Printing from PDF to PDF in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC (separations)

[Kees]

Hi collegues,
Since about a month I am facing difficulties when trying to print a separation from a PDF file. Normaly I open a Pdf file of a print job which includes CMYK, die cut, hotfoil, emboss layers etc. I deselect all layers (in fact colors) that I do not need, chose size and quality (print quality) and hit print to Adobe Pdf. Afther giving it a name I imidiatly get the message that there was a problem printing and it produces a 1 kb file wich is empty. The stange thing is that I can get a Pdf file after doing the same actions 3, 4 or 5 times, waiting an hour or so, toggling a bit between portrait or landscape or auto etc. Problem does not occur whit smaller files or small sizes (like A4), only with larger files / Printsize. We do get losts of updates all the time from the company's IT department so I'm not aware if there was a new version or whatever (looks like I'm working in a cloud now, did not notice this prior). I include Word doc. with error descriptions. I hope someone has a clue what problem is, thanks for you thoughts! Kees

 

[prepressdork]

Hi Kees,

Here's a website that may provide some help:

PostScript errors | A list of errors and offending commands

List of PostScript error and offending command problems to troubleshoot or solve such printing issues

www.prepressure.com

Best regards,
pd

 

[abc]

So to clarify. You're deselecting layers, and then printing that to a new PDF file?
Why don't you just deselect the layers and then do a 'Save as" and make a new PDF without the hassle of printing?
You would get a file that would work I think (dependent on your next processes).

I've not tried it, but in the 'Printed" PDF do you still have the original layer structure but turned off?
I'm not sure if that goes through postscript to make the 'Printed' PDF in which case they would be gone as layers aren't supported by postscript.

 

[Magnus59]

So to clarify. You're deselecting layers, and then printing that to a new PDF file?
Why don't you just deselect the layers and then do a 'Save as" and make a new PDF without the hassle of printing?
You would get a file that would work I think (dependent on your next processes).

I've not tried it, but in the 'Printed" PDF do you still have the original layer structure but turned off?
I'm not sure if that goes through postscript to make the 'Printed' PDF in which case they would be gone as layers aren't supported by postscript.

I expect it would go through Postscript as printing to PDF suggests the OP is printing to a Postscript file which is processed by Distiller via a printer driver.
This is what we call "Re-baking" a PDF and is something we've probably all done in the past as a last resort to get a PDF to rip.
I don't know how well Distiller handles output from Acrobat DC
If a PDF without layers is required, for post-processing without giving the recipient access to the layers, a more efficient method would be to turn off the layers then save as PDF 1.3 thereby flattening the file.

 

[Magnus59]

I just looked at your Postscript error, it appears that the error is originating from the Adobe Graphics Manager, which is not a supported function in Postscript.
The PDF is referencing an instruction from AGM.dll and parsing that into the Postscript stream.

 

[abc]

I think if the OP wants separations, and wants to go the Postscript route you can still print to separations if you select postscript output (very last century, but if needs must).
Then distill that to a PDF, each separation would be a separate page in the PDF, and just delete the ones you don't need.
A bit tedious with anything bigger than a few pages though.
Might be a better solution than the layer approach.
'Refrying' is the commonly used term, here's some details. Refrying PDF files | How to troubleshoot and solve a problem with PDF data

 

[Magnus59]

I think if the OP wants separations, and wants to go the Postscript route you can still print to separations if you select postscript output (very last century, but if needs must).
Then distill that to a PDF, each separation would be a separate page in the PDF, and just delete the ones you don't need.
A bit tedious with anything bigger than a few pages though.
Might be a better solution than the layer approach.
'Refrying' is the commonly used term, here's some details. Refrying PDF files | How to troubleshoot and solve a problem with PDF data

Fry if you must, we prefer baking down here, it's a healthier option

 

[Kees]

Thank you all for your input. At this moment I can only get a Pdf by retying several times and being patient, so far this is working but taking time. Will investigate further.