13 Printing and Exporting

Adobe InDesign CC provides advanced print-preparation and printing controls to help you manage the printing process, regardless of the output device. You can easily output your work to a laser or inkjet printer, a screen proof PDF, a press-ready PDF, or a computer-to-plate imaging device.

Getting started

In this lesson, you’ll do some print-preparation work on a magazine cover that contains a full-color image and also uses a spot color. The document will be printed on a color inkjet or laser printer for proofing and also on a high-resolution imaging device, such as a platesetter used in offset printing. Prior to printing, you will export the document to a PDF file that can be used in a review process.

1. To ensure that the preferences and default settings of your InDesign program match those used in this lesson, move the InDesign Defaults file to a different folder following the procedure in “Saving and restoring the InDesign Defaults file” on pages 4–5.

2. Start InDesign. To ensure that the panels and menu commands match those used in this lesson, choose Window > Workspace > [Printing And Proofing], and then choose Window > Workspace > Reset Printing And Proofing.

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   Note

   If you have not already downloaded the project files for this lesson to your computer from your Account page, make sure to do so now. See “Getting Started” at the beginning of the book.

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3. Choose File > Open and open the 13_Start.indd file in the Lesson13 folder, located inside the Lessons folder within the InDesignCIB folder on your hard drive.

4. An alert message informs you that the document contains missing and modified links. Click Don’t Update Links. You will correct these problems later in this lesson.

   When you print an InDesign document or export a PDF file for printing, InDesign must access the original artwork that was placed in the layout. If imported artwork has been moved, graphic filenames have changed, or the original files are no longer available, InDesign alerts you that the original artwork cannot be located or has been modified. This alert appears when a document is opened, printed, exported, or checked for printing using the Preflight panel. InDesign shows the status of all files necessary for printing in the Links panel.

5. Choose File > Save As, rename the file 13_Press.indd, and save it in the Lesson13 folder.

6. To see what the finished project looks like, open the 13_End.indd file in the Lesson13 folder. For this lesson, the difference between the Start and End files is not visible in a preview; instead, you’ll need to examine the Links and Color Swatches panels to see the differences.

7. When you are ready to start working, either close the 13_End.indd file or leave it open for your reference. Then return to your lesson document by choosing 13_Press.indd from the Window menu or by clicking the 13_Press.indd tab in the upper-left corner of the document window.

Preflighting files

InDesign provides controls for performing a quality check on a document prior to printing, handing off the document to a print service provider, or publishing to a digital format. Preflight is the standard industry term for this process. In “Preflighting as you work,” in Lesson 2, you learned how you can take advantage of the live preflight capabilities in InDesign. This lets you monitor a document as you create it to prevent potential printing problems.

You can use the Preflight panel to confirm that all graphics and fonts used in the file are available for printing and exporting and that there are no instances of overset text. Here, you’ll use the Preflight panel to identify a pair of missing graphics and overset text in the sample layout.

1. Choose Window > Output > Preflight, or click the Preflight button () on the panel dock.

2. In the Preflight panel, make sure that On is selected and confirm that [Basic] (working) is selected in the Profile menu. Notice that two types of errors are listed, LINKS and TEXT. The number following in parentheses indicates two link-related errors and one text-related error.

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   Tip

   You can also access the Preflight panel by double-clicking “2 errors” at the bottom of the document window or by choosing Preflight Panel from the menu to the right of “2 errors.”

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3. Click the triangle to the left of LINKS and then to the left of TEXT to reveal more information about the errors. Click the triangle to the left of Missing Link to display the name of the missing graphic file. Double-click the GardenNews-Masthead-Spring.ai link name; this centers the graphic in the document window and selects the graphics frame. If you look carefully at the frame that contains the magazine title, you’ll notice a red-circled question mark in the upper-left corner, which indicates that the original graphic file is missing.

   

4. A typical problem in production might be that the decision was made to change the color of the masthead for this issue, but the InDesign file is still linked to the graphic with the previous color. You will link to this new version of the masthead. To fix this error, open the Links panel and scroll down or expand the panel until you see this graphic name.

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   Note

   Modified or missing graphics are displayed in low resolution regardless of the current Display Performance setting.

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5. Make sure that the GardenNews-Masthead-Spring.ai file is selected in the Links panel. Notice that it shows the red-circled question mark () here as well, and then choose Relink from the panel flyout menu. Browse to the Links folder inside the Lesson13 folder. Double-click the GardenNews-Masthead-Summer.ai file. The new file is now linked, replacing the original file.

