Publisher PDFs

[claude72]

To handle Publisher files, I simply bought Windows and Publisher, and I installed them on my Mac (with Sun WMware)... and I also bought the Markzware "PUB2ID" plug-in, that allows to open a Publisher file in InDesign...

... and I always warn the customers that their PDF made with office tools or with free internet downloaded softwares are not reliable for Print, and that I also need their native files (and extra job will be charged): then, depending of the difficulties appearing with the "job", I have the choice between 3 ways to handle it (whole job or each page separately):

- customer's PDF: with PitStop... and Illustrator!!!

- native file in Publisher: it allows me to do the main corrections directly in Publisher, then I output a .PS file on the PC, that I distill on the Mac, getting a reliable PDF, and I finish with PitStop,

- native file in InDesign: the conversion is not exact, and it's necessary to rework the InDesign file... but PUB2ID is able to extract all the pictures from the Publisher file and put them in a folder as separate files with links in InDesign... this allows the user to open all the picture in Photoshop if necessary.

(as the customers often don't give the pictures, it's also possible to use PUB2ID just to get the pictures from the .PUB file, then open them in Photoshop to make the corrections and re-import the modified pictures in Publisher... or in the PDF with PitStop!!!)

It seems that all PDF publisher files come out RGB.

Yes, but no... RGB mode is the default mode of Publisher, but most recent releases of Publisher (sure for the 2007) can work in CMYK...

But here again the problems is between the chair and the keyboard: an user who is enough incompetent to believe that it is possible to "make DTP" with Publisher cannot know how to work correctly in CMYK!!!

And it's better for a printer to have RGB job and pictures, letting him do its own CMYK conversion, with its own parameters, than to get a bad CMYK job, made by an incompetent operator, with CMYK black, an unprintable TAC, all benday colors made with the 4 process, even on 5 pt text, etc.

[Hopkins Printing]

Although Matt and I's opinion differ on this, I can only speak for my own experiences...

CMYK/Spot out of Publisher = less time I have to spend fixing the document and color is just as good and it separates properly.

It's actually better to have the customer setup their Publisher files correctly first (which is about a 10 minute conversation and a document download for future reference) so that I can avoid the inevitable question, "What happened to my (RGB) blue? It's more vivid on my screen!" This way they get a clear picture of what they can expect color-wise.

Cheers,
Jon :-)