGBunlessimagewillbeusedinoffsetprintinginwhich
caseitshouldbeCMYK
Calibrateyourmonitorpriortostartingonapresentationimage.

2. Color Management Conceptual Description
a. Color Management at its most basic level attempts to match the color on your
monitor with the printed output, given a specific printer and paper. This means
that the digital image must be converted from the color workspace, in
applications such as Photoshop, to a destination print space in such a way that
most accurately reproduces the original image.
b. Calibration A necessary step in maintaining proper color management is the
calibration of the monitor, to ensure that colors processed by the computer are
being accurately displayed. Monitor Color Balancing is a process by which the
displayed colors on the monitor are compared to the actual color information of
the video output, by means of a monitor calibration device a Puck which is
attached to the screen and measures absolute color values. (see section B
below). In addition, the printer must also be profiled in such a way that takes into
account the effective color rangeor gamutof the printer, in relation to the
color gamut of both the application workspace, and a specific paper.
A comprehensive color management strategy (or work flow) will match a given
application color workspace, with the appropriate printer space and paper type or
at least allow you to predict color output.
c. Perceivable and actual color spectrums The most challenging aspect of color
management is that the human eye can perceive many more colors than can
theoretically be scanned. While scanners can read more colors than can be
viewed on a monitor, printers can only print a limited number of colors that can
be viewed on monitors. In short, scanners have a relatively broad color gamut,
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 while printers generally have a narrow color gamut. Color management
compensates for this discrepancy, by reducing the overall color gamut of a
working image, while maintaining maximum visual quality of the final print.
d. Color Gamut The color gamut refers to the range of colors that can be viewed,
displayed, or printed. The items in the list below are arranged from the greatest
to the least in terms of the range of colors that each is able to reproduce:
i. Human Eye
ii. Photographic Film
iii. Television or Computer Monitor (When you see the triangle with the

explanation point you are outside of your color gamut and the Adobe
program you are in will substitute the color. Click the triangle to see what
color will be substituted)

iv. Digital Printing Equipment

v. Offset Printing

Web Color Space Monitor Color Space Scanner Color Space

e. Working Color Space All image applications operate with a user-defined color
workspace that determines the complete color gamut of the image file. Ordinarily,
the color workspace should be broad enough to accommodate the color range of
any given image within an application, since images brought into a workspace,
are configured in accordance with the color gamut of that workspace. It should be
noted that images may often times have an embedded color workspace prior to
the editing process, and it is recommended that this workspace not be altered, if
possible. The institution providing standard color profiles is known as the
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 International Color Consortium (ICC Profiles).
f. Print Color Space The print color space is typically less extensive, with a more
limited color gamut, than the application color workspace. This is due to the
printing color capacity of both the printer and paper. In a properly color-managed
workflow, there should be a means of color-space conversion prior to the actual
printing process, so as to anticipate and manage this loss of color gamut. This
process is necessarily reductive, in which the color workspace of the image is
converted to the print color space, according to a specific intent, or method of
conversion.
g. Color Intent The color intent determines algorithmically how the application
converts (and reduces) the number of colors in a given workspace into the
destination print space. There are two basic recommended methods of color
intent: relative colorimetric and perceived colorimetric.
i. Perceptual colorimetric: Takes all of the colors within the color workspace
that fall outside of the print space and proportionally scales them to fit within
the printer/paper color gamut. This means that the relative relationships are
kept but that ALL of the colors shift colorimetrically. Typically, color saturated
images convert well in this mode but tend to loose contrast, requiring further
contrast touchup prior to printing.

ii. Relative Colorimetric: Takes all of the colors within the color workspace that
fall outside of the print space and selectively translates them to the nearest
possible point inside of the printer and paper space. Generally this is used
80% of the time as the contrast is retained. As discussed above, many of our
images (i.e. Edison, Warner, etc.) look better in perceptual mode, but trust
your eye when choosing between perceptual and relative colorimetric.