   Notice that after you relink the GardenNews-Masthead-Summer.ai graphic, it is a different color, which was the design change. Notice that the red-circled question mark in the upper-left corner has changed to a link symbol (), meaning that the graphic is linked to the InDesign file and is not missing or modified.

6. To display the document at high resolution, choose View > Display Performance > High Quality Display. It’s a best practice to view a document at High Quality Display when checking it for production quality.

   

7. Click the Status icon () at the top of the Links panel. This sorts the links by status rather than name or page. Status includes whether a link is missing, modified, or embedded. The graphics that might be a problem sort to the top of the list. You’ll see that the graphic named Lily.jpg displays the modified graphic alert (). Click the page number to the right of the filename, and InDesign navigates to the page where the modified graphic is located, selects it, and centers it on your screen.

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   Tip

   The Display Performance section of the Preferences dialog box lets you change default settings for the display of raster images, vector graphics, and objects to which transparency is applied. Choose Edit > Preferences > Display Performance (Windows) or InDesign CC > Preferences > Display Performance (macOS)to open the Preferences dialog box.

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8. Notice that the modified graphic alert () is also displayed in the upper-left corner of the graphic frame. You can click this alert button or double-click the one in the Links panel to update this graphic. Click one of those now.

   Notice that after you relink the Lily.jpg graphic, the color has changed. Another typical scenario in production is that the photographer did some color correction to this photo. The file was replaced in the Links folder but was never updated in the InDesign file. Also notice that the modified graphic alert in the upper-left corner has changed to a link symbol, meaning that the graphic is linked to the InDesign file and is not missing or modified.

   

9. Open the Preflight panel again. Now we’ll examine the TEXT error. In the same way you clicked the missing or modified graphic to locate it, click the triangle to the left of Overset Text (1). Then click the page number to the right of the listed text frame. This navigates to the text frame and selects it, centering it in the document window.

10. The red square with a plus sign inside indicates that there is more text that does not fit into the frame. There should be no overset text in a file that is ready to be reviewed, published, or printed.

11. Using the Selection tool (), pull down the center handle on the text frame enough to display the last line of the paragraph.

    

12. Now the Preflight panel status shows No Errors () at the bottom. Every document should have No Errors in the preflight status when you are finished preflighting.

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    Note

    If any links remain modified at this point, open the Links panel flyout menu and choose Update All Links.

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13. Choose File > Save to save the changes you’ve made to the document, and close the Preflight panel.

Previewing separations

If your documents need to be prepared for commercial printing, you can use the Separations Preview panel to check whether the colors are set up properly for the particular printing process that will be used for this particular document. For example, will the document be printed with process CMYK inks, with spot-color inks, or with a combination of those? The answer determines what you need to check for and fix. You’ll try out this feature now.

1. Navigate to page 1 and choose Window > Output > Separations Preview. Or click the Separations Preview button () in the panel dock to open the panel.

2. Choose Separations from the View menu in the Separations Preview panel. Adjust your view so that you can see the page, and adjust the panel’s height so that all of the listed colors are visible. If necessary, choose View > Fit Page In Window.

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   Tip

   If you choose Ink Limit from the View menu in the Separations Preview panel, InDesign displays in red any areas that exceed the specified maximum ink percentage. (The default Ink Limit value is 300%.)

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3. Click the eye icon () next to CMYK to hide all page elements that use CMYK colors. The elements that are still visible are elements that use something other than CMYK color. In this case, spot (PANTONE) colors are applied.

   

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   Tip

   Sometimes special effects are achieved in printing with spot color inks by printing the same ink twice. This is called a second hit and must be set up in the file like an additional color.

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4. Next, notice that two of the PANTONE colors used in the layout share the same number (PANTONE 136). These are the same ink. The difference represents what this ink looks like when printed on different kinds of paper: Coated (C) and Uncoated (U). In the vast majority of projects printed with spot color inks, there is only one plate for each ink. So if this file were to print using Pantone 136, you would need to make sure that only one 136 printing plate (separation) would be produced. You’ll correct this problem later using the Ink Manager.

5. Click the eye icon next to PANTONE 136 C. The title disappears. This means that the title is using the ink you turned off. Click the eye icon again to turn this ink back on.

