Adobe PDF conversion settings Part 3

Adobe PDF conversion settings Part 3

Fonts panel options

The Fonts options specify which fonts to embed in a PDF, and whether to embed a subset of characters used in the PDF. You can embed OpenType®, TrueType, and PostScript fonts. Fonts that have license restrictions are listed with a lock icon . If you select a font that has a license restriction, the nature of the restriction is described in the Adobe PDF Options dialog box.

Note

When you combine PDF files that have the same font subset, Acrobat attempts to combine the font subsets.

Embed All Fonts

Embeds all fonts used in the file. Font embedding is required for PDF/X compliance.

Embed OpenType Fonts

Embeds all OpenType fonts used in the file, and maintains OpenType font information for advanced line layout. This option is available only if either Acrobat 7 (PDF 1.6) or Acrobat 8 (PDF 1.7) is selected from the Compatibility menu in the General panel.

Subset Embedded Fonts When Percent Of Characters Used Is Less Than

Specifies a threshold percentage if you want to embed only a subset of the fonts. For example, if the threshold is 35, and fewer than 35% of the characters are used, Distiller embeds only those characters.

When Embedding Fails

Specifies how Distiller responds if it cannot find a font to embed when processing a file.

Always Embed

To embed only certain fonts, move them into the Always Embed list. Make sure that Embed All Fonts is not selected.

Never Embed

Move fonts that you do not want to embed to this list. If necessary, choose a different font folder from the pop-up menu to display the font in the font list.

Note

Fonts that have license restrictions are listed with a lock icon. If you select a font with a license restriction, the nature of the restriction is described in the Adobe PDF Options dialog box.

Add Name

If the font you want is not in a font folder, click Add Name. Enter the name of the font, select Always Embed List (or Never Embed List), and click Add.

Note

A TrueType font can contain a setting added by the font designer that prevents the font from being embedded in PDF files.

Remove Removes a font from the Always Embed or Never Embed list. This action doesn’t remove the font from your system; it removes the reference to the font from the list.

Note

Acrobat does not include the Times, Helvetica, and ZapfDingbats fonts. If you want PDF recipients to view and print these fonts in PDFs that you create, embed the fonts.

Color panel options

Whether you’re using color management information in the PostScript file, using Distiller CSFs, or defining custom settings, you set all color management information for Distiller on the Color panel of the Adobe PDF Settings dialog box.

Settings File

Lists color settings, including those used in graphics applications. The None setting lets you edit the Color Management Policies and Working Spaces settings.

Color Management Policies

Specifies how Distiller converts unmanaged color in a PostScript file when you don’t use a Distiller color settings file. This menu is available when None is selected in the Settings File menu.

Note

Color Management Policies values may affect a PDF differently depending on the compatibility setting you choose in the General panel.

Leave Color Unchanged

Leaves device-dependent colors unchanged and preserves device-independent colors as the nearest possible equivalent. It's a helpful option for print shops that have calibrated their devices, have used that information to specify color in the file, and are only outputting to those devices.

Tag (Or Convert) Everything For Color Management

Tags color objects with an ICC profile and calibrates colors, making them device-independent in PDFs compatible with Acrobat 4 (PDF 1.3) and later. Converts device-dependent color spaces in images (RGB, Grayscale, and CMYK) to device-independent color spaces (CalRGB, CalGray, and Cie L*a*b) in Acrobat 3.0 (PDF 1.2) compatible PDFs.

Tag (Or Convert) Only Images For Color Management

Tags ICC profiles in images only (not text or vector objects), which prevents black text from undergoing any color shift when distilling Acrobat 4.0 (PDF 1.3) compatible PDFs. Converts device-dependent color spaces in images (RGB, Grayscale, and CMYK) to device-independent color spaces (CalRGB, CalGray, and Lab) in Acrobat 3.0 (PDF 1.2) compatible PDFs.

Convert All Colors To sRGB (or Convert Everything To CalRGB)

Calibrates color, making it device-independent. Converts CMYK and RGB images to sRGB in PDFs compatible with Acrobat 4 (PDF 1.3) or later. Converts CMYK and RGB images to calibrated RGB (CalRGB) in Acrobat 3.0 (PDF 1.2) compatible PDFs. Recommended for PDFs that will be used onscreen or with low-resolution printers.

