graphic design • print • logo • web • proofreading301.874.3131
e-mail
instant message
fax: 815.572.5721
- ads
- annual reports
- banner ads
- book covers
- book layout
- brochures
- CDs / DVDs
- circulation
- direct mail
- directories
- HTML e-mails
- identity packages
- logos
- magazines
- media kits
- newsletters
- postcards
- posters/banners
- slides
- trade show / event displays
- websites
- miscellaneous
Received this from a friend or colleague?
Click
here to subscribe*
tip
Working with Acrobat PDF Proofs
Sending out PDF proofs to clients has been a part of our practice for years now. Not just environmentally friendly, the PDF format allows for the creation of low- or high-resolution proofs, immediate and free transmission via e-mail (no overnighting or sending via postal mail), and marking up by the client if needed. They save time and money. However, there are some features that are not necessarily well known that can help clients when viewing PDF proofs. Here are a few:
- Hovering your mouse in the bottom left corner of the PDF window allows you to check the page size. Note that there can be different page sizes within the same PDF.
- You can view the PDF at different percentages, so you can zoom in to read smaller text or to look at more detail in artwork. On a PC, ctrl + 0 (command + 0 on Mac) fits the page to the document pane and ctrl + 1 (command + 1 on Mac) shows the page at actual size.
- The full version of Acrobat allows for communicating needed changes or questions to the designer with the use of special tools. However, if the recipient does not have the full version of Acrobat or is using a third-party PDF program that does not have these tools, the designer can create the PDF in such a way as to activate these tools and allow that PDF to be marked up by the client. The instructions for the recipient are automatically added into the e-mail with the PDF.
- Use the Find tool to search the entire PDF.
- Compare a previous proof with a newer one by opening both files and using the Compare Documents feature (found under the Document menu), or open them both and go to Window/Tile to see them side by side or stacked.
PDFs are the preferred way to send revisions. The designer can more efficiently make revisions because he/she can go directly to the changes and the changes can be seen where they appear in the layout. There is little room for error since any text additions or changes can be copied from the PDF into the layout file. But, don't forget to spell check when inserting changes into the PDF (Edit/Check Spelling/In Comments, Fields, & Editable Text).
Another method for submitting revisions, which also allows a designer to more efficiently make changes, is a faxed printout of the PDF. It too shows the changes as they are in the layout so that they can be found quickly and without question, as opposed to instruction such as "Go to page 5, paragraph 4, line 9" and change something there, which can be confusing if text reflows while making revisions. This can result in additional time spent making changes, as the intended paragraph may actually then not be "paragraph 9." The designer then needs to refer to the last proof sent to the client to determine the changes that were actually intended.