6. Click the eye icon next to PANTONE 136 U. Now the text on the right disappears, meaning it’s using this other version of the same ink. If this project is indeed printing with CMYK plus PANTONE 136, you need to correct the file so that both of these items print on the same 136 plate.

7. Click the eye icon next to CMYK to show all colors again, and navigate to page 2. Click the eye icon next to Black to turn it off. Notice that the headline disappears but some of the body text is still visible. This means that the body text will print on several plates when it should be black only.

   

8. To investigate why and fix this, turn Black back on. Slide the page to the left so that you can see part of the body text from page 3. The text on both pages is supposed to be the same, but something is wrong. Open the Paragraph Styles panel (Window > Styles > Paragraph Styles) and click in the body text on page 3. The style Body Copy No Indent is highlighted. Now click in the body copy on page 2. No paragraph style is highlighted. Somewhere in the process, this text was formatted without using the paragraph style.

   Select some text at the end of the first paragraph and drag-select through the beginning of the third paragraph. Click the Body Copy No Indent paragraph style to apply it to all paragraphs.

9. Turn off Black again in the Separations Preview panel. Now all of the text that you expect to be black disappears. This is because the character color is part of the paragraph style, and that color is Black. You can see how using paragraph styles can prevent many errors, including text in the wrong color.

   

10. Choose Off from the View menu in the Separations Preview panel to enable viewing of all colors, and then close the panel.

11. Choose File > Save.

Managing colors

One of the best practices when making sure a file is ready for commercial printing is to make sure that only the colors actually used appear in the Swatches panel and that all colors used are shown in the panel.

1. Choose Window > Color > Swatches to open the Swatches panel. To quickly find all unused swatches, choose Select All Unused from the Swatches panel flyout menu. Notice that several versions of the yellow color are used in the file, including an RGB version. This commonly happens in the creative process, but in production it should be the same yellow throughout, so this must be fixed. Choose Delete Swatch from the panel menu to remove the unused swatches.

2. Choose Add Unnamed Colors from the Swatches panel flyout menu. Three colors appear that were not there before. (This happens when you create colors in the Color panel and use them but don’t take the step of adding them to the Swatches panel.) What we are concerned with here is whether these colors are using inks that will or will not work with this file’s printing process. These are CMYK colors, so they are not a problem.

   

Using the Ink Manager

The Ink Manager provides control over the inks used at output time. Changes you make using the Ink Manager affect the output, not how the colors are defined in the document.

The Ink Manager options are especially useful to clean up how inks will print without having to go back and change imported graphics. For example, if a publication will be printed with CMYK process inks but it uses a spot color, the Ink Manager provides the option of changing the spot color to the equivalent CMYK process color. If a document contains two similar spot colors when only one is required, or if the same spot color has two different names, the Ink Manager lets you map the variations to a single spot color.

Next, you’ll learn how to use the Ink Manager to convert a spot color to a CMYK color, and you’ll create an ink alias so that the desired number of separations is created when the document is color separated to create printing plates.

1. Choose Window > Color > Swatches to open the Swatches panel if necessary, and then choose Ink Manager from the Swatches panel flyout menu.

2. In the Ink Manager dialog box, click the spot icon () to the left of the PANTONE 136 C color swatch. It changes to a CMYK icon (). The color will now print as a combination of CMYK colors instead of printing on a separate color plate. Click OK and close the Ink Manager.

3. Now open the Separations Preview again, and see that PANTONE 136 C is no longer there. PANTONE 136 U still shows as a separate ink. We’ll deal with that next.

   

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   Tip

   If the file will in fact print with spot inks, you can use transparency effects without a problem, as long as you are careful that the effect uses the same inks as the rest of the file.

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   The All Spots To Process option at the bottom of the Ink Manager dialog box lets you convert all spot colors to process colors. This is a good solution if you want to limit the printing to four-color process without having to change the spot colors in the source files of the imported graphics. However, if the spot color graphics use transparency, the results from Ink Manager are not reliable. In those cases, you must open the graphic and change the spot colors to process in the original application. In fact, Adobe Illustrator displays the following warning when you save a file in which transparency effects have been applied to spot color objects.