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h. Soft Proofing allows you to view a color simulation of the print output on your
monitor, by approximating the destination print color gamut. Proofing works by
approximating the light source you will view the image in (6500K), the paper type,
and printer type and settings. This allows you to modify the image on screen to
match the needs of the printer and paper you have chosen.
i. Color Management in Adobe CS Suite is best suited for integrated color
management so it is best to convert your images into Photoshop, InDesign or
Illustrator. Photoshop has the most extensive color management tools, so
adjustments should be done in that application prior to files being imported into
other applications.

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B. Color Theory, Color Modes and Color Printing
1. Additive Color or White Light - RGB Color Mode
a. RGB color mode is based on light waves and is primarily used to create color
management in monitors. Even though in-house printers have CMYK inks
they are calibrated for compatibility with RGB.
b. Red, green, and blue are the primary colors of white light and they cannot be
produced by the combination of any other colors. When they are combined full
strength, they will produce white light. The combining of red, blue and green
colors is known as the "Additive Color Process", because when the colors of light
are combined with one another, or added together, the result is an increase in
light intensity. If none of the additive primaries are present, the color is perceived
as black.

When 100% red light, 100% green light, and 100%

blue light are combined, the result will be white light.

The combination of 100% of any two primary colors of

light will result in a secondary color. 100% green light
and 100% blue light result in cyan; 100% blue light
and 100% red light result in magenta; and 100% red
light and 100% green light result in yellow.

2. Subtractive color or Reflective Color:

a. Red, Green and Blue (RGB), are the primary colors of white light and are called
the Additive Primary Colors. We are able to see color because different objects
reflect and absorb, or subtract, the primary colors of light differently. For
example, we see an object as yellow because it absorbs (or subtracts) blue light
from white light. Since the blue light has been absorbed, the red and green light
is leftover and is reflected back to our eyes. A process color is printed using a
combination of the four standard process inks: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black
(CMYK) each color is separated onto an individual plate of ink with its own dot
screen.

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 Three overlapping colors create dark brown
with black added as a fourth color a rich black
is made.

The mixture of 100% of any two primary

colors will result in a secondary color. 100%
yellow and cyan will result in green; 100%
cyan and magenta result in blue; and 100%
magenta and yellow result in red. The
secondary colors are also the same as the
primary light colors (RGB).

3. Offset Color Printing: Process Color or CMYK

a. Four black and white negatives with dot screens (to make the appearance of a
continuous tone image) are made and then etched into offset litho plates. Each
plate is then inked with a cyan, magenta yellow or black ink and are printed over
one another to create a four color image or offset print color image.

b. To make the plates the image is separated allowing only one color to be filtered
though. In an analog version the image is photographed with color filters to allow
only one color to pass through to the film, a dot screen to convert the continues
tone image to black and white pixels and finally the high contrast film negative to
register the negative of the image and provide a contact for the metal plate.

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 c. The alignment of the dot screens is very precise to prevent over-inking and moir
patterns

Correct screen angles with out moir incorrect screen angels with moir

4. Spot Color Printing

a. Spot printing is an economical way to commercially print in color. You can think
of it as a sophisticated block or linoleum print where each plate has a custom
color. The difference is that you can very the transparency of the color by putting
down a percentage of the ink on set areas of the plate.

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b. Spot color offset printing
i. Spot colors are custom colors. Many standard of premixed specialty colors
are sold, with the most ubiquitous produced by Pantone or other companies.
These colors are often outside the standard CMYK and RGB color range and
also include metallic and iridescent colors. Each color is assigned a standard
color recipe so that printers around the world can mix the color that is
specified. (much like house paints.)
ii. Remember that if you are trying to match a spot color with process colors,
very few colors will match. Many spot colors are outside of the color gamut of
process inks.
iii. Each color has its own printing plate and one color is printed on top of the
first. It is used when 2 or 3 color printing is desired.

c. Trapping

d. Overprint
i. Overprinting one color on top of another is a traditional way of mixing two or
more colors. However, overprinting often doesnt result in the effect youd
expect.

ii. For example, what color do you get if you overprint a 20 percent cyan box on
top of a 50 percent cyan box? Most people assume the result would be 70
percent cyan. Not so. The rules of overprinting say that no color can overprint
itself, and whatever color is on top wins. So while overprinting 50 percent
cyan on 30 percent yellow would work as expected (the overlapping area
gets darker), overprinting 50 percent cyan on a mixture of 30 percent yellow
and 75 percent cyan would not the result is lighter than the underlying
color.