Convert All Colors To CMYK

Converts color spaces to DeviceGray or DeviceCMYK according to the options specified in the Working Spaces menu. All Working Spaces must be specified.

Document Rendering Intent

Choose a method to map colors between color spaces. The result of any particular method depends on the profiles of the color spaces. For example, some profiles produce identical results with different methods.

Acrobat shares four rendering intents (Perceptual, Saturation, Relative Colorimetric, and Absolute Colorimetric) with other Creative Suite applications.

Acrobat also includes a rendering intent called Preserve, which indicates that the intent is specified in the output device rather than in the PDF. In many output devices, Relative Colorimetric is the default intent.

Note

In all cases, intents may be ignored or overridden by color management operations that occur after the creation of the PDF file.

Working Spaces For all Color Management Policies values other than Leave Color Unchanged, choose a working space to specify which ICC profiles are used for defining and calibrating the grayscale, RGB, and CMYK color spaces in distilled PDFs.

Gray Choose a profile to define the color space of all grayscale images in files. The default ICC profile for gray images is Adobe Gray - 20% Dot Gain. Choose None to prevent grayscale images from being converted.

RGB Choose a profile to define the color space of all RGB images in files. The default, sRGB IEC61966-2.1, is recognized by many output devices. Choose None to prevent RGB images from being converted.

CMYK Choose a profile to define the color space of all CMYK images in files. The default is U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2. Choose None to prevent CMYK images from being converted.

Note

Choosing None for all three working spaces has the same effect as selecting the option Leave Color Unchanged.

Note

You can add ICC profiles (such as ones provided by your print service bureau) by placing them in the ICCProfiles folder in the Common folder, the Windows\System\Color folder (Windows), or the System Folder/ColorSync folder (macOS).

Preserve CMYK Values For Calibrated CMYK Color Spaces When selected, device-independent CMYK values are treated as device-dependent (DeviceCMYK) values, device-independent color spaces are discarded, and PDF/X-1a files use the Convert All Colors To CMYK value. When deselected, device-independent color spaces convert to CMYK, if Color Management Policies is set to Convert All Colors To CMYK.


Preserve Under Color Removal And Black Generation Retains these settings if they exist in the PostScript file. Black generation calculates the amount of black to use when reproducing a color. Undercolor removal (UCR) reduces cyan, magenta, and yellow to compensate for black generation. Because UCR uses less ink, it’s suitable for uncoated stock.


When Transfer Functions Are Found Specifies how to handle transfer functions in PDFs. Transfer functions are used for artistic effect and to correct for the characteristics of a specific output device.


Remove Deletes any applied transfer functions. Applied transfer functions should be removed, unless the PDF is to be output to the same device that the source PostScript file was created for.


Preserve Retains the transfer functions traditionally used to compensate for dot gain or dot loss that may occur when an image is transferred to film. Dot gain or loss occurs when the ink dots that make up a printed image are larger or smaller than in the halftone screen.


Apply Applies the transfer function, changing the colors in the file but doesn’t keep it. This method is useful for creating color effects in a file.


Preserve Halftone Information Retains any halftone information in files. Halftone information is intended for use with a particular output device.
    • Related Articles

    • Adobe PDF conversion settings Part 1

      Choose an Adobe PDF preset for converting files 1. Do one of the following: Start Acrobat Distiller. In an Adobe Creative Cloud application, choose File > Print, select Adobe PDF as the target printer, and click Print Settings (Photoshop) or Setup > ...
    • Adobe PDF conversion settings Part 2

      Customize Adobe PDF settings You may want to create custom conversion settings for specific jobs or output devices. The selections you make determine whether the document fonts are embedded and subset at 100%. The selections determine how vector ...
    • Adobe PDF conversion settings Part 4

      Advanced panel options Advanced options specify which Document Structuring Conventions (DSC) comments to keep in a PDF and how to set other options that affect the conversion from PostScript. In a PostScript file, DSC comments contain information ...
    • Adobe PDF conversion settings Part 5

      PDF compatibility levels When you create PDFs, you must decide which PDF version to use. You can change the PDF version by switching to a different preset or choosing a compatibility option when you save as PDF or edit a PDF preset. Generally ...
    • Advanced PDF print settings Part 2

      Specify halftone screen frequency (Acrobat Pro) In commercial printing, continuous tone is simulated by dots (called halftone dots) printed in rows (called lines or line screens). Lines are printed at different angles to make the rows less ...