   

4. Now we’ll combine the two versions of the same spot color so that only one spot ink plate will be produced. This is what you would do if the file were printing with CMYK plus PANTONE 136. Open the Ink Manager again and click the CMYK icon () to the left of the PANTONE 136 C color swatch to change it back to a spot ink. Then click PANTONE 136 U. Click the Ink Alias drop-down menu and choose PANTONE 136 C. This remaps all 136 U objects to print on the same plate as 136 C. Click OK.

   

5. Choose File > Save.

Previewing transparency effects

In the past, documents that contain objects to which transparency effects had been applied, such as drop shadows, opacity, and blending modes, needed to undergo a process called flattening when they were printed or exported. Flattening divides transparent artwork into vector-based areas and rasterized areas. Even if you use the High Resolution setting when flattening, rasterized areas will be a much lower resolution than the image processor at a commercial printer, and the effect won’t look as good when printed compared to not flattening. The flattening strategy was needed before image processors at commercial printers and office laser printers could process transparency.

Modern image processors can process transparency without flattening, leaving the transparency live. You will get the best results by not flattening at any point in the production process. The Flattener Preview panel in InDesign can help you see which objects in the file are using transparency effects so that you can make sure you’ve used them purposefully and not by accident.

Some of the objects in this magazine use transparency effects. Next, you’ll use the Flattener Preview panel to determine the objects to which transparency effects have been applied and the areas on the page that are affected by transparency.

1. Navigate to page 1 and choose View > Fit Spread In Window.

2. Choose Window > Output > Flattener Preview, or click the Flattener Preview button () in the panel dock, and then position the Flattener Preview panel so that you can see the entire page.

3. In the Flattener Preview panel, choose Transparent Objects from the Highlight menu. The entire page is displayed with a dimmed grayscale preview, except for the areas with transparency effects.

4. If it’s not already selected, choose [High Resolution] from the Preset menu.

   Notice how the masthead at the top of the page is displayed with a red highlight. This object has a transparency effect, such as a blending mode, opacity, drop shadow, or any of nine additional special effects applied (in this case, a drop shadow). You can use this highlight to help identify areas of your layout that may be unintentionally affected by transparency so that you can adjust either your layout or your transparency settings accordingly.

   

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   Tip

   Transparency can be applied in Adobe Photoshop, in Adobe Illustrator, or directly in an InDesign layout. The Flattener Preview panel identifies transparent objects, regardless of whether the transparency was created using InDesign or imported from another application.

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5. Scroll or click through to the next spread. Now nothing is highlighted in red, and the spread looks the same as when the Flattener preview is off. That’s because there are no objects with transparency on this spread.

6. Choose None from the Highlight menu to disable the Flattener preview, and then close the panel.

Previewing the pages

Now that you’ve previewed the color separations and areas of transparency in the layout, you’ll preview the page to get an idea of how the magazine will look when printed.

1. At the bottom of the Tools panel, hold down the Screen Mode button () and then choose Preview from the menu. The guides, frame edges, invisible characters, pasteboard, and other nonprinting items are hidden. This is the best onscreen view of how the document will look when it is printed and trimmed.

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   Tip

   You can also toggle between the different screen modes by choosing a mode from the Screen Mode control in the Application bar.

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2. Hold down the Screen Mode button again, and then choose Bleed. Additional space outside the perimeter of the final document trim size is displayed. This confirms that the color background extends beyond the edge of the document, ensuring complete coverage in the printed piece. After the job is printed, this excess area is trimmed to the final printed size.

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   Note

   Review the section about printing to the edge of the paper in Lesson 3 for more information about bleed.

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3. Scroll through the entire document and look over everything before printing or exporting. In Bleed mode, you can see whether items at the edge are extended far enough into the pasteboard, in addition to looking at everything else you can see in Preview mode. Confirm once again that the Preflight status shows No Errors ().

4. Choose Normal from the Screen Mode menu and then choose File > Save.

After confirming that the file looks acceptable, you are ready to print it.

Creating an Adobe PDF proof

If your documents need to be reviewed by others, you can easily create Adobe PDF (Portable Document Format) files to transfer and share. There are several benefits to this convenient format. Files are compressed to a smaller size, all fonts and graphic links are self-contained in a single composite file, and files are displayed onscreen and print the same whether opened in Windows or macOS. InDesign exports directly to Adobe PDF.

