Last updated on December 23rd, 2022 at 11:14 am
Originally posted on April 30, 2020 8:21 pm
If you’re new to the printing world, or even relatively acquainted, you may be wondering what a flattened PDF file is and how to achieve it. When you create a PDF from layered documents using software such as Adobe InDesign or Adobe Photoshop, your PDF can contain multiple layers with different content on each one. If you print your PDF as is, you will only print the layer that is visible onscreen as opposed to all visual elements from various layers. To avoid this issue, you want to flatten your PDF file for print. Flattening a PDF for print removes transparency information and converts images to a format that the printer can read.
Pro tip: Save a working version of your file as well as a PDF version that you can flatten.
Whether you are ordering color copies, business cards, brochure, or booklet printing, you will need to submit a flattened PDF.
Why PDF files are best for printing
A PDF (short for Portable Document Format) is the universally accepted and preferred file format for many print providers, Printivity included. A PDF can be set up to provide your printing company all of the information they need, such as color profile and embedded fonts, to ensure a smooth printing process. PDFs capture formatting information from a number of desktop publishing applications, allowing a consistent and unchanging view of what your file should look like from one device to the next.
For example, when you create a PDF, a copy of each font used is added into the PDF file itself. This is also known as embedding fonts. When the PDF is opened on any computer, all the fonts will be there the way you intended. In other file formats, the fonts are not embedded, meaning that if another computer does not have the fonts you used, it will not be able to find the fonts and will replace them with one they have. Other formats, such as DOC or DOCX, will apply styles and formatting based on the source and version of Word used to view the file. With a PDF, what you see is what you will get in your final printed product.
Once you have saved your final design file as a PDF, you want to make sure you flatten it before you submit it to your printer. You can easily flatten your PDF for print using Adobe Acrobat Pro by following these steps from 2 different options.
How to Flatten a PDF with Adobe Acrobat
Option #1 (recommended option)
1. Create a backup of your PDF file
Creating a backup of your PDF file will ensure you can make edits if needed. Once you flatten your PDF, you cannot make any further edits.
2. Go to Advanced > Print Production > Flattener Preview
3. Adjust the Raster/Vector Balance as needed
The raster/vector setting determines how hard the flattener works to keep objects in their vector form in the flattened output. This setting can affect flattening performance, especially for complex documents. When it comes to complex documents, flattening in vector form requires more time and memory than rasterization.
You can adjust the raster/vector settings from 0-100.
When choosing setting 0, the flattener rasterizes all of the objects on any page that includes at least one transparent object. All of the objects on the page will be rasterized whether or not they contain or interact with transparency themselves.
Settings 1-99 will affect the degree to which the flattener rasterizes, or doesn’t, areas of transparency determined by the number of paths, objects, the amount of object overlap and the type of objects
At setting 100, the flattener tries to keep all of the objects in their original vector form. At this setting, the flattener will almost always produce the best looking output. Due to the complexity of keeping designs in vector form, this is the slowest setting.
Use the flattener preview to best determine what the flattener will do to your design.
4. Check “Convert All Text to Outlines”
This setting controls how text is processed and will cause the flattener to convert all text to outlines. With this setting enabled, all text will print with the same weight.
5. Deselect “Clip Complex Regions”*
*This step will only be applicable if you chose values 1-99 for step 3.
This setting controls the flattener’s analysis of complexity regions. When selected, this option creates clipping paths around these portions of a transparent design.
6. Click “Apply” to flatten the PDF and close the Flattener Preview box.
Once you have completed the steps above, your file will be one single element and ready to send to the printer.
Keep in mind that you cannot edit a PDF file after it has been flattened. It is important to create a backup file in case more edits are needed.
Option #2
This second option is a quick save option for when you’re in a rush. If high quality is not necessary, then feel free to use option 2 but know that it will save at a lower quality. Flatten your file in 3 easy steps that will take less than a minute to complete.
1. Press CLT + P
Once you open the file that needs flattening, press CLT + P to open the printer pop-up.
2. Auto enable orientation
In the Page Sizing & Handling portion of the pop-up, choose Custom Scale and enable Auto in the orientation. If you need yo further compress your file, click ‘Advanced” at the bottom of the pop-up. A new window appears where you can lower the resolution in the “Transparency Flattener Preset” drop-down.
3. Save Flattened PDF
To save the new flattened PDF, make sure that the “Printer” is set as ‘Adobe PDF’ in the drop-down. Click “Print” then a window will appear for you to “Save PDF File As”. Rename file and press okay to complete.
Printing with Printivity
Flattening any layers in your file is an essential step toward achieving a print ready file as Printivity, and any printer, will need to flatten your file before we can finish printing. Flattening your file before submitting it will help ensure a smooth printing process.
Please note that if you use a special font that our system can not recognize, the document will replace your font with another font in our system. We recommend that you save your final file as a flattened PDF to avoid this issue. We also accept file formats of DOC, JPEG, JPG, PNG, TIFF, AL, PSD, PUB, and PPT.
Download product specific templates directly from Printivity.com before you start designing. Once you’re ready to order, or have questions during the ordering process, contact our expert customer service department at 1-877-649-5463.
FAQs
What does flattening a PDF do? ›
"Flattening" a PDF is necessary to reduce a document's size, if a PDF includes a form, or to meet sponsor formatting requirements. PDFs that are not flattened can create errors when users upload documents to a sponsor's system.
