printing to PDF using Adobe Printer

[ChrisMoore3]

ArcMap 10.0, SP2, build 3200
Windows7 64 bit, 6 GB RAM etc
Acrobat X Pro 10.1.0

Trying to print large format vector map using the installed Adobe PDF virtual printer@ 300 dpi, nothing fancy. Used to do this all the time to knock down file sizes and also created archives of maps produced. Not working with 10.0. It grinds in the map, but nothing is ever produced that I can tell. Can't find it nor does it open up in Acrobat when finished. Exporting making files over 120,000 MB for a basic Arch E map...way too big.

[JohnSobetzer]

I thought I'd run some tests on my computers to see how this worked in case I ever wanted to use 10 for real work.  Printing to pdf (Acrobat 😎 from ArcMap 10 actually produced a larger file size in my test than an export to pdf, although both were larger than the same export from 9.3.1.  Printing to pdf (Acrobat 9) from 9.3.1 produced a file size almost the same as printing to pdf from 10.

I then used Acrobat Pro 9 to optimize the pdfs and in the case of exports it reduced the file size to about 40% of the original; in the case of the print to pdfs about 60%.

This isn't much of a test, and the problem of machine specific variations in ArcGIS (and probably Adobe) makes it even less useful.   Changing the distiller settings didn't have much of an impact but changing ArcMap's export options sure did.

So other than suggesting that you check your settings to see if something got changed, or your layers to see if something changed to cause rasterization, I can't offer much other than suggesting as a work around that you use Acrobat to optimize your exported pdfs. You can always try the old boilerplate approach of renaming your template which can be especially useful when changing versions.   You might try one of the free pdf printers, like Bullzip, to see if the problem is Acrobat.

[ChrisMoore3]

thanks for the tip on Bullzip, have downloaded it and trying it out. I tried several export settings for PDfs, various compression with Adaptive being the "best" so far. It made a 78 MB file instead of a 512MB file.

Best result so far is to export to EPS, drag that into Acrobat X and save as PDF.... 5MB file. Except it dropped one of my symbols.

Between this and the new "improved" HP Easy Share drivers you have to login to print, map making is becoming more labor intensive than ever.

[ChrisMoore3]

I stand corrected, Bullzip is the clear winner. Works great, easy to use and is producing consistently better results than anything else. I don't have the time to try all the combinations of exporting to PDF to find the one that will work best. Have not found one yet that beats Bullzip. Thanks for the tip.

Exporting to EPS was losing symbols and producing some funky results.

thanks for the tip on Bullzip, have downloaded it and trying it out. I tried several export settings for PDfs, various compression with Adaptive being the "best" so far. It made a 78 MB file instead of a 512MB file.

Best result so far is to export to EPS, drag that into Acrobat X and save as PDF.... 5MB file. Except it dropped one of my symbols.

Between this and the new "improved" HP Easy Share drivers you have to login to print, map making is becoming more labor intensive than ever.

[dannyrough]

i have ever tried abode to do that but failed, so i don't recommend you to try it once again. i do this almost daily. I use a PDF printer driver found on the internet . Install it and it becomes a selectable printer option.
then you can create PDFs in any program at all, including Adobe Acrobat reader! Just open a PDF, select print, and specify the page range you want to print and select the Raster edge  printer driver.
no matetr how many pdf files, one or  more. it can always meet my needs, so if you haven't found a good choice, you can have a try.

[dannyrecthor]

there are many ways to do that. If you wanna save these complicated steps and find a easy way, you can google pdf generator and you will find many useful tools, or google how to print pdf in c# to get instructive articles. Good luck:).I do this almost daily. I use a PDF printer driver called Raster edge . Install it and it becomes a selectable printer option. Now you can create PDFs in any program at all, including Adobe Acrobat reader! Just open a PDF, select print, and specify the page range you want to print and select the Raster edge printer driver.