Files For Transfer

[MichaelSchade]

Hello,

Not exactly an Illustrator question, though I suppose it could be. I am wondering, what sort of file format is acceptable by most printers and prints clear, but leaves the artwork uneditable.

I am talking about if I designed a logo (I would want it to be vector -- EPS perhaps?), a business card, etc.

Thank you so much,
Michael

[micke]

If you save as an Illustrator PDF, you can turn off "edit in Illustrator" (or something like that) in the options before the final save. Most printers can use PDFs, some prefer them.

[MichaelSchade]

Great, thanks mickie.

[Paths]

Sorry, that method doesn't work as one would think. The file is still a vector when you open it in Illustrator.

You need to password protect it.

When you 'Save' as PDF, notice the choices on the left hand side (CS2 here).
Click on 'Security'
Click on the check box 'use password to restrict editing Security and Permissions setting'- it will open the Acrobat Permissions which you can then set to prevent editing.

Settings I use:
Printing Allowed: High resolution
Changes Allowed: None
uncheck the box: 'Enable copying of text, images and other content'
check the box: 'Enable text access of screen reader devices for the visually impared'

[Hexabuzz]

May I politely ask as to why you wish to submit an uneditable PDF to a printer?

Working in prepress for a large commercial printer, if we received a file like this, it could really complicate the production cycle for the simple reason that if anything needed to be done to your file for prep reasons, we're out of luck until we can get a new file from you, and this could affect the time it takes to complete your job.

To be hones, we HATE PDF's, because there's not as much of a chance for us to fix things...

While I'm at it, not to hijack your thread, please,

DON'T convert type to outlines (unless you also leave a layer of editable type) - you'd be surprised how many typos we find, and would be happy to fix, if only...

and DON'T embed scans... Please link, and supply the linked file... Again, you'd be surprised how many lo-res files got embedded, or once a customer has received a proof, wants us to do a color correction...

Just send us a nice .ai file!!!

[MichaelSchade]

Hexabuzz: I won't be sending files directly to the printer. I do design, and design only. I want to send this to the client but they do not pay for the rights to the actual file, just the finished product.

Therefore, we don't want them to receive an editable file if it can be avoided.

Oh, and thanks for the info Path.

[Hexabuzz]

Makes perfect sense... As a designer, I've seen clients ask for proofs, and the next thing you know, they're getting the job done somewhere else, and you're left holding the bag for all the hard work...

Good luck on your project!

[MichaelSchade]

Exactly Hexabuzz. Thanks so much.

We did this as a business once, though stopped due to medical issues, and are finally getting back in the game. We got burned once too many times with this so we've decided to change our work flow to prevent clients from doing that.

Thanks for the info everyone! :)