Adobe FrameMaker 8: Which PDF Job Option Is Right For You?

Let's say you have finished up a publication in FrameMaker 8 and are ready to deliver the finished product. It seems like a straight-forward process: you choose Save as PDF from the File menu and give the file a name. You click the Save button, thinking, "That was easy." when suddenly you are confronted with the following dialog box:

Most of this screen is self-explanatory, but the most important option in there, the PDF Job Options menu, is most certainly not. What's a girl to do? It's critical that you pick the right option because these settings have a direct impact on the size of the file created, and do so with wildly varying compression settings.

These settings are designed to balance file size with quality, and depend specifically on how the PDF file will be used. Here's a quick list of which one to pick for a given situation:

Using this table, you can make educated decisions about which Job Option to pick for your files. Mine typically go through several:  I use Smallest File Size to return documents to clients for proofing, Standard for posting the finished files on a web site, and one of the commercial printing options when the files are heading out for high-res printing.

Let me leave you with the most important advice of all: if your files are heading out for commercial printing, don't just pick one of these without first talking with your printer. They will know exactly which one you should use that will work best with their equipment. Many service bureaus will opt to send you their own custom Job Options file that has been tweaked to work perfectly with their particular equipment. When you are sending files out for printing, always pick up the phone first.