Overview of the print production tools in Acrobat XI Pro

Overview of the print production tools in Acrobat XI Pro

Lori Kassuba – September 20, 2012

Have you ever wondered what all those tools were for in the Print Production panel?

Here are the Print Production tools

1. 1. Preflight
2. 2. Output Preview
3. 3. Edit Object
4. 4. Flattener Preview
5. 5. Convert Colors
6. 6. Set Page Boxes (Crop Tool)
7. 7. Add Printer Marks
8. 8. Fix Hairlines
9. 9. Ink Manager
10. 10. Trap Presets
11. 11. Acrobat Distiller

These tools are found only in the Professional version of Acrobat.

1. Preflight
   This tool can be used for so many purposes. Preparing your PDF file for printing.
   Fixing or repairing your PDF file. Creating or validating a standards-compliant PDF file.
   Analyzing what is in your PDF file.
2. Output Preview
   This tool is used for soft proofing color in your PDF file. In the Preview dropdown select one of three categories in which to preview your document. You can view separations, color warnings, or even individual objects. You can also access the Ink Manager and Set Page Boxes tools from this dialog.
   This dialog was redesigned in Acrobat XI.
3. Edit Object
   This tool was called the Edit Object tool in Acrobat X and was found in the Content panel. This tool can be accessed using the ‘o’ single key accelerator. You can use this tool to edit a selection or page in a vector program like Adobe Illustrator.
4. Flattener Preview
   This tool is used to flatten any transparency in a PDF file so that it prints correctly on output devices.
   If you have a file that uses overprinting but not transparency, you can flatten the overprinting. Just make sure you have Preserve Overprint checkbox off.
5. Convert Colors
   The Convert Colors tool allows you to easily convert all color in a document to a specified CMYK, RGB, or grayscale color profile
   Use this dialog when you need to create a grayscale PDF from a color document.
6. Set Page Boxes
   The Set Page Boxes (Crop Tool) dialog allows you to crop one or more pages or add white space to your document.
7. Add Printer Marks
   The Add Printer Marks dialog allows you to add marks to your document so you’ll know the correct trim size.
   Use this dialog first before cropping your pages.
8. Fix Hairlines
   The Fix Hairlines dialog allows you to thicken up any lines that fall below a specified value.
9. Ink Manager
   The Ink Manager allows you to change ink values and convert colors.
   These changes don’t affect your document - only when you print your document.
10. Trap Presets
    The Trap Presets dialog allows you to create, edit, assign, and delete custom trapping presets for your file.
11. Distiller
    The Acrobat Distiller is used to convert PostScript files to PDF.