Submitting a Print Ready PDF for Publication

Video Transcript:

If you would like to submit your manuscript as a print-ready PDF there are very specific requirements it must meet. I’ll show you how to make a PDF in Microsoft Word 2007 that will meet the requirements for a black and white book, but first there are important things that you need to know about submitting a print ready PDF.

Please be aware that print-ready means just that. We will not be making any adjustments to your content or design so you will need to submit your PDF exactly as required for publication. This includes page numbers, the table of contents, fonts and font size, page margins and image resolution. We will not be able to correct your PDF. After submitting your PDF to us if you need to revise anything you will need to submit an entirely new complete PDF, and additional fees may apply.

There are only three things we will do with your file before submitting it for publication:

1. We’ll add the copyright page.
2. If you’ve submitted a PDF for a black and white book and the PDF contains color images we will grayscale the PDF. There can be no color on the interior pages of a black and white book.
3. And if necessary we will insert between one and four blank pages to the end of your book to make the final page count divisible by four and to ensure that the last page is completely blank.

If your PDF contains images please be sure they meet the following three requirements:

1. All images need to have a resolution of at least 300 ppi, or pixels per inch. Please note, that if you insert an image and then enlarge it within your document you are decreasing its resolution.
2. All images in a black and white book need to be contained within the text margins.
3. If your PDF contains any copyrighted images you’ll need to send written permission from the copyright holder.

Your computer will need to have Adobe Acrobat installed in order to create a PDF. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat it can be downloaded free of charge at several different websites, just do a search for free Adobe Acrobat.

The first step in creating a print ready PDF is setting your document’s page size and margins to match those of your final book. On screen right now is table of our various black and white book sizes and the corresponding margins. For this example I am going to set the margins for a six by nine book:

In Microsoft word 2007 click the Page Layout tab. Then click Margins. In the pull down menu that opens select the last option, "Custom Margins." The page setup window will open; this is where we will set our margins. Click the Paper tab. Under "Paper Size" set the width and height to match the specifications for your chosen book size. Since I’m using six by nine size book for this example I’m going to enter six for the width and nine for the height. Where it says "Apply to" make sure that "Whole Document" is selected. Now click the Margins tab. Enter the specifications for your chosen book size into the fields for top, bottom, left, right, and gutter. When entering your margin numbers Microsoft Word may round them slightly up or down. This is okay. The difference is insignificant enough to ignore. Skip "Gutter Position." Under Orientation you want Portrait selected. Where it says "Multiple pages" select "Mirror margins." Where it says "Apply to" make sure "Whole Document" is selected. Next go to Layout tab. Under Headers and Footers check the box where it says "Different odd and even." Enter the margins for your chosen book size. For my six by nine example, the header and footer specifications are 0.5. Where it says "Apply to" once again make sure "Whole Document" is selected. We’re finished setting the margins, at the bottom of the page setup window click Okay.

When your margins change your text will shift; this can often create unintentional errors in your design or formatting. If your manuscript contains any tables, lists, charts or images, are they safely contained within the text margins? If not, you will need to resize or reposition them. Special formatting like poetry or any other text spaced apart using the space bar, tab key or enter key may need corrected inside your new margins.

Leave a blank page where we can insert your book’s copyright information. The copyright page needs to be a left hand facing page immediately following your main title page. Keep in mind that the first page of your book, typically the title page, will always be a right hand facing page. When you turn that page the copyright page will appear on the left and your front matter will begin on the right. When you hold your final book open, even numbered pages will always be on the left and odd numbered pages will always be on the right.

If all of your content looks good you can now print it out to a PDF file. In Microsoft Word 2007 you can do this by clicking the Office button in the top left hand corner of your screen and selecting Print from the pull down menu. In older versions of Microsoft Word you can do this by going to File and Print. In the print window that opens select Adobe PDF as the name of your printer. Click Properties; where it says "Default settings" choose an option that contains the prefix PDF/X-1a. If you do not have this as an option then choose either "High Quality Print" or "Press Quality." Any other default setting will be rejected by our printer. Be sure that the option to "Rely on system fonts only; do not use document fonts" is unchecked. Click the Paper Quality tab. For a black and white book, be sure "black and white" is selected. Click Okay to close the properties window, and click Okay again to close the print window. Select where you would like to save your PDF file. Wait for your computer to finish printing the PDF file.

When it’s finished, open the file and give it a quick review. Since the first page of your book will be a right hand facing page, we recommend reviewing your PDF file so that it approximates your book’s final page layout. In Adobe Acrobat, the program used for viewing PDFs, go to View and select the following two options: "Two-up Continuous" and "Show Cover Page During Two-up." Viewing your PDF with these settings will put your first page on the right and display all successive pages on the side they will appear in the final book.

When we submit your PDF to the printer its final page count will need to be divisible by four, and the very last page must be completely blank. You do not need to submit your PDF this way, but you do need to be aware of this requirement. If your PDF’s final page count is not divisible by four we will add however many blank pages are needed to the end of your book. This could be as few as one blank page or as many as four. For example, if you submit a 120-page PDF this number is divisible by four, but if the last page is not blank we will have to add four pages to your book.

If you have questions about submitting a print ready PDF, please contact your Check-In Coordinator and they’ll be happy to assist you.