Why does a PDF need to flatten before printing? ›If a document contains transparent objects, such as images with transparency, Acrobat flattens the document before printing it. Flattening removes transparency information and converts images to a format that the printer can interpret.
How do I flatten a PDF form? ›- Open fillable form.
- Add appropriate data.
- Right click on document and select Print. ...
- Select the PDF printer. ( ...
- Select OK.
- Specify location to save the printed, "flattened" version of the form.
- Select Save.
- File the "flattened" form in CM/ECF.
Flattening any layers in your file is an essential step toward achieving a print ready file as Printivity, and any printer, will need to flatten your file before we can finish printing. Flattening your file before submitting it will help ensure a smooth printing process.
What is the purpose of flattening an image? ›Merging all visible layers into the background layer to reduce file size.
What is the difference between a standard PDF and a flattened PDF? ›What is flattening a PDF? When you flatten a PDF, you merge previously separated contents of your document into one. Flattening a PDF makes it so that: Interactive elements in PDF forms such as checkboxes, text boxes, radio buttons, drop-down lists are no longer fillable.
Can a flattened PDF be Unflattened? ›How do I Unflatten a PDF? To unflatten markups : Go to Document > Flatten Markups or press CTRL +SHIFT+M. The Flatten Markups dialog box appears. To unflatten the markups on specific pages of the PDF, choose one of the following from the Pages dropdown list: All Pages: Sets the range to all pages. ...
How do I know if my PDF is flattened? ›How to tell if a pdf is flatten? Use the highlight function in a PDF reader or editor, if the PDF is flattened, the Highlight feature won't recognize any text. Double click in the text filed or form field to see if you are allowed to edit text. If not, the PDF is flattened.
How do I save a PDF without flattening it? ›To retain transparency without flattening when you create PDF files, save your file as Adobe PDF 1.4 (Acrobat 5.0) or later. You can specify flattening settings and then save and apply them as transparency flattener presets.
Can I flatten a PDF in Acrobat Reader? ›In the Adobe Acrobat Reader app, select the Home tab at the bottom. In the top right, select the circular Profile icon. On the left side menu, select Preferences. Scroll down to the Sharing heading and turn on the option for Share a Flattened PDF.
How do I reduce the size of a PDF without losing quality? ›
Just drag and drop a PDF into the PDF compression tool above and let Acrobat reduce the size of your PDF files without compromising quality. For more refined control of optimisation settings, you can try Adobe Acrobat Pro for free for seven days.
How do I reduce the size of a PDF file so I can email it? ›The simplest is to re-save your file as a reduced-size PDF. In the latest version of Adobe Acrobat, open the PDF you wish to re-save as a smaller file, choose File, Save as Other, and then Reduced Size PDF.
Is a flattened PDF secure? ›Flattened PDF Redactions
Unfortunately, simply flattening a PDF is usually not sufficient to securely redact a document. That's because obscured elements are still present in the document; they're just not visible when the file is viewed and printed.
When you finish editing all the layers in your image, you can merge or flatten layers to reduce the file size. Flattening combines all the layers into a single background layer.
What happens to an image when it is flattened? ›Flattening an image will compress all the layers in your image and leave you with one background layer. This is helpful in a couple of circumstances. First, if you're sending the image to the printer, it's better to flatten the file. This reduces the file size and makes the image faster to print.
What is the difference between flatten and merge? ›The Flatten command is very similar to Merge Visible. It basically flattens your image, or merges all your layers into one. The only difference is that if you go to flatten your image and you have hidden layers, it will ask you if you want to “Discard hidden layers?”
What two things happen to an image when you flatten it? ›Flattening:merges all layers into a single background, greatly reducing the size of the file. Merging: lets you choose which layers to flatten. Stamping: combines the benefits of flattening an image with the benefits of keeping some layers intact.
Which format is best for PDF? ›PDF/X – This standard best suits print professionals, graphic designers, and creative professionals who need to create high-quality, professional-grade documents. This PDF standard will ensure print-ready documents by correctly embedding fonts, images, color profiles, and more.
What format should a PDF be? ›Answer. PDF stands for "portable document format". Essentially, the format is used when you need to save files that cannot be modified but still need to be easily shared and printed. Today most devices have a version of Adobe Reader or can open a PDF in an Internet Browser.
Does flattening a PDF remove metadata? ›To create a PDF without metadata, print your document to a PDF printer. If you have any PDF program installed on your computer, your printer list will include a PDF printer. The print to PDF method “flattens” the PDF document, removing any content not visible on the screen. No metadata is saved.
What does flatten PDF do in Canva? ›
Flattening your PDF converts your design with multiple layers into one. This ensures that all of your design's elements get printed.
Is a flattened PDF searchable? ›The resulting PDF will be a flattened PDF that can be viewed in any PDF viewer. After you print from a PDF viewer to Win2PDF, the resulting flattened PDF will no longer be searchable.
How can I tell if a PDF has been flattened? ›How to tell if a pdf is flatten? Use the highlight function in a PDF reader or editor, if the PDF is flattened, the Highlight feature won't recognize any text. Double click in the text filed or form field to see if you are allowed to edit text. If not, the PDF is flattened.