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10
C. Working and Printing Digitally with Spot Colors and
Transparencies
1. Working with Spot Colors and Transparencies in Adobe Suite
a. Numerical Value of a Color A color is determined by a numerical value which
determines the percentage of color for each primary color needed to make up the
specific hue, value and saturation of a color. The challenge is that each color
mode has a different set of primary colors and percentages as shown below.

b. Lab Values for Spot Colors To mitigate the problems that arise when colors are
substituted when moved from one color mode to another Lab Values have been
introduced as a unilateral standard for spot colors.
c. Use Lab values (the default) to display predefined spot colors (such as colors
from the TOYO, PANTONE, DIC, and HKS libraries) and convert these colors to
process colors. Using Lab values provides the greatest accuracy and guarantees
the consistent display of colors across Creative Suite applications.
d. Changing the color mode of a swatch to make transparencies print across adobe
suite
i. Go to a color palette and go to a spot color swatch (the swath with a triangle)
ii. Double click to open the swatch
iii. The swatch options pop up palette will open.
iv. Select Lab under color mode

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 e. To view overprinting in InDesign and Illustrator, choose View>Overprint Preview.
In Acrobat Professional, choose Advanced>Overprint Preview.
2. Printing Basics with Spot Colors and Transparencies in Adobe Suite
a. The challenge of spot transparencies is the overlays wont print or that the
numerical color substitutions throw the color off as they translate from one Color
mode to another.
b. Basic Printing Concepts
i. Confirm the document color Mode for RGB (or CMYK for offset printing)
ii. Match the color profile of the document with the color profile of the print
dialog box and printer.
iii. Convert all spot colors to process colors

In the image above: A pdf was printed of the original document without converting
spot colors to process colors.
Rows A thru C : You can see that transparency worked with the RGB colors whether
they were gradient or transparent colors.
Rows D and E: Transparency did not work and you can see that the Reds and pinks
lost intensity and the blues became more vibrant as the colors were interpolated.

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3. Printing Instructions to simulate Spot Colors and Transparencies in Offset
Printing
a. In Design: To print a simulated Overprint in Indesign that attempts to interpret
the opacity of the offset inks go to the print menu >Output> Check
i. Simulate overprint

4. Printing Instructions for spot Colors and Transparencies In Adobe Suite

a. Illustrator: To print documents Illustrator with spot colors and transparencies
i. You need to convert all spot colors to RGB or CMYK colors. To do this:
A) Make sure the document is in RGB Mode
1) Go to File>Document Color Mode
2) Select RGB for all in-house printers.
3) Select CMYK for offset printing
B) Print in Illustrator
1) Go to Print dialog box
2) Set up print menu as normal
3) Go to Output.

4) Check >Convert all spot colors to process

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 5) Go to Advanced>overprint and transparency Flattener Options
6) Check Discard in the pull down menu

b. Print in Indesign
i. Go to Print dialog box
ii. Set up print menu as normal
iii. Go to Output select Ink manager. Check
iv. All spot colors to process >Use standard Lab Values

5. To quickly print a PDF with spot colors and transparencies without changing
the document
i. Use the Adobe PDF/A -1b 2005 which is a high quality PDF printer that
translates all colors to RGB or CMYK.

