Adobe PDFs

[goodear]

I am using AppleWorks 6.2 and Adobe Acrobat 5.0 to create PDFs. When I insert a photo into
AppleWorks, it looks super clear on screen. When I make a PDF of the document, the photo looks much worse. Is there a setting on the Adobe Acrobat to make sure the photos come out as nice as the original? I looked for dots per square inch but coudn't find it. Thanks!

[Texas Mac Man]

I assume you are operating in OS 9.2. Try PrintToPDF  & see if it make any difference.

[goodear]

QUOTE(Texas Mac Man @ Aug 30 2008, 03:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I assume you are operating in OS 9.2. Try PrintToPDF  & see if it make any difference.

Yes, 9.2. How do I do that?

[Texas Mac Man]

QUOTE(goodear @ Aug 30 2008, 03:59 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, 9.2. How do I do that?

Download the PrintToPDF extension (click on the link in my prior post) & put it in your Extensions folder & restart.

Then open your AppleWorks file. Then go to Chooser (under Apple menu) & select PrintToPDF. Then select Print for your AppleWorks file. The AW file will be saved as a PDF file. (this essentially gives you the same feature as that in OS X.)

[goodear]

QUOTE(Texas Mac Man @ Aug 30 2008, 05:20 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE(goodear @ Aug 30 2008, 03:59 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, 9.2. How do I do that?

Download the PrintToPDF extension (click on the link in my prior post) & put it in your Extensions folder & restart.

Then open your AppleWorks file. Then go to Chooser (under Apple menu) & select PrintToPDF. Then select Print for your AppleWorks file. The AW file will be saved as a PDF file. (this essentially gives you the same feature as that in OS X.)

Ah. I see in my Choosr that Print to PDF is already there. I'll try it.

[goodear]

QUOTE(goodear @ Aug 30 2008, 05:55 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE(Texas Mac Man @ Aug 30 2008, 05:20 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE(goodear @ Aug 30 2008, 03:59 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, 9.2. How do I do that?

Download the PrintToPDF extension (click on the link in my prior post) & put it in your Extensions folder & restart.

Then open your AppleWorks file. Then go to Chooser (under Apple menu) & select PrintToPDF. Then select Print for your AppleWorks file. The AW file will be saved as a PDF file. (this essentially gives you the same feature as that in OS X.)

Ah. I see in my Choosr that Print to PDF is already there. I'll try it.

It has been inconsistent. Firstly, I unchecked all the downsample options. That worked and the photos came out nice, but on subsequent tries it failed on that account. Print to PDF made no difference.

[krissel]

You might want to experiment with the preferences in Acrobat, in particular Color Management.  I can't advise what would  be best but you can try out some of the options to see if it makes any difference.

[Xairbusdriver]

The format, resolution and color info (all functions of the image quality) may be a factor. An image that looks great on-screen could be a simple 72 dpi, medium quality jpeg. Acrobat might have trouble converting that to an equally nice pdf. If the original is a tiff or other higher quality image, you might try using that instead. I don't really know what format Acrobat "likes" but I would hope .psd would be the easiest to use. Elements 3 (check eBay for a OS 9 version) can do that easily. And even GraphicConverter (free) might be able to translate whatever you have into that format. And I have no idea if any of the above is even relevant!

[tacit]

QUOTE(goodear @ Aug 30 2008, 08:36 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I am using AppleWorks 6.2 and Adobe Acrobat 5.0 to create PDFs. When I insert a photo into
AppleWorks, it looks super clear on screen. When I make a PDF of the document, the photo looks much worse. Is there a setting on the Adobe Acrobat to make sure the photos come out as nice as the original? I looked for dots per square inch but coudn't find it. Thanks!

Yes. Yes, there is. It is in Job Options.

In the Job Options dialog, you will see many, many options that control the quality of your images. These include options for changing the resolution of the images, compressing the images, and changing the image color profiles and color modes. If you wish to get images that look identical to the original, turn compression off, turn downsampling off, and set the color settings to "leave unchanged."

[krissel]

Tacit, I have Acrobat 5 and I can't find Job Options.


Later...OK, I found it in Distiller.

Odd, Acrobat 5 runs fine in X but Distiller that came with it only runs in Classic.  

[Paddy]

Acrobat 5.05 was updated to work in OS X, Distiller 5.x was not, apparently.

http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewConten...ternalId=326968

The settings seem to vary quite a bit depending on what application you start with - using any of the Adobe CS3 apps and Acrobat Pro 8, the settings you want are under "Compression" when exporting to PDF.

I don't know if there is an easier way of doing this, but in Word or Appleworks (using the Acrobat 8.0 printer, not "save as PDF") I am presented with a very limited selection of settings - no "job options" per se, but I can select the print quality under PDF Options which then links to the various Job Options settings. You can edit those job option settings (and create new ones) in Distiller. Start up Distiller, then select Settings->Edit Adobe PDF settings->Images. Edit the settings and then be sure to SAVE AS and give the setting a name. It will now turn up in the PDF options list.

Select Print->Printer (Adobe PDF 5.x). Then click on the drop down menu which says "Copies and Pages" and select "PDF Options." Then click on Adobe PDF Settings and select the setting you created in Distiller.

NOTE: I would strongly recommend that you do not modify any of the normal settings already in Distiller - create a new one for this document only and see if it helps. Generally, Acrobat downsamples your images so that they still print well, but are compressed to create a smaller overall document.

I suspect that your image is actually not print quality to begin with as Jim noted. Check the image size using an image editor (or just look in the Finder).