POSTSCRIPTING and PDF

Before you freak out at this next step, be aware that if you cannot do the postscripting or PDF, we are usually able to do it ourselves on files that clients send us.

This is one of those topics where you need to know the end from the beginning. So read and understand it now, before you begin designing your book. Yes, this is one of those little troublesome details we'd all rather not deal with, but later you will be glad you did.

Or if you have already designed your book and now need to postscript it, be aware that once you load the postscript printer-driver file, you need to look once again at each page in your book to make sure nothing has moved out of place. Only then do you postscript.

Postscripting is a word that describes a process one can do to a computer file of stories and photos that secures and locks in every positioning choice you have made, such as paragraph indents, stories beginning on certain pages, photos in their place on a page so they don't move around when your Disk or CD goes from your computer to the publisher's computer. It safeguards your work.

So let's talk about postscripting.

There are printers upon which you can print paper pages. And there are "printers" that only print to a disk or CD on your computer, and these are called "postscript printers" and this is the type of device needed to postscript a file (lock in positioning choices) once your book is completely done.

To postscript, you must select from within your computer a "postscript printer/driver" because this is the little device that does the postscripting. And because a "postscript printer/driver" has the potential of changing the way your pages are arranged, it is best to "load" this "postscript printer/driver" before you begin designing your book. (If you cannot find one on your computer, call us. We can walk you through it in a few minutes.)

Go to Control Panel in your computer and click on printers. It will then ask if you want to add a printer, and you do. So click on that. Then it will open a box with many different types of printers listed. You are looking for one that will print not to paper, but to a CD or disk. These have names that end in "ps" or "prn." Some are better than others, so call us and we'll tell you which to choose.

When you find one, click on it and tell your computer to "load it" and it will.

To make sure that it is loaded, for most computers you can do the following:
      Go to a page on your computer where the book file is located and click "print." The little box will come up where you normally choose how many pages to print, etc. Within the window that comes up, you will see the postscript printer as the one governing your printing.

If you want to actually print a page of any file, after you click on "print" and the print window comes on your screen, click on the little down arrow next to the "described printer" and a drop down menu will appear. Click on your regular desk printer and click "print." The page/s will then print.

You can now proceed to design your book, add photos, etc, knowing that when the book is completely done, you can then "postscript" it. Periodically check to make sure the "print" window still shows the postscript printer as your default printer, because whatever is the "default" is governing your file and the placement of text, photos, etc. And if you are doing your book with us as publisher, we are glad to walk you through this process. And in the rare instance you cannot postscript, often we can do it for you. So not to worry.

When we receive a postscripted file, we then do a PDF which creates an e-book and we e-mail it to you for one last review. The PDF file allows you to open the file like an e-book and see each page exactly as it will appear in your finished book. You open a PDF file with Adobe Acrobat Reader (a program most computers have already), to see exactly how the pages appear, how they lay out for facing pages, where photos are, etc.

If you have a PDF program, you can PDF the file after post-scripting. Before you "Distill" a Post-scripted file, call us for specific setting requirements.

If you do not have the Adobe Acrobat Reader program to view the file, you can download it free from Adobe.com for personal use. It also allows you to read an E-book.

If you have questions, please feel free to call us: 1 800 360-5284.

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