When creating a print-ready PDF file with InDesign, a custom preset can save time.
To set up a custom preset, go to File → PDF Exports Presets → Define. Select New and call your preset “Castle Press PDF”.
General: Check “View PDF after Exporting”. (Always review your PDF before submitting to make sure that everything is correct.)
Compression: Color and Grayscale images are be set to “Bicubic Downsampling” at 300. Compression is set to “ZIP” and Image Quality to “8- bit”. Monochrome images are set to “Bicubic Downsampling” at 1200. Compression is set to CCITT Group 4. Check “Compress Text and Line Art”.
Marks and Bleeds: Check boxes for Crop Marks Page Information. Offset should be set to .125 inches. Bleed should be set to .125 inches on all sides.
Output: In the Color dropdown, select “No Color Conversion”.
Advanced: InDesign will always subset fonts. Transparency Flattener is set to “High Resolution”.
Summary: Make sure that all of your settings are correct.
And then select OK.
To use your new preset to export a print-ready PDF, go to File → Export. In the dialog box, type in the name of the file, select "Adobe PDF (Print)" in the Format dropdown, select a place to save your PDF, then click Save.
The Export PDF dialog appears. In the Preset dropdown, select your “Castle Press PDF” preset and click the Export button.
See also:
Digital File Preparation
Digital Files
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