D. Monitor Calibration
1. Monitor Calibration
a. To calibrate your monitor and define a monitor color profile, use the Eye-One
Display Color Management System.
b. Connect the Display colorimeter to the computer USB port (not to the keyboard).
Start Eye-One Match from Applications. Select Monitor as the device to profile
and Advanced as the profiling mode. In advanced settings, select native
whitepoint and a gamma of 2.2. Follow the on-screen instructions.
c. To switch a predefined Monitor Color Profile go to System Preferences select
Displays, then click the Color tab. Select a color profile from the menu (do not
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 click Calibrate.)
d. Scanning an Image and Image Resolution

E. Setting up Working Color Settings in Adobe

a. Opening an Image in Adobe with Working Color Space: Working color space is
also set in Adobe CS suite programs so that when an image is opened it can be
converted. You should always set the Adobe program to notify you before
converting. (See screen snapshots below)

b. Scanning an Image with Working Color Space: Working Color space is set first in
the scanner so that scanned images have the profile imbedded in them.
c. Sending an Image with Imbedded Working Color Space: Make sure that you
have embedded the proper color work space in an image prior to sending it out of
the office. If you dont it could look completely different on the receiving end
monitor.

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2. Photoshop Working Color Settings
a. Go to the Photoshop Edit pull down menu and click on Color Settings:
i. Switch Settings to Custom
ii. Check Advanced Mode
iii. Set up as indicated in image below:

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3. Illustrator Working Color Settings:
a. Go to the Edit pull down menu and click on Color Settings:
i. Switch Settings to Custom
ii. Check Advanced Mode
iii. Set up as indicated in image below:

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4. InDesign Working Color Settings
a. Go to the Edit pull down menu and click on Color Settings:
i. Switch Settings to Custom
ii. Check Advanced Mode
iii. Set up as indicated in image below

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 5. Acrobat Color Settings
a. Go to the application preferences and set as indicated below.

F. Setting up and Working With Color Managed Images in Scanner

1. Cardinal Rules - Scanning an Image
Anticipatethefinalmaximumsizeoftheimageandsettheimage(targetsize)
anddpiaccordingly.Alwaysscanlargerthanyouneedandreducetheimagein
Photoshopifnecessary.
ScantoRGBunlessyouaredoingoffsetprinting.
ScanDPIinmultiplesof90unlessyouareonlyviewingonscreenat72dpi.
SetdefaultworkingspacetobeAdobeRGB1998.
ColorAdjustmentsshouldbedoneinPhotoshop.
2. Setting up Color Profiles in Epson Scan
a. Place .icc profiles in root directory/Library/Application
Support/Adobe/Color/Profiles (I think)

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3. Scanner Mode

a. Select Scanner Model in Photoshop Import

i.The Epson scanner software is started by going to Photoshop File: Import:
choose your scanner
b. Define Scanner Pop-up. In the new pop-up window switch to Professional Mode
and follow the steps below
4. Original
a. Select Document Type
i. Choose the light source (reflective or transparency)
ii. Choose the document source film or paper (positive film or document table)
A) Select Image Type
1) Choose 48 bit color for high quality images.
2) Choose 24 bit color for standard printing and web images.
3) Choose 16 bit black and white for all black and white images. If a
program does not accept 16 bit black and white, then convert the
image in Photoshop later.
5. Destination
a. Resolution, Target Size and Image Size
i. Select DPI at 72, 90, 180. 270 or 360
A) Final images at final sizes should be in resolutions that are multiples of 90
as most printers are calibrated to have droplets correspond to those
numbers. This will speed up print and spooling time.
ii. Final resolutions should be as follows
A) 180 for low res.
B) 240 or 360 dpi for good quality and 480 for highest quality.
C) Offset printing should be at 300dpi.
6. Adjustments
a. Unsharp Mask Filter should be off.
b. Color adjustments should be off.
c. Descreening filter should be off for any non dot-screen image and on when
scanning from a book then set to magazine or fine print depending on the quality
of the image.
d. Do color adjustments in Photoshop
7. Configuration and Color Management
a. Click Configuration button at bottom of the scanner pop-up window.
b. In the new pop-up window click on the Color tab and check Colorsync.
A) Set Target to Adobe RGB (1998).
B) Set Source to match the type of image
1) Provia film

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 2) EcktaChrome
3) Kodak photo paper, etc.
4) Click OK.