Exporting your publication as an Adobe PDF document also has many advantages for commercial printing. You can create a compact, reliable file that contains all of the elements in the InDesign file, including high-resolution graphics and all of the fonts, so that you or your service provider can work with the file and get the same high-quality results that they would from working directly with the InDesign file. A properly exported PDF from InDesign is ready for your service provider to use with the tools for commercial printing such as preflight checks, trapping, imposition, and color separation.

These two different purposes for using a PDF have different requirements. You can use presets to save settings that are appropriate for different purposes so that you don’t have to select multiple choices in the export dialog box each time you export. In other words, presets allow you to carefully set up requirements for different purposes and then use them every time without worry. You can also share presets with colleagues to ensure that all PDFs are exported with the same settings by everyone.

You will now create an Adobe PDF file suitable for review and proofing purposes using one of the built-in presets.

1. Choose File > Export.

2. Choose Adobe PDF (Print) from the Save As Type (Windows) or Format (macOS) menu. For the filename, type 13_Proof.pdf. If necessary, navigate to the Lesson13 folder, and then click Save. The Export Adobe PDF dialog box opens.

3. In the Adobe PDF Preset menu, choose [High Quality Print]. This setting creates PDF files suitable for output on desktop printers and proofers and for onscreen proofing, without creating a file that is too large to easily share or whose resolution is too low for a reviewer to evaluate any raster graphics.

   

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   Tip

   The presets available in the Adobe PDF Preset menu are used for creating a range of Adobe PDF files, from small files suitable for onscreen viewing to press-ready files suitable for high-resolution output.

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   Note

   Adobe PDF (Print) export in InDesign is performed in the background, which enables you to continue working while an Adobe PDF is being created. If you try to close your document before the background process is completed, InDesign will display a warning message.

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   Select View PDF After Exporting. This will open the PDF file in Acrobat as soon as it’s finished exporting, which saves you the step of switching to Acrobat and opening the file.

   The Export Layers menu lets you choose the layers to be exported when creating the PDF. For this exercise, use the default option: Visible & Printable Layers.

4. Click Export. An Adobe PDF file is generated and displays on your monitor in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC.

5. Review the Adobe PDF. This type of PDF is appropriate to share with colleagues or customers for review purposes, or to print to an office printer for review on paper.

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   Tip

   You can view the PDF export progress by opening the Background Tasks panel (Window > Utilities > Background Tasks).

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6. Return to InDesign. A tip about a new feature, PDF Comments may have opened on your screen. This is an important new feature for the review process that enables you to work with Acrobat-created comments directly in InDesign, rather than working back and forth between InDesign and Acrobat. We will not be using this feature in this lesson, but the figure that follows shows what the process looks like.

   

   The PDF Comments panel enables you to import the comments from an InDesign CC 2019–created PDF. As you click each comment, InDesign navigates to that object in the file.

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   Tip

   To learn more about using PDF comments in InDesign CC 2019, start at the online help here: https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/using/import-pdf-comments.html.

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7. Close the tip and the PDF Comments panel and choose File > Save.

Creating a press-ready PDF and saving a PDF preset

InDesign files are submitted to commercial printers either as native files (which we’ll learn about later in this lesson) or as press-ready PDFs. Press-ready PDFs are high resolution and include the bleed area. In this exercise, you will learn about creating an Adobe PDF file suitable for commercial printing.

InDesign includes a PDF export preset called [Press Quality] that has most of the necessary settings already defined. However, it does not work for documents that include any objects that bleed. You will start with that preset and modify it so that you have a press-ready preset that includes the bleed.

1. Choose File > Adobe PDF Presets > Define. The Adobe PDF Presets dialog box opens. Scroll down to [Press Quality], select it, and click New. This enables you to create a new preset based on the options already set up in the default Press Quality preset.

2. In Preset Name, type Press Quality With Bleed.

3. Under Marks And Bleeds make the following changes: Under Marks, select Crop Marks. In Offset, type .125. In the Bleed And Slug area, for Bleed, enter .125 in the Top box and click the Same Settings icon () to set the same bleed settings on all sides.

   

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   Note

   You can also choose Use Document Bleed Settings, but by setting a bleed amount in the preset, even documents without a bleed amount set in Document Setup will export with the specified bleed area.

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4. Click OK and then Done. This preset will now be available whenever you export to PDF.

