Pdf (Portable Document Format) is a method, developed by Adobe, to output a job into a file, which contains all information related to the job in question. Pdf file contains fonts, images, and colour separation data as a single package, which is totally independent of device, software and platform. And in addition to all this, the package is very small, and it's contents can be viewed on the monitor screen and even edited! Pdf file is true PostScript data; therefore it's validity is easy to check by printing it from Acrobat Reader software to any PostScript printer. If the printout is OK, so is the file.

In order to create a pdf file it is necessary to purchase Adobe Acrobat 4 software. Creating a pdf file consists of two steps: The job is first output from PageMaker to a file, which is then converted to pdf format by means of Distiller software.

To print a PageMaker job to a file

The Prinergy Refiner ppd file can be downloaded from Acta Print's web site. The printer can be any high-resolution colour printer, but not Adobe Pdf Writer. The driver should be Apple LaserWriter 8.5.1 or later.

When Paper Size is Custom, also the crop marks are printed on the sheet.

The colour specifications should be performed according to the model.

The name and location of the PostScript file to be saved is defined under the Save as...  button.

For resolution, choose the Printer's default value behind option Features.

To convert a PostScript file to a pdf file with Adobe Distiller 4.

From General / File options, choose Compatibility Acrobat 3.0 (pdf format 1.2) and resolution 2400 pdi.

In colour and greyscale images the resolution should be at least 300 dpi, in line-art images at least 1200 dpi. The images should be compressed as little as possible.

All fonts should be included in the pdf file; however, from each font save only the letters used in the publication.

Colour information is saved in the pdf file unchanged.

After completing the settings, the set-up should be saved for instance under name Acta Print for later use.