(It is assumed that you are using Microsoft Publisher 2002 or above, Acrobat Distiller 4.x-7.x)
Step One: Get Publisher ready for making print-ready PDF files
- Prepare your Publisher file for commercial printing: Go to Tools/Commercial Printing Tools/Color Printing in Publisher, and select Process colors (CMYK)” or any other choice according to the colors in your job but make sure not to use “Composite RGB”
- Your imported images must have enough resolution for getting high-quality prints. You can check the images for the correct resolution in Adobe Photoshop or Corel PhotoPaint. At 100% final printed size, 300 ppi (pixels per inch) is the best resolution.
Step Two: Generating a PostScript File from Publisher - Select File/Print in Publisher.
- Set Adobe PDF or Distiller as name of the printer (depending on the version of Acrobat you are using).
- Turn on “Print to File”.
- Turn on “Print composite” under “Separations”.
- Then click “Advanced Print Settings”.
- Set “Graphics” to “Print full-resolution linked graphics” in the “Publication Options” tab.
- “Fonts” should be set to “Use only publication fonts”.
- Check “Printer’s marks”.
- Enable “allow bleeds” if your document has parts that print off the edge of the page (and set bleed in the file to 0.125 inch).
- Click on “Properties” in the main Print window (depending on what version of Distiller you are running the following may differ slightly).
- Set the “Default Settings” to PDF/X-1a:2001.
- Click on the “Add” button. at “Adobe PDF Page Size”
- Set a new page size equal to 1 inch larger than your Publisher page size.
- Name this new page size in the “Paper Names” field (for example, “letter size with bleed” or “9.5 x 12”).
- Click “Add/Modify”.
- New page size must be selected in the drop-down box of “Adobe PDF Page Size”.
- “Do not send fonts to ‘Adobe PDF’” should be deselected.
- The rest of the drop-down fields should be left to default settings.
- To get back to the main print window select “OK”
- To print the file, select “OK” again. Name the print file if prompted.
- Publisher will send the print file to My Documents by default.
Step Three: Creating the print-ready PDF file - Start Acrobat Distiller.
- Drag and drop your Publisher print file into the Distiller window. Distiller will generate a PDF file and place it in My Documents.
- Open the PDF file to check if all items display properly in Acrobat.
- After following the above instructions you will have a print-ready PDF file from Microsoft Publisher.
*Please feel free to call us with any questions!
