4 Tips when exporting a PDF from InDesign

The following video has several pointers that you need to remember when creating PDFs for Lob. If you use Adobe InDesign, you can use this video to do some checks on your creative before it is sent to Lob.

1. Make sure that all of the fonts in your PDF are embedded. If you are having trouble embedding your fonts, this is most likely because of a licensing issue. The preferred resolution would be to find/renew the font license but if that is not possible, you can always use InDesign to create an outline of the text. Remember that this option is to be used sparingly because it dramatically increases the size of the resulting PDF.
2. Make sure you set the color profile to Gracol 2006 or Gracol 2013. This will make sure that colors show up correctly in the final printed product. Setting the correct color profile also goes for any artwork/pictures that you import into InDesign as well.
3. Flattening the transparencies is VERY IMPORTANT. If you fail to do this, certain artwork/pictures won’t show up in the final printed product. Make sure to set the option to “High Resolution” to cover any edge cases that may show up in your PDF

Lob has a maximum file size limit of 5MB. Tips on saving space include using text outline sparingly, not using a giant picture as the background, and making pictures/artwork the same size as will be used in the design. If you have Adobe Acrobat Pro, you can use the Preflight function under the Edit menu to run a report on your PDF. This will alert you to any issues. Set the profile to the “PDF-X/1a 2003” standard and select “Analyze and Run”.