8. Placing Item on the Document Table

a. Place item to be scanned at 0 using bottom edge to locate centerline.
b. Click Preview and set the scanned area.
c. Click Scan.

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G. Soft Proofing
1. Soft Proofing in Photoshop
Photoshop has the most advanced soft proofing tools in the Adobe Suite. This is the
program you should use for all color adjustment.
a. Make a benchmark image by duplicating original
i. Make a copy of the image and open it with the Adobe RGB (1998) color
space embedded.
ii. Create a second view of the original file so you can see the soft proof
changes next to the original.
A) Go to the Window pull down menu (in Photoshop also go to
Image>Duplicate, which makes a copy of the file in a new window)
B) Click Arrange>New Window.
C) Select the image to adjust.

b. Proof Setup
i. Go to the View pull down menu and select Proof Setup
ii. Select Custom: Select the appropriate profile for the combination of printer,
ink, and paper.
A) Set Relative or Perceptual Intent. Toggle back and forth to check which
you feel is best for the image.
B) Black Point Compensation: turn this on.
C) Paper White Toggle back and forth on paper white. This will give you an
idea of how the file will print taking into consideration the white point of
the paper. The printed image will be closer to the paper white turned on,
but it is often difficult to see the image in this mode. When you turn the
white point on glance away from the image so that your eyes can adjust
to the lack of vibrancy and contrast.
iii. Save Proof set up to settings

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2. Soft Proofing in Illustrator
Illustrator is not as intuitive as Photoshop when it comes to soft proofing but it does
add one feature that allows you to view images with pantone colors.
a. Make a benchmark image by duplicating original
i. Make a copy of the image and open it with the AdobeRGB (1998) color space
embedded.
ii. Create a second view of the original file so you can see the soft proof
changes next to the original.
iii. Go to the Window pull down menu, click New Window.
iv. Select the image to adjust.
b. Setup:
i. Go to the View pull down menu, select Proof Setup, then Customize.
ii. Profile Setup Popup menu should be set as follows:
A) Profile
1) Set printer/paper/speed profile as per image below
B) Preserve Color Numbers should be:
1) Turned off: when using photographs.
2) Turned on: when using pantone colors
C) Toggle between Relative Colorimetric and Perceptual Colorimetric. In
order to see color intent on screen you will need to close out of the pop
up menu.

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3. Soft Proofing in Indesign
a. Make a benchmark image by duplicating original
i. Make a copy of the image and open it with the AdobeRGB (1998) color space
embedded.
ii. Create a second view of the original file so you can see the soft proof
changes next to the original.
A) Go to the Window pull down menu, click Arrange>New Window.
B) Select the image to adjust.
b. Setup
i. Go to the View pull down menu,
A) Select Proof Setup, then Custom.
ii. Profile Setup Popup menu should be set as follows:
A) Profile set printer/paper/speed profile
B) Preserve Color Numbers should be:
1) Turned off: when using photographs.
2) Turned on: when using pantone colors
C) Click back and forth on Simulate Paper Color. This will give you an idea
of how the file will print taking into consideration the white point of the
paper.
c. Intent
i. Intent should be set to Relative Colormetic
A) Go to Edit>Color Settings and select Relative Colormetic

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2. Printing

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A. Printing In CS2
1. Printing in Illustrator CS2
a. In Illustrator, go to File: Print.
i. At the bottom of the window, select Printer
A) It is important that you do this first, and to not return to this window once
you have made your settings.
ii. In the print window,
A) Select Page Setup.
B) Select the appropriate printer, and paper size supported by that printer
C) Select OK.
iii. In the Illustrator print window,
A) go to the Color Management tab.
1) Select the Print Space Profile appropriate to the printer, type of paper,
and print speed of the print.
B) Select Print at the bottom of the window.