5. Choose File > Adobe PDF Presets > Press Quality With Bleed. Name the file 13_Press_HighRes.pdf, click Save, and then click Export. When the PDF opens in Acrobat, notice how the cover photo extends past the crop marks. The crop marks indicate where the blade will cut through the paper to trim the magazine to the final size. In this case, it will cut through the printed image and produce a clean edge with no paper showing at the edge.

The most important required characteristics of a PDF for commercial printing are:

• High-resolution raster graphics

• Bleed included

• PDF compatibility of at least Acrobat 5 so that transparency effects are not flattened

The preset you have made does all of these things. However, you may want to edit it. For example, you may want to increase the version of Acrobat compatibility because you know that everyone in your production workflow is up to date and there is no reason to be compatible back to Acrobat 5.

In order to check whether the PDF will have live transparency or will be flattened, examine the different options available when compatibilty with Acrobat 4 is selected, compared to later versions of Acrobat.

1. Choose File > Adobe PDF Presets > Define. The Adobe PDF Presets dialog box opens. Scroll down to Press Quality With Bleed and choose Edit.

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   Tip

   If you need to create a flattened press-ready PDF, use the [High Resolution] flattener preset in the Advanced panel of the Export Adobe PDF dialog box.

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2. Click the Advanced category on the left. Notice that the Transparency Flattener settings are dimmed and not available. This means the transparency will not be flattened. Now change the Compatibility setting to Acrobat 4. The Transparency Flattener settings are now available because exporting to Acrobat 4 means exporting to a file format that can’t process transparency effects, and therefore you must compensate for that by flattening these effects. Click Cancel and then Done.

   

Sharing a preset

1. Choose File > Adobe PDF Presets > Define. The Adobe PDF Presets dialog box opens. Scroll down to Press Quality With Bleed. Click this name and then choose Save As.

2. Choose a name for your preset and navigate to a location on your hard drive where you wish to save it. You can now share this file with others.

3. To share a preset, choose File > Adobe PDF Presets > Define again. This time, in the Adobe PDF Presets dialog box choose Load and navigate to the location where the preset file exists. Select it and then click Open. Click Done to exit the Adobe PDF Presets dialog box. The preset is now available.

Printing a proof and saving a print preset

InDesign makes it easy to print documents to a variety of output devices. In this part of the lesson, you’ll create a print preset to save settings—and save time in the future—without having to individually set each option for the same device. The process is similar to saving a PDF preset. You will use this preset for proofing on your office printer, assuming the printer has only Letter or A4 paper.

1. Choose File > Print.

2. From the Printer menu in the Print dialog box, choose your inkjet or laser printer.

   The options you see throughout this lesson will be different depending on the device selected. Follow the steps with your printer’s options as best as you can.

3. On the left side of the Print dialog box, select the Setup category, and then choose the following options:

   • Paper Size: US Letter (or A4)

   • Orientation: Portrait

   • Scale To Fit

   

4. On the left side of the Print dialog box, click the Marks And Bleed category, and then choose these options:

   • Crop Marks

   • Page Information

   • Use Document Bleed Settings

   • In the Offset box, enter a value of .125.

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   Tip

   The preview pane in the lower-left corner of the Print dialog box shows how the page area, marks, and bleed area will print.

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   The crop marks print outside of the page area and provide guides showing where the final document is trimmed after printing, just as we saw in the press-ready PDF. The page information automatically adds the document name and the page number, along with the date and time it was printed, to the bottom of the printout. Because the crop marks and page information are printed outside the page edges, you must select Scale To Fit in order to fit the page, bleed, and marks onto a Letter or A4 piece of paper.

   

   Selecting Use Document Bleed Settings causes InDesign to print objects that extend outside the edge of the page area, if that value is specified in the Document Setup dialog box. If you didn’t specify a bleed value there, you must enter bleed values here.

5. On the left side of the Print dialog box, click the Output category. Choose Composite CMYK or Composite RGB from the Color menu. (If you are printing to a black-and-white printer, choose Composite Gray.)

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   Tip

   If your document contains transparency that is flattened during the printing process, select Simulate Overprint in the Output section of the Print dialog box when printing for the best print result.

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   Choosing Composite CMYK causes any RGB colors, including those in RGB graphics, to be converted to CMYK at the time of printing. This setting changes neither the original, placed graphic files nor any colors applied to objects. Which setting you should choose depends on your particular device.

6. On the left side of the Print dialog box, click the Graphics category. Choose Optimized Subsampling from the Send Data menu.

