CREATING PRESS-READY PDFS 2006 1

AGL accepts digital ads exclusivelyAGL ad insertions are exclusively digital advertising

prepared as press-optimized PDFs (Adobe PortableDocument Format files). AGL is produced entirely com-puter-to-plate (CTP) with a digital-prepress workflow.

If non-PDF files or film are submitted, the Publisher’sAdvertising Policy is to bill the advertiser all internaland printer’s service bureau charges for ad building orformat conversion. This charge is separate and addedto the negotiated rate for the advertising spacereservation and/or color charges. Such charges are notsubject to discounts. Therefore, it is in the advertiser’sinterest to have its own art department, agency orservice provider convert the advertising to a press-optimized PDF before submitting it.

What does “press-optimized” mean?Not all PDFs are alike. Many people who use a

computer think they know how to make a PDF becauseit is a familiar output feature residing in many clientprograms. Nevertheless, about 88 percent of printerssurveyed by the GATF (Graphic Ar ts TechnicalFoundation) reported they still receive improperlyformatted PDF files. PDFs created for the Web and emailusually cannot be used for printing.

For print publishing, PDF files must be press-optimized (press-ready; suitable for web-offset printing).Depending on the default settings in your designapplication, just clicking “Export to PDF” may producea PDF file that would be fine for website viewing oremailing, but is not properly saved for print publishing.It might not embed the typefaces used, have sufficientresolution or include necessary color managementinformation. It also might not be resizable to themechanical specifications of the advertising space size.Correct settings—the PDF distiller options—must beselected and used to produce a press-optimized PDF.

AGL’s preferred format for ad filesubmissions is the PDF/X-1a format

This is the current printing industry standard forgraphic-arts data exchange. PDF/X-1a is a PDF filespecifically customized for printing. A PDF/X-1a file isabout half the size of an equivalent file in TIFF/IT orPostScript format. PDF files such as PDF/X-1a arevisual file formats that display exactly what was created,regardless of fonts, software or operating system. Fontsand images are embedded, eliminating the possibilityof font substitution or missing elements. Color is

restricted to CMYK (the four colors used in processprinting: cyan, magenta, yellow and black), as opposedto RGB color (red, green and blue) used to display animage on a monitor. Mechanical specifications (media,trim, etc.), trapping and print conditions such as SWOP(Specifications for Web Offset Publications akaStandards for Web Offset Printing) must be defined tocreate the file, so there is less margin for error.

PDF/X-1a files are also vectorized, which means,among other things, that they can be resized slightly tofit different ad widths and trim sizes used among differentpublications (for example, repurposing the size of a½-page-island ad created for a tabloid-sized magazineas a full page in a standard-sized magazine.) Most newerversions of graphic-arts page-building applicationsprovide for outputting files in PDF/X-1a format.

Alternatively, Adobe Distiller options for creating press-optimized PDF files acceptable to our printer can be setmanually using the information in the next section.

If the PDF/X-1a format is not used, native files shouldfirst be converted to PostScript format before beingdistilled into PDF format, using Adobe Distiller options,to avoid file errors. Use available preflight checklist plug-ins prior to creating PDF files.

Creating Press-ready PDFsfor advertising being designed for, or submitted to, AGL magazine.

●●●●● AGL accepts digital ads exclusively●●●●● What does “press-optimized” mean?●●●●● AGL’s preferred format for ad file submissions

is the PDF/X-1a format●●●●● Setting Acrobat Distiller 6.0 job options manually

for Windows 2000/XP or Mac OSX

™

ADVERTISING-RELATED INFORMATIONAVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOADING (PDF) AT

www.agl-mag.com:

For general information on advertising contentrequirements and restrictions specific to AGL magazine,

see Publisher’s Policies, Provisionsand Protective Clauses.

For available AGL advertising shapes and dimensions,see Ad Sizes and Mechanical Specifications

For advertising file-creation and design information,see Ad Preparation Recommendations

For AGL advertising materials delivery instructionsand deadlines,

see Sending Your Ad to AGL

For AGL news- and product-release submissioninformation, specific-issue content and editorial policies,

see Editorial Guidelines, Calendar and Policies

2 CREATING PRESS-READY PDFS 2006

Setting Acrobat Distiller 6.0 job optionsmanually for PCs using Windows 2000, XP

After launching "Export to Adobe PDF" in your design application, click the "Edit Job Options" button in the "PDF Options"Window and select or deselect items in the tabbed options pages as shown below. (You can save these options as "AGL ads.")

These two settings mustbe checked if your pagescontain OPI (Open Press

Interface) information,such as low-res link files

from a service provider oran in-house server.

If these settings are notselected, there will be no

OPI information sent, andthe hi-res file will notreplace the link file.

If you are not using OPIin your workflow, then

these settings can be leftunchecked.

CREATING PRESS-READY PDFS 2006 3Rev. 6/06

Configuring Acrobat Distiller 6.0 job optionsmanually Macintosh systems using Mac OSX

After launching "Export to Adobe PDF" in your design application,click the "Edit Job Options" button in the "PDF Options" Window andselect or deselect items in the tabbed options pages as shown below.

These two settings must be checked if your pages containOPI (Open Press Interface) information, such as low-res link

files from a service provider or an in-house server. If thesesettings are not selected, there will be no OPI information

sent, and the hi-res file will not replace the link file.If you are not using OPI in your workflow, then these

settings can be left unchecked.

(You can save theseoptions as "AGL ads.")