2. Printing in InDesign CS2

a. If you are printing boards or large size spreads either at full or partial scale, you
may have some orientation problems. The following is one solution:
i. Group all objects on a spread
ii. Create a new document that is the full size of you spread. In the New
Document window click off "Facing Pages." Orient the page as Portrait.
iii. Copy the grouped spread into the new portrait document. Rotate and center
as necessary and print as described below.
b. Go to File: Print
i. It is imperative that you do the following print steps in order and that you not
return to a window once you have selected your settings.
ii. At the bottom of the page select Page Setup
A) Select the appropriate paper size, orientation, and scale
B) Hit Ok at the bottom of the window
iii. Next click Printer
A) Go to Color Management and click No Color Management
B) Hit Print at the bottom of the window
iv. In the Print window click on the following selection keys on the left side of the
window
A) Click General and select the number of copies and pages that you wish to
print
B) Click Setup select the paper size
1) Set the scale and hit Centered (this is important)
C) Click Color Management
1) Color Handling: Let InDesign Determine Colors
2) Return to General and hit Print

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 3. Printing in Photoshop CS2
a. In Photoshop, go to File: Print with Preview.
i. Click on Page Setup on the right side of the menu.
A) Select the printer select the appropriate page size and orientation for the
print
B) Click OK.
b. Returning to the Print with preview window, check on the box titled Show More
Options.
i. Under the Color Management tab, specify the source space as Document.
ii. Select the Print Space Profile appropriate to the printer, type of paper, and
desired print speed.
iii. Select Print Space Intent to either Relative or Perceptual (you should
determine which intent during the soft-proofing process).
c. Select Print in the right of the print window,
i. Select preset appropriate to the printer, type of paper, and desired speed of
the print.
d. Select Print at the bottom of the window.

B. Printing Troubleshooting
a. Just as feelings of elation and jubilation are symptomatic of a good sound
printing workflow, so does humiliation, frustration, dread, and self-pity
accompany a workflow that has been derailed by poor print quality, or worse, no
print at all. If you have the misfortune of experiencing the latter scenario, the
following troubleshooting guide serves as a repository of solutions to common
printing complications.
b. The print was sent to the printer, but the printer driver stops the print without any
error message.
i. Suggested Action A: Use the System Preferences> Printer and Fax to check
the status of the print. Oftentimes error messages will display once this is
opened. Also, check the control panel of the printer, making sure that no error
lights or messages are being displayed.
ii. Suggested Action B: Try printing from another computer. The problem may
be occurring locally within your machine.
iii. Suggested Action C: Try shutting down the printer for a minimum of 20
seconds before restarting. Sometimes the printer connection to the server
times out, so that the printer server registers no connection to the printer.

c. The printed colors are not consistent with the colors on the monitor.
i. Suggested Action A: Verify that the printer ink levels are adequate (this
should be obvious).
ii. Suggested Action B: Calibrate the monitor using the steps listed in the

27
 Monitor Calibration subchapter in this chapter.
iii. Suggested Action C: Verify that when printing from an application, the color
management setting within the application print dialogue is set to the
appropriate printer-paper combination. Also, verify that in the printer driver
window that the printer preset/profile is set to the appropriate printer-paper
combination.
iv. Suggested Action D: Run a nozzle check by using the Epson utility
application from The Print Server Computer and make sure that all nozzles
are firing.

d. The printer is not responding or has lost its connection to the print server.
i. Suggested Action A: Verify that the printer is on and is connected to the print
server. Verify that your computer is on the network.
ii. Suggested Action B: Try shutting down the printer for a minimum of 20
seconds before restarting. Sometimes the printer connection to the server
times out, so that the printer server registers no connection to the printer. If
this doesnt work, try restarting the print server, so that the server printer
driver is reloaded.
iii. Suggested Action C: Try printing from another machine. The problem may be
occurring locally within your machine.

e. The print does not go through and an error message displays that is related to
the printer ink configuration.
i. Suggested Action A: Try uninstalling the printer from your printer list (by
deleting it). Then reinstall the printerthis will happen automatically if the
printer is shared over a network.
ii. Suggested Action B: If you are using any other cartridges than the standard
Epson models, replace these with Epson cartridges, and then do the
uninstall-reinstall routine.