   When Optimized Subsampling is selected, InDesign sends only the image data necessary for the printer selected in the Print dialog box. This can reduce the time it takes to send the file to print. To send the complete high-resolution graphic information to the printer, which may take longer to print, select All from the Send Data menu.

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   Note

   The Optimized Subsampling option cannot be selected if you are using the Device Independent PPD, because this generic driver can’t determine what information a selected printer may need later.

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7. Choose Subset from the Fonts Download menu. This causes only the fonts and characters that are actually used in the document to be sent to the output device and can reduce the time it takes to print single-page documents and short documents without much text.

   The Color Management category enables you to set options that provide control over how colors are printed across different devices. You’ll use the default settings for this lesson.

8. On the left side of the Print dialog box, click the Advanced category and choose [Medium Resolution] from the Transparency Flattener Preset menu.

9. Click Save Preset at the bottom of the Print dialog box, name the preset Proof fit to page in the Save Preset dialog box, and click OK. InDesign returns to the Print dialog box, with your settings in place. Next time you want to print with these settings, you now can do that in one step by choosing the preset you just made.

   

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   Tip

   To quickly print using a preset, choose File > Print Presets and select the device preset. Holding down the Shift key while doing this will print using the settings in the selected preset without opening the Print dialog box.

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10. Click Print.

Creating a print preset saves Print dialog box settings so that you don’t need to individually set every option each time you print to the same device. You can create multiple presets to meet various quality needs of individual printers and to meet your various project needs. When you want to use these settings in the future, you can choose them from the Print Preset menu at the top of the Print dialog box. You can also share print presets with colleagues.

Print Booklet

A very useful way to proof documents that will be stitched into a booklet is to use the Print Booklet feature. This feature enables you to make a proof on paper that will be constructed similarly to the commercially printed booklet. When you print a document this way, you can fold the stack of pages in half, staple them on the fold (spine), and page through the proof to review it.

1. Choose File > Print Booklet to open the Print Booklet dialog box.

2. Click the Print Settings button at the bottom of the dialog box. In the Print dialog box, select the Setup category and change Orientation to Landscape (Horizontal). Click OK. InDesign returns to the Print Booklet dialog box.

   

3. Leave Booklet Type set to 2-up Saddle Stitch, then click Preview on the left side of the dialog box. Notice how the last page is next to the cover. This is called a printer’s spread—in this case, the outside covers.

   

4. Click Cancel (or print the document if you choose). Open the file named 13_SixteenPager.indd. Choose File > Print Booklet and follow the same steps as in steps 2 and 3 above. Click through the spreads using the arrows and slider at the bottom of the preview window. This file has large page numbers on it so that you can easily see how the pages fit together in printer spreads. Click Cancel (or print the document if you choose), and then close the 13_SixteenPager.indd file.

Packaging files

The Package command assembles a copy of your InDesign document and all linked items, including graphics, into a single, convenient folder. InDesign also copies the fonts needed for printing when you package a document. Packaging ensures that all project components required for output are provided. This process and using a press-ready PDF are the two industry-standard ways of providing an InDesign project to a commercial printer.

Packaging is also used to archive finished projects in a way that gathers all components together. This is convenient and efficient when you want to create a new version at a later date or share the project with others.

Now you’ll package the files for the magazine in preparation for sending them to your print provider.

1. Choose File > Package. The Summary section of the Package dialog box notifies you of one more printing-related issue.

   Because the document contains RGB images, InDesign alerts you to their presence. This alert is standard because some printers want you to convert all images to CMYK before submitting the file. But others want to do the conversion from RGB to CMYK using standards for their presses, so read this alert but don’t change anything. A best practice is to talk to your print provider and ask what they prefer.

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   Note

   Adobe Fonts available as part of your Creative Cloud membership are not included when you use the Package command.

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2. Leave Create Printing Instructions unchecked.

   InDesign can create a text file of instructions and your contact information that will accompany the InDesign file, links, and fonts in the package folder. The recipient of the package can use the instructions file to better understand what you want done and how to contact you if there are questions.

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   Tip

   When Copy Fonts (Except activated from Adobe Fonts and non-Adobe CJK fonts) is selected in the Create Package Folder dialog box, InDesign generates a folder called Document fonts in the package folder. If you open an InDesign file located in the same folder with the Document fonts folder, InDesign will activate these fonts for you and make them available only for that document while it’s open.

