How to prepare your PDF

There are many ways to create a PDF file, but not all of them work well for professional printing. The way in which you create a PDF can dramatically alter the quality of your printing. For that reason, please refer to the following guidelines to ensure the best possible print quality.

PDF Guidelines

Here are more guidelines for making your PDF:

  • If at all possible, create your PDF using Adobe Illustrator or InDesign. If you have Acrobat Standard or Acrobat Professional, you can also create high-quality PDFs using the Adobe PDF printer driver from almost any program.
  • You can use the built-in PDF-making functionality of Microsoft Office 2007 for Windows or Adobe PDF printer driver.
  • On the Macintosh, in any product other than Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, or InDesign, use the Adobe PDF printer driver if you have it. Otherwise, your next best option is to go to Print your file, click the PDF button, and choose Save as PDF-X. If you do not have the PDF-X option, please choose the highest print quality PDF.
  • Please refer to “File Preparation” for instructions on how to save PDF’s from specific applications, using the Adobe PDF printer driver.