PDF export
Building the PDF for your print shop and checking it before and after. The print button for office proofs is covered here too.
Save as PDF
- Click the save-as-PDF button in the top bar (Save PDF — for the print shop (uses the document's color mode, bleed and crop marks)).
- Choose the Page range — All ({{count}} pages), Current page (page {{page}}), or type pages in Range such as
1-3, 5(8-means page 8 to the end,-3means pages 1 to 3). Pages are counted from the first page of the document. - Click Create PDF. A status window reports each step — checking image files, sending to the server, your place in the server queue, building on the server (seconds). The button is disabled meanwhile. Depending on the document it takes a few seconds to tens of seconds.
- When it is ready, a "PDF saved" notice appears, the PDF downloads in a new tab and the editor shows the preflight results dialog (see "Preflight" below).
PDFs are made only from the saved document. If there are unsaved changes, the window says so and the button becomes Save and create PDF — the document is saved first, then the PDF is made. If saving fails (a network error, for example), no PDF is made.
The PDF applies the Color mode, Bleed, Crop marks and Overprint black settings from Document Setup and the plate settings from the Ink Manager. Text lands in the PDF exactly where you saw it on screen. Objects you hid on screen and objects on hidden levels are left out of the PDF as well.
Print-ready Save as PDF starts with the Starter plan. Each plan has a monthly quota and a page limit per document; if you are over, you are told before the PDF is built (see "Print (proofs)").
If building the PDF takes too long, you see "Creating the PDF took too long, so we stopped waiting. Please try again in a moment, and if it keeps happening, let us know through Contact Us."
Related questions
- How do I export a PDF?
- How do I make the file for my print shop?
- PDF generation timed out
- Can I export only some pages?
- It asks me to save before making a PDF
Checking for missing images
Before building, if any image frame has a missing file you are asked "{{count}} frame(s) have missing image files". If you continue, those spots come out empty. It is safer to cancel, place the images again with Choose an image from the gallery, and then build.
Related questions
- It says an image file is missing
- There are empty image spots in my PDF
Preflight
When the PDF is built, the results are grouped into Errors, Warnings and Notes, each with the pages concerned.
| Item | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Low image resolution | an image below 300 dpi at its placed size |
| Font not embedded | a font that could not be embedded in the PDF |
| Font substituted — not available on the server, printed with another font | a document font is not on the server and printed in another font; letter widths and shapes differ from the screen |
| Characters missing from the font (printed as □) | characters that no font contains |
| Overset text — some text does not fit its frame and will not print | text overflowing its frame does not print |
| RGB color remains | a color still in RGB in a CMYK document |
| RGB image that could not be converted to CMYK | an image that could not be converted to CMYK and stays RGB — the print shop will convert it |
| No TrimBox · No BleedBox | a PDF page lacks its trim box (or bleed box when bleed is set). PodoLay always writes them, so this should not appear — contact us if it does |
| No OutputIntent | built with a profile that has no ICC file (checked for CMYK documents only) |
| Overprint set | places set to overprint |
| Registration risk (check trapping) | places where misregistration could show a white line — turn on overprint or ask the print shop for trapping |
| Image file missing (printed blank) | an image that came out empty because its file is missing |
| Image unreadable — unsupported format or damaged file (printed as an empty area) | the file exists but could not be read, so the image came out empty |
| No spot plates (plan) | spot colors were used, but your plan does not include spot plates, so they went out without their own plates |
| Placed PDF could not be embedded (left blank) | a placed PDF that came out empty because the file could not be opened or has no such page |
| Font not embedded in a placed PDF | a font not embedded inside the placed PDF — re-export the original with fonts embedded and upload it again |
| RGB color in a placed PDF · Transparency in a placed PDF | the content of a placed PDF is carried over untouched — let the print shop know |
| Spot ink in a placed PDF (cannot be converted) | a spot ink inside a placed PDF is not a document swatch, cannot be converted to process, and adds a plate |
Below that, Output plates (process plates plus spot plates; spot inks inside placed PDFs are marked "(placed PDF)") and Preset ({{pdfx}} compliant or not) are summarized. In an RGB document it says "RGB output — not separated into plates". If the PDF does not meet a standard, Preset says "No standard declared".