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3. Click Package. If asked to save the document, click Save.

4. In the Create Package Folder dialog box, browse to locate the Lesson13 folder. Notice that the folder that will be created for the package is named 13_Press Folder. InDesign automatically names the folder based on the document name, which you assigned at the beginning of this lesson. You can change this name as you wish.

5. Confirm that the following options are selected:

   • Copy Fonts (Except activated from Adobe Fonts and non-Adobe CJK fonts)

   • Copy Linked Graphics

   • Update Graphic Links In Package

   • Include IDML (so that others can open the file in a previous version of InDesign if necessary)

   • Include PDF(Print) (so that you can’t forget to send a PDF proof along with the native files)

   

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   Note

   IDML stands for InDesign Markup Language. IDML files can be opened in an earlier version of InDesign.

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6. Choose [High Quality Print] for the Select PDF Preset.

7. Click Package.

8. Read the warning message that informs you about the licensing restrictions that may affect your ability to include the fonts when you send the file, and then click OK.

9. Switch to Explorer (Windows) or Finder (macOS), and then navigate to the 13_Press Folder in the Lesson13 folder (located inside the Lessons folder within the InDesignCIB folder on your hard drive). Open the folder.

   Notice that InDesign created a duplicate of the InDesign document, the IDML version, and the PDF of your document. It also copied all fonts into a Fonts folder and all graphics and other linked files necessary for high-resolution printing into a Links folder. Because you selected Update Graphic Links In Package, the duplicate InDesign file now links to the copied graphic files located in the package folder instead of to the original linked files on your hard drive or server. This makes the document easier for a printer or service provider to manage and also makes the packaged folder ideal for archiving.

10. When you have finished viewing its contents, close 13_Press Folder and return to InDesign. Also review the PDF created by the packaging process to check that all text and graphics are correct. Typically, this folder is zipped and uploaded to the service provider, with the included PDF serving as the proof for them to check their work.

Congratulations! You’ve completed this lesson.

Exploring on your own

1. Create new print presets by choosing File > Print Presets > Define. Define presets to use for oversized formats or for printing to various color or black-and-white output devices you may use. For example, if you have a printer that uses tabloid paper, create a preset that allows you to print letter-size pages at full size with a specified bleed amount.

2. Practice using the Press Quality With Bleed preset you saved with other documents, such as those from other lessons in this book or your own files.

3. Practice using the Package feature with other documents, such as those from other lessons in this book or your own files. Examine the contents of the resulting folder to become familiar with what is needed when sending your file to a service provider such as a commercial printer.

4. Learn how to open imported graphics that need to be fixed for printing. Click a graphic from the Links panel. Choose Edit With from the Links panel flyout menu. Choose Photoshop to open raster images and Illustrator to open vector graphics. Make changes to the imported art, then save and close the file. Go back to InDesign and update the links.

Review questions

1 What problems does InDesign look for when using the [Basic] (working) profile in the Preflight panel?

2 What elements does InDesign gather when it packages a file?

3 What are the three most important characteristics of a press-ready PDF file?

4 What functions does the Ink Manager provide?

5 What are the two industry-standard ways of sending files to a service provider such as a commercial printer?

Review answers

1 By default, the [Basic] (working) profile in the Preflight panel confirms that all fonts used in the document or inside placed graphics are available. It also looks for linked graphic files and linked text files to confirm that they have not been modified since they were initially imported, and it warns you of missing graphic files, unresolved caption variables, inaccessible URL links, missing fonts, and overset text frames.

2 InDesign gathers a copy of the InDesign document along with copies of all the fonts and graphics used in the original document. The original files remain untouched. If you select Include IDML, InDesign creates an IDML version of the document that can be opened in previous versions of InDesign. If you select Include PDF(Print), InDesign creates an Adobe PDF (Print) version of the document. If you choose to include a PDF, you can also choose a PDF preset.

3 The three most important characteristics are ensuring high resolution for raster graphics, including the bleed, and using a later version of Acrobat (version 5 or newer) as the file format so that transparency effects remain live and are not flattened.

4 The Ink Manager provides control over inks at output time, including the ability to convert spot colors to process colors and to map individual ink colors to different colors, without changing the colors in InDesign or in imported graphics.

5 The two standard methods are using a press-ready PDF with a bleed and using an InDesign Package folder.