AboutGlen Demers Expertise I am a Prepress Technician for Best Printing Online and can answer any question about
preparing your PageMaker document for print.
Experience 20 years working in prepress
Prepress technician for Best Printing Online
Have used Pagemaker since version 3.0 and realize there are still some people using it.
Education/Credentials Some college training in printing and have attended numerous seminars.
Question This vexing PageMaker 7.0 + Acrobat Pro 7.0 is making me nuts. I prepare a publication with all type set to CMYK and all graphics converted to CMYK. I then print to a Postscript file, which I then run thru Acrobat 7 pro to get a PDF. But when I view the result & do an Output Preview, expecting to turn off black and see no type (all my type is black), I find that the type survives in the CMY "plates." I don't know if my problem is in Pagemaker 7 (which seems likely) or in Acrobat 7 (where I have "convert colors to CMYK turned on, just in case). An Adobe tech thought it must be file corruption in PageMaker, but I find that when I write out a CMYK separation, it is fine -- that is, full separation & no type on the CMY plates. (But my printer wants a composite PDF and there, I find CMY plates do have type.) I need to know what ALL the correct settings are in both PageMaker and in Acrobat Pro 7... THANKS MUCH for any elp you can provide on this! -Dick
Answer Hi Dick,
First, In PageMaker make sure your black is defined as 0% C, 0% M, 0%, Y and 100% K.
When creating your postscript file make it composite color and use a postscript printer or acrobat distiller as your target printer.
Finally, use the distiller settings for high quality press or PDF x1-a. double check under the advanced tab in settings to make sure that convert CMYK to RGB is NOT checked.
Send a test pdf to your printer to RIP on their system and make sure the type is correct, many printers will be happy to provide you with a settings file for Distiller that they use but the PDF X1-a is a CMYK workflow and should be fine for most commercial printers.
Usually we encounter this problem with people using the default black in photoshop for their type color.
Also, if you have the color "auto" in your color list, delete it and replace it with the black color swatch. Auto is an RGB black brought in with M$ Word docs.
Hope this helps,
Glen Demers
Prepress Technician, Best Printing Online
www.bestprintingonline.com
For more PageMaker tips please visit our help pages <a href="http://www.bestprintingonline.com/pagemaker.htm">here</a>
