How do I export a PDF?

It doesn’t matter if you're making the largest poster or flip lid box or the smallest business card or hang tag, all products need a design file in order to print. Greenerprinter prefers PDF files. Make sure that your PDFs are press-ready before submitting them for printing. Review our File Set-up Checklist to determine if your file is press-ready.

How do I export a PDF from Illustrator?

1. Check our File Set-up Checklist to see if your file is press-ready and ready to export as a PDF.
2. Choose the “Save As” option in the “File” group on your top menu bar.
3. Select Adobe PDF (Print) as the format.
4. Click save to move to the next menu.
5. In the “General” section: Set "Adobe PDF Preset" to PDF/X-4:2008.
6. In the "Marks and Bleeds" section: Set “Bleeds" to .125 inches on all sides. Alternatively, you can check “Use document bleed settings” if your bleeds are set correctly to 0.125 inches on each side. 0.125 inches should be written in the bleed text boxes no matter which option you pick.

7. In the "Output" section: Set "Color Conversion" to No Conversion.

8. Click Save PDF.

How do I export a PDF from InDesign?

1. Check our File Set-up Checklist to see if your file is press-ready and ready to export as a PDF.

2. Choose the “Export” option in the “File” group on your top menu bar.

3. Select Adobe PDF (Print) as the format.

4. Click save to move to the next menu.

5. In the “General” section: Set "Adobe PDF Preset" to PDF/X-4:2008.

6. In the “Compression” section: Uncheck the “Compress Image Data to Frames” box.

7. In the "Marks and Bleeds" section: Set “Bleeds" to .125 inches on all sides. Alternatively, you can check “Use document bleed settings” if your bleeds are set correctly to 0.125 inches on each side. 0.125 inches should be written in the bleed text boxes no matter which option you pick.

8. In the "Output" section: Set "Color Conversion" to No Conversion.

9. Click Export.

How do I export a PDF from Photoshop?

1. Check our File Set-up Checklist to see if your file is press-ready and ready to export as a PDF. Pay close attention to bleeds as Photoshop does not have a built-in feature for adding bleeds.

2. Choose the “Save As” option in the “File” group on your top menu bar.

3. Select Photoshop PDF as the format.

4. Click save to move to the next menu.

5. In the “General” section: Set "Adobe PDF Preset" to PDF/X-4:2008.

   

6. In the "Output" section: Set "Color Conversion" to No Conversion.

   

7. Click Save PDF.

How do I export PDFs from other programs?

The process for saving a PDF is different in each program. In many programs, you can save a PDF through options labeled “Save As” or “Print”. If you choose the Print option, look for a place that says “Print as PDF” and save the file to your computer.

Please review our File Set-up Checklist carefully when exporting documents from non-design software. These PDFs are often not press-ready.