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Postscript files and 'Print Ready' PDFs

When a document is printed on any printer other than that attached to your computer, problems may arise with fonts, formatting and layout. To avoid possible conflicts with transferring a file for print, creating a PostScript file or PDF will preserve your document settings and allow others to view and print a snapshot version of your file on any computer system

• PostScript:

Before you begin the layout of your document it is important to select a PostScript printer driver, as this will prevent your document from reflowing. If you need to install a PostScript printer driver, drivers can be downloaded from the internet (visit Adobe.com or try a search engine) or Document Services can supply you with one. If you have already commenced a document, select a PostScript driver with your document open and this will reformat your existing content.

To create a PostScript file you need to follow these steps:

  1. Select a PostScript printer from your print dialogue box.
  2. Tick or select the box marked ‘print to file’ and press OK.
  3. Verify the saved destination and correctly name the file. 

• PDF:

Adobe Acrobat is a family of application software, used for the creation of PDF’s (Portable Document Format). This file format is now a worldwide standard for the distribution, viewing and printing of documents from any application to any computer system containing a copy of the Adobe Reader program. Adobe Reader is available for free download from Adobe via the internet and this will allow anyone to view and print a PDF file. To create a PDF file, Acrobat Distiller must be present on your computer. Distiller is part of the Acrobat Professional commercial product and it acts as the engine for the creation of PDF files. Final PDFs are generated within Distiller from PostScript files.

Acrobat Distiller has various installed settings which govern the final output quality of a PDF. The default setting is usually for ‘screen’ which is only suitable for viewing files on a monitor, as the resolution is very low and not all fonts are embedded from the document.

To create a ‘print ready’ PDF you need to follow these steps:

  1. Open Distiller and select ‘job options’ from the drop down menu.
  2. Change the output setting to ‘print’.
  3. Open or drag and drop a PostScript file to create a PDF.

Always check that your page format is correct when printing and save all pages in the document as one PDF.

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