Publisher v2.0.4 ; searching for PDF/A 1a:2003

[laurent32]

Printer is asking me PDF files using PDF/A 1a:2003.

I can't find that profile in the lists…

What profile do you think would match the most ?

Or other ideas ?

Can we manually install PDF/A 1a:2003 ?

[walt.farrell]

1 hour ago, N.P.M. said:

It should be there as it is a standard profile in affinity.

The request was for PDF/A not PDF/X ?

[Alfred]

2 hours ago, laurent32 said:

What profile do you think would match the most ?

PDF/X-1a would be the closest, but if that isn’t acceptable to your printer you could try a converter such as this one:

https://www.ilovepdf.com/convert-pdf-to-pdfa

[lacerto]

Obsolete.

[laurent32]

Thanks for your concern, yes my initial request was for PDF/A 1a:2003.

I also thought the printer would ask for PDF/X 1a:2003 but he did ask for PDF/A 1a:2003.

I messaged him back and guess what, he had made an error… yes indeed he wanted PDF/X 1a:2003 !

So it's fine we've got PDF/X 1a:2003 !

Another question…

In your opinion, what would be the best combinaison to get the best quality (and fidelity) in the rendering ?

We have  using …

Do you think I should look ahead and try to find a better combinaison or shall I just give the printer what he request (PDF/X 1a:2003) ?

In other terms, for example, is PDF 1.7 "better" than PDF 1.4 or PDF/X-4 ???

[laurent32]

3 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

The request was for PDF/A not PDF/X ?

You were right @walt.farrell, as very often !

[laurent32]

2 hours ago, Alfred said:

PDF/X-1a would be the closest, but if that isn’t acceptable to your printer you could try a converter such as this one:

https://www.ilovepdf.com/convert-pdf-to-pdfa

You were right also @Alfred and your idea using a converter would have been nice I think.

[laurent32]

2 hours ago, lacerto said:

Re-check the requirements. If you are really going to print, the likely request is for PDF/Xa1a (2001 or 2003). PDF/A is for archival purposes and -a suffix means accessibility. Affinity apps cannot prepare latter kinds of PDFs and do not have the required accessibility features to support such PDFs.

100% correct @lacerto, it was the case : the printer made an error asking for PDF/A…

[lacerto]

Obsolete.

[laurent32]

11 minutes ago, lacerto said:

If the printer requests PDF/X-1a:2003 they expect CMYK-only output and flattened transparencies. As long as the job does not have overlapping live transparencies (less than 100% opacity values or blend modes mixing two or more colors), you could produce an acceptable file also by using other methods, and just make sure that e.g. images are forced to be converted to CMYK by using the appropriate PDF export setting ("Convert image color spaces"). 

Using directly PDF/X-1a:2003 would typically be the best choice, but in Affinity apps it has a serious weakness as it works poorly with placed PDF files, and is likely to cause content of those files to become rasterized (not only are the color values recalculated and K-values [objects using blank ink only] becoming four-color values), and overprint attributes lost, but the text might also get rasterized, and possible spot colors lost). So after you have created the production PDF, you should check the results with something like Adobe Acrobat Pro, or open the PDF in your Affinity app and examine the produced color values and ensure that there are no unexpected rasterizations.

Very interesting, thanks a lot for your input.

As I always do, I'll take time to watch closely at my PDF outputs before sending them out…