What settings should I use to export a print-ready PDF?
File Setup & Color
PDF is the format we recommend, and these settings work well from InDesign, Illustrator and most other design programs:
- Adobe PDF Preset: Press Quality
- Compatibility: Acrobat 4 (PDF 1.3). This flattens transparency, which avoids most effects problems.
- Compress Text and Line Art: off
- Marks and Bleeds: check "Use Document Bleed Settings" and leave crop marks off
- Fonts: embedded or converted to outlines
An export preset doesn't convert your colors for you. Convert everything to CMYK in the document before you export.