On Mar 1, 2005, at 8:13 am, Alan Holt wrote: > > I have a question about PDF files. I have to send some artwork to a > printer > and they have requested it in pdf form. Now it is a BW file with a drop > pantone colour. If I use the create PDF function in the print option in > photoshop will that create the required format in the 2 colors I have > chosen > or will it turn the image into a CMYK file. I assume you've set the colour for the object as Pantone in Photoshop? If you're exporting from Photoshop, then I'd think that the PDF would be correct. I didn't know the difference between CMYK & Pantone until after I'd had my second 10,000 two-colour leaflets printed. Now they come out fine. I produced them in InDesign CS, with a cartoon character my designers supplied as an Illustrator object. My printer's requirements were for legacy Illustrator, but InDesign doesn't export to that directly so I ended up exporting from InDesign to PDF, opening that in Illustrator & then saving as a legacy file. Some very expensive business cards came out perfectly using this method, so apparently the spot-colour was preserved through the PDF conversion process. At the end of the day, ask the printer to check the file for you. I know it's difficult to get to speak to the operator himself - I guess they're usually busy keeping the machines turning over; certainly I always have to go through my sales rep - but you are spending a lot of money with them and are entitled to a bit of help getting it right. In my case it turned out that I'd had unsatisfactory results on one occasion - a white unprinted spot in the middle of a black O against a blue spot-colour logo - because I made the mistake of sending a file which was CMYK to be put through a spot-colour press. Apparently the operator had to open the file in Illustrator and go through it himself filling each section with a pantone shade, and he simply missed a bit; if your printers use a similar setup then you'll be doing them a favour in asking them to check the file first & offering to correct it yourself if they see any errors. > Would it be better to use distiller? Once I have created a pdf file in > distiller is there a way of checking and making sure the colors are the > correct format? No idea. I think there are some other lists about, inhabited by graphics professionals, where you might get a better answer. I'm sure someone will be along shortly with some info about them. Stroller.