With no errors or warnings the title is "The PDF was created successfully."; otherwise it is "PDF created — some things to check before printing". Either way the plates and standard summary are shown, and Notes items can appear even when there is nothing wrong. If you chose a page range, the page numbers in the list are the document's page numbers.
The checks are the items in the table above. Total ink coverage (TAC), transparency flattening, color boundaries of text glyphs and white overprint are not checked here. Total ink coverage (TAC) is shown in the "Proof preview".
Related questions
- How do I read the preflight results?
- It says a font is not embedded
- A warning says RGB colors remain
Proof preview
After saving a PDF, click the proof-preview button in the top bar (Proof preview — check the PDF you just saved as separations and ink coverage): the server re-renders the PDF you just built, the way a print shop's RIP would, and shows the result. Unlike the on-screen Separations Preview, which imitates the document, this shows the very file that goes to the print shop, so defects such as split plates or missing glyphs show up here. It works only after you have saved a PDF in this editor window; until then the button is dimmed. If you reopened the editor, save the PDF once more. Proof preview needs the same plan as print-ready PDF export (Starter and up).
Reading it
- The large image on the left is all plates combined. In the Plates list on the right, click a plate name to see that plate alone as black density (black = 100% ink). Click Composite (all plates) to go back.
- The box in front of each plate name turns the plate on or off. With two or more on, only those plates are shown, overlaid in color.
- Move the mouse over the image to read the C·M·Y·K and spot ink coverage at that point, with the total, at the top.
- Turn on
TACto mark in red the places where total ink exceeds the limit (300%). The right side shows the page's maximum ink coverage and the share of pixels over the limit. - Change the zoom with Fit, 50%, 100% and 200%, and pick 72, 150 or 300 dpi under Resolution at the bottom (150 dpi by default). Changing the resolution renders again.
- Move between pages with the Previous page / Next page buttons or the page number box at the top. It opens on the page you were viewing in the editor.
In a long document the page you are looking at is rendered first and the rest follow. If you move to a page that is not rendered yet, "Preparing page" is shown until it appears.
If the PDF's plate list differs from the document's plates, a warning appears — a spot color whose name differs and so split into two plates, or a spot color forced to process by your plan. Proof previews do not count toward the monthly PDF quota.
Related questions
- How do I check separations before sending to the printer?
- How do I find where ink coverage exceeds 300%?
- The proof preview button is disabled
- proof, soft proof, output preview, overprint preview
Print (proofs)
The print button in the top bar is for a check print on an office printer. After you choose the Page range in the same window as Save as PDF (Save and print if there are unsaved changes), it opens the browser's print dialog. This path is RGB-based — no bleed or trim marks — and the colors differ from real print. For the print shop, always use Save as PDF.
Proof printing is available on every plan; print-ready Save as PDF (export) starts with the Starter plan. Both prints and PDF exports count toward your plan's monthly quota; when it is used up you see "You have reached this month's print and PDF export limit…". Documents over the per-document page limit (Free 16 pages, Starter 120, Pro 600) can be neither printed nor exported. If your plan has no Save as PDF, the button is dimmed and clicking it shows the plan notice. A proof-print PDF is deleted from the server as soon as it is handed to the print dialog, so it cannot be downloaded again later.
Related questions
- Can I print straight to a printer?
- What is the difference between Print and Save as PDF?
Downloading a PDF from the web portal
A print-ready PDF saved in the editor can be downloaded again from a document card's ⋮ menu › Download PDF in the web portal (see the "Dashboard" article). The portal cannot build a new PDF — to make one, open the editor and use Save as PDF.
The server keeps only the last exported PDF for each document; exporting again deletes the previous one. After the retention period (Free 1 day, Starter 7 days, Pro 30 days) the file is deleted and the menu item is disabled. It is also disabled if you have never exported the document.
Related questions
- Can I download my PDF without opening the editor?
- How do I get an earlier PDF again?
- The Download PDF menu item is greyed out