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lhanneman
lhanneman
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[CS5] Using PDF Export Preset from Distiller with InDesign, doesn't work the same?

Sep 20, 2011 1:50 PM

Tags: #pdf #indesign

Hello,

 

We are in the process of reworking one of our workflows in which we would manually use Distiller to create a PDF. Now we are trying to automate this with InDesign. My first thought was that I could try using the same PDF Export Preset (.joboptions file) used in Distiller, load it into InDesign, and export my book as a PDF using this preset.

 

For my current testing example, there are about 115 pages in this PDF document. The PDF that Distiller created is of pretty good quality, and is about 34MB. When I used the same .joboptions file to export an InDesign book of the same original documents as a PDF, the result is equal in quality, but is about 119MB.

 

Does anyone know why they aren't even close in file size? Is InDesign packing more stuff (maybe related to the actual InDesign documents, or the book itself) into the final PDF? If so, is there anyway to get InDesign to give a similar PDF (in terms of both size and quality) using the .joboptions file from Distiller?

 

Thanks in advance!

1576 Views   5 Replies   Latest reply: lhanneman, Oct 10, 2011 1:22 PM
 
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  • Peter Spier
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    1. Peter Spier,
    Sep 21, 2011 1:33 PM   in reply to lhanneman
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    Exported PDF supports layers, transparency, interactivity, etc. that is not supported in distilled PDF, so that's one source of file size increases. Are you embedding fonts in the Distilled PDF? Exported PDF always embeds fonts unless they are restricted, so that's another possibility. You might also want to go int the PDF Optimizer in Acrobat pro and click the Audit Usage button to see which things are taking up the most space, then you can decide if some things can be thrown away.

     
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  • lhanneman
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    2. lhanneman,
    Oct 10, 2011 11:26 AM   in reply to Peter Spier
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    Thanks for the reply!

     

    I won't be able to use Acrobat Pro, and my hope is to continue using InDesign/InDesign Server. Since my goal is to match what Distiller produces, is there a way (with InDesign) to export PDFs but to strip out the layers/interactivity/transparency that Distiller does not support? The output PDF will be used for archive purposes only.

     

    Thanks again for any advice!

     

    -Lloyd

     
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  • Bob Levine
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    3. Bob Levine,
    Oct 10, 2011 11:43 AM   in reply to lhanneman
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    Use the X/1-a preset.

     

     

     

    Bob

     
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  • lhanneman
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    4. lhanneman,
    Oct 10, 2011 11:53 AM   in reply to Bob Levine
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    Thanks Bob!

     

    I tried that one more time just to be sure, and it produced a 114MB PDF. Distiller used the same content (as PostScript) and created a 33.5MB. Whats more, the Distiller created PDF which is much smaller, appears to be MUCH better quality as well. Any thoughts?

     

    -Lloyd

     
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  • lhanneman
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    5. lhanneman,
    Oct 10, 2011 1:22 PM   in reply to lhanneman
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    One thing I just found is this article:

    http://www.tek-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=1572094&page=9

     

    Which kind of explains the difference between the Distiller/InDesign PDFs. Assuming that is all correct, are there any options I'm left with to create a similar PDF (in terms of quality and size) with InDesign/InDesign server?

     
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