Editing PDFS

[Keri Callan]

I am looking for information on how people are handling revisions to files supplied as pdfs.

For instance, we receive a 36 page pdf, do the proofing and the project comes back from the client with many revisions marked up on the proof.

We are finding small type changes are usually not a problem but with revisions such as - inserting paragraphs, and major sentence revisions, sometimes we have to open in illustrator to make revisions.
This has caused unexpected problems with a few projects and was wondering if it is fair to just ask that the client's send in revised pdfs to eliminate the danger.

Thanks for any suggestions you may have!

Keri

 

[Vee]

PDF is truly not intended to be edited. It can be, but that is not the intent of the PDF format. It always depends on the customer, but I would ask them to correct and supply revised PDFs. That way you both have the most current version of a document. As you know, Illustrator is not for opening PDFs, unless it was the creator, and saved appropriately.

This is the most common PDF editor >Enfocus - PitStop Professional, there is also this >Neo - EskoArtwork There are a few others too.

 

[Internal_R&D_Analyst]

Neo is probably your best option it won a GATF InterTech award this year, you can download a free trial on Esko's website.

 

[CHM]

Making changes to a file always has to be don in the original program!
So the best way to do this is to ask the original files or to ask them to do the changes.
Never do changes on the pdf itself.

This is the only way to do it right.

 

[Vee]

I agree 100% with CHM. It's just become so very common to edit PDFs, some think it's okay, and it's really not.

 

[almaink]

I disagree with both of you, to an extent. The only things I don't edit in PDF's, in Acrobat with Pit Stop or using Acrobat itself, are paragraph returns, and pages that need color correction on transparent objects. Simple text edits and color changes are faster done right on the existing PDF and I've yet to see any issues doing so.

 

[Vee]

I disagree with both of you, to an extent. The only things I don't edit in PDF's, in Acrobat with Pit Stop or using Acrobat itself, are paragraph returns, and pages that need color correction on transparent objects. Simple text edits and color changes are faster done right on the existing PDF and I've yet to see any issues doing so.

Agreed, but just one advantage to editing the native app is in the future when picking the file to make mods you will have the most recent and correct version of a file to begin working with.

The original post indicated paragraph edits, and it sounds like we all agree that it is best to edit in the native app for said changes...?

 

[oxburger]

we usually ask for the source files on any of the larger projects (4 pages or more). There should be no reason they can't accommodate you and give you the files. Just let them know that if you're making corrections on your end and they're not updating the source files by making the same corrections on their end, they are just asking for trouble the next time they want to reprint it and send you (or another printer) pdf's made from the working file that never had the corrections made.

 

[prepress@labels]

A couple of small corrections on a proof is to be expected, the problem here is the customer isn't proofreading their work before submitting the file. The job should be proofread before supplying it to a printer.

It could be they don't have a good way to print 36 pages and it's the first time they've actually seen it printed. I'd talk to them about it to see what the problem is but I wouldn't just accept editing PDF files to that degree.