Troubleshoot preparing files for commercial printing

If you're handing off your files in Microsoft Publisher format to a commercial printing service, you can do one of the following:

• Use the Pack and Go Wizard (File menu) to prepare and compress your files so that they fit on one or more disks.
• Ask your commercial printing service if you can send your file electronically. If you choose this method, ask your commercial printing service representative about file size considerations and any other details you need to know in order to transfer the files.
• Use a compression utility, which reduces the size of your file and then copies it onto multiple disks.

  Note  If you use a compression utility, be sure the printing service has the same version of the utility so that they can decompress your file. Discuss available compression utilities with your printing service.

If your commercial printing service doesn't accept Publisher files, do either of the following:

• Hand off your publication as a PostScript file.

  How?

  1. Open the publication you want to save as a PostScript file.
  2. On the File menu, click Save As.
  3. In the File name box, type a name for the file. You don’t need to type a file name extension— Publisher automatically adds .ps to the end of the file name you type.
  4. In the Save as type list, click PostScript.
  5. Click Save.
  6. In the Save as PostScript File dialog box, in the Name list under Printer, click Generic Color PS for Commercial Printing. If this printer is not available, install it.

     How?

     Windows 2000

     1. On the Start menu, point to Settings, and then click Printers.
     2. Double-click the Add Printer icon.
     3. Follow the instructions in the Add Printer Wizard.
     4. Under Local or Network Printer, select Local Printer, and then make sure that Automatically detect and install my Plug and Play printer is cleared.
     5. Under Install Printer Software, click Have Disk.
     6. In the Install From Disk dialog box, click Browse, and then navigate to \Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11 on the drive where you have installed Publisher.
     7. Select the file MSCOL11.INF, and then click Open.

     Windows 2000 will install the printer driver Generic Color PS for Commercial Printing.

     Windows XP

     1. On the Start menu, click Printers and Faxes.
     2. Under Printer Tasks, click Add a Printer.
     3. Follow the instructions in the Add Printer Wizard.
     4. Under Local or Network Printer, select Local printer attached to this computer, and then make sure that Automatically detect and install my Plug and Play printer is cleared.
     5. Under Install Printer Software, click Have Disk.
     6. In the Install From Disk dialog box, click Browse, and then navigate to \Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11 on the drive where you have installed Publisher.
     7. Select the file MSCOL11.INF, click Open, and then click OK.

     Windows XP will install the printer driver Generic Color PS for Commercial Printing.

  7. Do one of the following:

     Save as a color-separated file

     Be sure to ask your commercial printing service for the settings you should use before you save a color-separated file.

     1. Click Advanced Print Settings, and then click the Separations tab.
     2. In the Output list, click Separations.
     3. In the These plates list, do one of the following:
        • Click All defined inks to print a spot-color or process-color plate for every ink you have defined in the publication (Tools menu, Commercial Printing Tools, Color Printing).
        • Click Used inks only to print a spot-color or process-color plate for every defined ink that is used in the publication.
        • Click Convert spot to process to print only process-color plates and convert all defined spot colors to process colors.

     Save as a composite file

     1. Click Advanced Print Settings, and then click the Separations tab..
     2. In the Output list, do one of the following:
        • Click Composite Grayscale to save a composite PostScript file that will be printed to a black and white printer.
        • Click Composite CMYK to save a composite PostScript file that you can use in a third-party trapping or page-imposition program or print to a CMYK proofing device.
        • Click Composite RGB to save a composite PostScript file for output to a color printer.

     Note  To save a composite CMYK or RGB PostScript file, you must use the Generic Color PS for Commercial Printing printer driver.

  8. To set other print options that your printing service recommends, click the options you want on the Page Settings tab and the Graphics and Fonts tab, and then click OK.
  9. Click Save.
• Hand off your publication as a PDF file.

  How?

  To save a publication as a PDF file in Publisher, you need to use a third-party PDF printer driver that lets you save a PDF file directly from Publisher, or a third-party program that converts PostScript files to PDF. Publisher does not include a program like this; you must purchase it separately.

  Do either of the following:

  Save the publication with a PDF printer driver

  1. On the File menu, click Print.
  2. Under Printer, select the PDF printer driver you want to use, and then clear the Print to file check box.
  3. Click Properties, choose the options you want, and then click OK.

     Note  Check the available options carefully. Some options may affect the print quality of your publication.

  4. Click Advanced Print Settings, choose the options you want, and then click OK.
  5. In the Print dialog box, choose the print options that you want, and then click OK.
  6. In the Save PDF File As dialog box, select a location to save the PDF file, type a filename, and then click Save.

  Save the publication as a PostScript file and then create a PDF file using a third-party program

  1. On the File menu, click Save As.
  2. In the File name box, type a name for the file. You don't need to type a file extension. Publisher automatically adds the correct file extension (.ps) to the end of the file name.
  3. In the Save as type list, click PostScript, and then click Save.
  4. In the Save as PostScript File dialog box, under Printer, in the Name list, select Generic Color PS for Commercial Printing. If this printer is not available, install it.

     How?

     Windows 2000

     1. On the Start menu, point to Settings, and then click Printers.
     2. Double-click the Add Printer icon.
     3. Follow the instructions in the Add Printer Wizard.
     4. Under Local or Network Printer, select Local Printer, and then make sure that Automatically detect and install my Plug and Play printer is cleared.
     5. Under Install Printer Software, click Have Disk.
     6. In the Install From Disk dialog box, click Browse, and then navigate to \Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11 on the drive where you have installed Publisher.
     7. Select the file MSCOL11.INF, and then click Open.

     Windows 2000 will install the printer driver Generic Color PS for Commercial Printing.

     Windows XP

     1. On the Start menu, click Printers and Faxes.
     2. Under Printer Tasks, click Add a Printer.
     3. Follow the instructions in the Add Printer Wizard.
     4. Under Local or Network Printer, select Local printer attached to this computer, and then make sure that Automatically detect and install my Plug and Play printer is cleared.
     5. Under Install Printer Software, click Have Disk.
     6. In the Install From Disk dialog box, click Browse, and then navigate to \Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11 on the drive where you have installed Publisher.
     7. Select the file MSCOL11.INF, and then click Open.

     Windows XP will install the printer driver Generic Color PS for Commercial Printing.

  5. Click Advanced Print Settings, and then click the Separations tab.
  6. For Output, select the option that best fits your intended use for the PDF file:
     • For viewing on screen, choose Composite RGB.
     • For printing to a desktop printer, choose Composite RGB or Composite CMYK.
     • For commercial printing, choose Composite CMYK or Separations.
  7. On the Page Settings tab, choose the options you want.
  8. On the Graphics and Fonts tab, choose the options you want, and then click OK.
  9. Click OK again.
  10. Open the PostScript file in a third-party PDF program and save it as a PDF file.

Notes

• You can only embed TrueType fonts that are licensed to allow embedding. If you have used PostScript fonts in your publication, or fonts that are not licensed to allow embedding, you will need to supply these on a disk to your commercial printing service.
• If you embed fonts that are licensed as preview only, your commercial printing service can print your publication using these fonts, but they will not be able to make changes of any kind to your publication.
• If you save your publication as a PostScript file or a PDF file, you do not need to embed fonts; both of these file types include all the fonts used in your publication.