Printing a publication for proofreading

[John Hodge]

How can I print a Publisher PDF to my local laser printer as text-only for proofreading, i.e., without printing images/graphics?

[v_kyr]

There isn't yet such an build-in option (you will have to use workarounds), as you can see from some "export text only" feedback requests ...

• Export Text Only
• Easy Export Text Only
• ...etc.

[Fixx]

For proofreading I think the text should be in the layout for checking hyphenation etc.

If you are worried about the file size you can set dpi to 1 and quality to 0 in PDF export. This will get you a low resolution copy PDF. But as for now there is no simple way to print graphics as "boxes only".

[Andy05]

7 minutes ago, Fixx said:

For proofreading I think the text should be in the layout for checking hyphenation etc.

I second this! Also, it will reduce the process of back-and-forth discussion about the layout, if the client can do the proofreading with text "in its final shape".

[PaulEC]

I'd also agree with this. If you want to save on printing costs, print in black only and set to draft mode (if it's available on your printer).

[John Hodge]

Thanks guys for taking the time to reply to my question. It's not the filesize that concerns me -- when I print a draft copy in greyscale it makes it harder for my proofreader to read some of the text, besides using excess toner!

[Old Bruce]

30 minutes ago, John Hodge said:

It's not the filesize that concerns me -- when I print a draft copy in greyscale it makes it harder for my proofreader to read some of the text, besides using excess toner!

If all your pictures are linked then you could make a pair of directories. One containing the actual files and one containing files that have no content, just a transparent background layer. The trick is to have the file names exactly the same in both directories. Then you change the name of the directory containing the actual images from "Artwork" to "Not Artwork". Then change the name of the blank images directory from "Images For Proofreading copy" to "Artwork". Reopen the file and make your PDF then close and change the directories back.

[David in Яuislip]

This works although it smacks of desperation 
Place a white rectangle on a new Master page and set its Blend Options as below
Assign the master to all pages
Go into each page and Move to Front
Bit of a faff but it'll save a lot of toner

ShowBlackTextOnly.afpub