PDF presets are a great way to quickly and easily create professional-looking PDFs. Adobe InDesign allows you to create presets for a variety of different document types, including books, brochures, and more. To set up a PDF preset in InDesign, follow these steps:
- Open InDesign and click the File menu.
- Choose New File from the menu.
- Type a name for your new file and click OK.
- Click the OK button to close InDesign.
- Open the PDF editor that you want to use for your new preset file. (If you’re using Adobe Acrobat Reader, open Acrobat Reader’s Preferences dialog box and select the PDF Preset tab.)
- On the left side of the PDF editor, click the Preset button to open a list of all of the available presets that have been created for this document type by other users or Adobe itself. (If you’re using an earlier version of Adobe InDesign, some presets may not be available.)
- To add your own custom preset to this list, click on one of the existing presets in this list or create your own by clicking on one of the Create New Presets buttons at the bottom of the Preset list. (You can also save your custom presets as files.)
- When you’ve finished creating your new preset, click on its name in the Preset list to open it in the PDF editor that you used for creation; if there are any errors or warnings associated with it, these will be shown when you try to open it in another document type or if you try to save it as a pdf file without first opening it in an older version of Adobe InDesign.)
What Are PDF Presets?
A PDF preset is a group of settings that are specific to the type of PDF you are creating, taking into consideration things like file size to output the best quality document. These settings range from layout, interactive elements, compression, marks and bleeds, output conditions, and much more.
InDesign comes with a few default PDF presets to choose from. Each preset serves a specific purpose, such as creating a high-quality print or optimizing the PDF for the printing press.
Choose One of InDesign’s PDF Presets
InDesign has a few PDF presets to choose from. Before spending the time customizing your own preset, see if InDesign has one to fit your needs. Note that the selection may vary depending on which version of InDesign you are using. For reference, this guide refers to Adobe InDesign 2022.
If one of these presets fits your needs, you can select it by clicking “File” in the menu bar, hovering your cursor over “Adobe PDF Presets” in the drop-down menu, and then selecting the preset from the sub-menu.
If you’d like to read more information about each preset, click “Define.”
The Adobe PDF Presets window will appear. Here, you can choose a preset from the Presets group, and see that presets description, settings summary, and warnings (if any) below.
Select the preset you want and click “Done” to select it.
Create Your Own PDF Preset
If your PDF requires a unique output, you can set your own PDF preset. To get started, click “File” in the menu bar, hover your cursor over “Adobe PDF Presets” in the drop-down menu, and then select “Define” from the sub-menu.
In the Adobe PDF Presets window that appears, click “New.”
The New PDF Export Preset window will appear. This is where you will completely customize your preset, and there’s certainly no shortage of options to tweak.
First, give your new PDF preset a name by typing it in the “Preset Name” textbox. You can also set the compatibility by choosing a compatibility type for the drop-down box next to the option. You may also want to select an already-existing preset from the “Standard” drop-down menu. This is good if you want to use a previous preset, but need to just tweak one or two things.
In the left-hand pane, you’ll find six different categories.
Each category contains several groups of options to customize. Here’s what you can expect to find in each one.
General: As the name implies, this is where you will set some of the more basic options, such as the layout of the PDF (single page, front and back, etc.), if you want to export all pages or a range of pages, if you’d like to include hyperlinks, bookmarks, and non-printing objects, and more.
Compression: Here, you’ll set the compression for color images, grayscale images, and monochrome images.
RELATED: How Does File Compression Work?
Marks and Bleeds: Marks are used to tell the printer where to trim the paper, and bleeds bring elements and colors over the print margins so that there is no unwanted white space on your printed document. This section is where you customize those settings.
Output: You can set which type of color conversion and profile inclusion policy you want. You can also tweak the PDF /X options, used to facilitate graphics exchange.
Advanced: You can set when to subset fonts and when to omit OPI, set the transparency flattener preset, and tweak accessibility options.
Summary: When you’ve set everything up to your liking, you can get a bird’s-eye view of your PDF preset here.
If you’re happy with your settings, click OK. You’ve now successfully created your own PDF preset.
That’s all there is to it. Now that you’ve successfully created your PDF preset, all that’s left to do is export your PDF (File > Export) and then send it out for distribution!
RELATED: What Is a PDF File (and How Do I Open One)?