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C. Printing with PDFs
1. PDF types and definitions from small to large. Review color profiles and
compression
a. Smallest File Size Internet and email
i.
Creates PDF files for displaying on the web or an intranet, or for distribution
through an email system. This set of options uses compression,
downsampling, and a relatively low image resolution. It converts all colors to
sRGB, and (for Adobe Acrobat Distiller-based conversions) does not embed
fonts. It also optimizes files for byte serving.
b. Standard Inhouse secondary material word, excel, and furniture
presentations
i.
Creates PDF files to be printed to desktop printers or digital copiers,
published on a CD, or sent to a client as a publishing proof. This set of
options uses compression and downsampling to keep the file size down.
However, it also embeds subsets of all (allowed) fonts used in the file,
converts all colors to sRGB, and prints to a medium resolution. Windows font
subsets are not embedded by default.
c. High Quality Print Inhouse presentations
i.
Creates PDFs for quality printing on desktop printers and proofing devices.
This preset uses PDF 1.4, downsamples color and grayscale images to 300
ppi and monochrome images to 1200 ppi. It also embeds subsets of all fonts,
leaves color unchanged, and does not flatten transparency (for file types
capable of transparency). WARNING IT DOES NOT CONVERT COLORS
TO RGB
d. Oversized Pages
i. Creates PDFs suitable for viewing and printing of engineering drawings larger
than 200 x 200 in. (508 x 508 cm).
e. Archival Files PDF/A1b: 2005 (CMYK and RGB) Archival records
i. Used for long-term preservation (archival) of electronic documents.
PDF/A1b uses PDF 1.4 and converts all colors to either CMYK or RGB,
depending on which standard you choose.
f. Pre press and Press ready files for out of house printers PDF/X1a (2001 and
2003)
i. PDF/X1a requires all fonts to be embedded, the appropriate PDF bounding
boxes to be specified, and color to appear as CMYK, spot colors, or both.
Compliant files must contain information describing the printing condition for
which they are prepared.
ii. PDF/X1a uses PDF 1.3, downsamples color and grayscale images to 300
ppi and monochrome images to 1200 ppi. It embeds subsets of all fonts,
creates untagged PDFs, and flattens transparency using the High Resolution
setting
iii. PDF/X-3 and 4 Consortium (ICC) color specifications as PDF/X3. You can
create PDF/X4compliant files directly with Creative Suite 3 applications
(Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop). In Acrobat 9, use the Preflight feature

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 to convert PDFs to PDF/X4 DRAFT.
g. Press Quality
i. Creates PDF files for high-quality print production (for example, for digital
printing or for color separations to an imagesetter or platesetter). However, it
does not create files that are PDF/X compliant. In this case, the quality of the
content is the highest consideration. The objective is to maintain all the
information in a PDF file that a commercial printer or print service provider
requires to print the document correctly. This set of options uses PDF 1.4,
converts colors to CMYK, and downsamples color and grayscale images to
300 ppi and monochrome images to 1200 ppi. It embeds subsets of all fonts
and preserves transparency (for file types capable of transparency).

2. Basic OSX PDF Menu

a. Lower quality PDFs can be made from the printer menu in most applications
PDF files created from Mac OS X will be larger than Adobe PDF files, and may
have challenges in searchability, accessibility, and professional print production
workflows.
b. Higher quality PDFs should be made by saving, Save As Files. Photoshop
gives you the least controls. Indesign the most and Illustrator just trails Indesign.

3. Printing PDFs in Acrobat

a. When printing go to print and set up print menu by selecting Printer and Paper
settings.
b. Turn on Auto Rotate and Center.

c. Go to Advanced button and click fill out as indicated below.

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4. Exporting to PDF in Illustrator
a. Saving High Quality Image You can set from the custom setting or go to steps
below. This should be used for all presentation quality or portfolio quality work to
be printed at a future date.
i. Go to Save As, Save as Illustrator PDF format.
ii. When the pop up menu appears set as per below

5. Exporting to PDF in InDesign

a. Choose File > PDF Preset Exports.
i. Choose one of the styles from the preset menu. Enter the Page Range to be
exported.

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