indesign > ps > distiller > pdf

[NickGross]

G'day guys,

i did a search for this topic on this site but found nothing. so if you could help me I would be very appreciative. i have a printer who is using a level 2 rip and always has problems with finding my embedded font files in the pdfs i give her. She has found that if she saves them to .ps first and then makes a pdf of those files in distiller things are OK. I would like to do this my end to make my files fine before they go out. But...when i try and do it nothing really happens.

1. I 'print' my indesign file to postscript and that makes a .ps file no probs
2. When I open this in distiller it does something but it shows me the pdf in the window with a small yellow problem icon next to it and no pdf is created. When I try and double-click on this file it says there is an 'error openinf the file:..."
3. this is the log file:

Acrobat Distiller 7.0
Started: Tuesday, 19 September 2006 at 12:51 PM
Adobe PostScript software version: 3016.102
CID support library initialization completed.

Distilling: youthsubcult_2006_cover_2.ps
Start Time: Tuesday, 19 September 2006 at 12:51 PM
Source: /Users/ngross/Desktop/youthsubcult_2006_cover_2.ps
Destination: /Users/ngross/Desktop/youthsubcult_2006_cover_2.pdf
Adobe PDF Settings: /Library/Application Support/Adobe PDF/Settings/Standard.joboptions
Distill Time: 0 seconds (00:00:00)
**** End of Job ****

4. Does anyone know what might be going wrong; why it won't make a pdf?
5. Any help or suggestions you can give me would take a weight off my mind, I've just had to resend a job after 200 covers were junked with all fonts outlined. Sending font-files is not really an option due to licensing even though I seem to be the only one who cares about this

thanks very much

 

[jimoblak]

Do you need Standard.joboptions? Why not make a PDF/X1-a file?

Do you need to run this through Distiller in so many steps? Why not print to AdobePDF in the print dialog?

 

[RegistrationMark]

To expand on jimoblak's point...Standard PDFs are small RGB PDFs that are used for screen viewing. If you distill a CMYK postscript to PDFX1a or Press Quality PDF, she will have no problems printing the thing.
Mark

 

[jmgalvin]

When printing postscript and then distilling you have to be careful at both the print end and the distill end.

You'll get loads of options on the print end, including postscript level options. Then in Distiller, you have Settings. As Jim and Mark said, you're pretty safe with standard Press or X1A. However, you might want to check what distiller settings the printer can use. They usually have it.

My guess about your distilling problem is that you're generating an error on the postscript creation. You have to be very careful with the various "print" settings. Make sure that, afer selecting postscript as your printer, you select Adobe pdf as the PPD.

Using OSX 10.3.9 on a G4

 

[NickGross]

Yeah thanks heaps!

The standard setting was a mistake, it must have been the default on distiller but i realise how to change it...thanks no I wouldn't send an RGB standard PDF out! sorry for that red herring!

thanks jmgalvin, yeah I think the real problem might be the PPD i'm selecting in the .ps options, I'll try this. The other options I wasn't sure about were the ASCII vs Binary and the Level 2 vs Level 3. The problem is because i think her rip software is a bit older than the other printers and can't seem to cope with my CS2 created PDF files, does that mean I should select level 2 postscript? I know I said that she said she was a level 2 but now I'm starting to wonder if that's really the case. Does that make sense to you?

Also i guess, if anyone knows if there's a way to create PDFs out of CS2 which won't need to be printed then distilled that would be great!
thankyou for all your fantastic help

--N

 

[NickGross]

G'day again,

No, i tried it again with the PPD set to adobe PDF 7.0 and still distiller doesn't do anything with the file except sit it in the problem area. When I double click on the file, it says there is an error trying to read the log file, when I try and edit the PDF settings it says there is an error trying to read the PDF settings file. Just errors! any ideas?
thanks guys

Nick

 

[jimoblak]

Have you tried exporting to PDF directly from InDesign? Have you tried printing to your PDF printer?

Printing to PS is the last thing I would have tried.

 

[jmgalvin]

If you're having problems changing the settings in Acrobat distiller, it indicates a problem with the app and might require an uninstall/reinstall. If you do that, make sure to trash the settings and prefs for both Acrobat and Distiller before reinstalling.

Here's a trial method. Create a new 1 page ID document. Just throw a pictuure and some text into it - nothing much. The go to File/Export and pick EPS. Then try to distill that.

If it works, it should mean that Acrobat is ok and your postscripts are the problem. If it won't distill, you have a problem with acrobat - either the settings or the app itself. If you're on a Windows machine, there could also be a problem with the Adobe virtual printer.

I use Acrobat 6 and ID CS. When I print postscript the ppd choice only says Adobe pdf - no version number. If you have such a choice, you might try that. If you select postscript 2 and Acrobat 7, I'm guessing there will be a problem since 7 supports a much higher level of postscript.

Using OSX 10.3.9 on a G4

 

[NickGross]

thanks again guys,

Jimoblak, I'm printing to .ps and distilling it because accord. to this printer that's what works for her when i give her my problem PDFs. what is the difference between exporting to PDF and printing to PDF? You will have to forgive my ignorance

Jmgalvin, yeah I uninstalled acrobat yesterday (didn't delete my prefs first though gulp) cause I tried distilling on my colleague's identically set-up machine and it worked fine. I would like to be able to simply select adobe PDF but version 7 is the only option, I wonder if there is any way to remedy this? Most PDFs I create default their compatibility to version 5 so I wonder if choosing a level 2 postscript with Adobe 7 is really a problem,

thanks again for your help

--N

 

[jimoblak]

what is the difference between exporting to PDF and printing to PDF?

You tell us. It is simply another way to produce PDF that might work. Export to PDF includes CID font data so that may be why it chokes - - but it is worth a try if the other method does not work well.

Ideally, you should never print to PS. There is no need to. Save yourself a step and print to PDF using the Acrobat virtual printer. This method does not mix in CID font data so it is just as safe as printing to PS forst (but with less steps).

 

[jmgalvin]

If the thing distills on your friends machine, I would guess that your install is bad.

If you're on a PC, make sure to disable any antivirus, etc before installing any reputable app.

Using OSX 10.3.9 on a G4