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A PDF is only needed if you are using fonts other than those Lulu accepts (Accepted fonts for non-PDF files) or if you are creating a manuscript that is full bleed ( How to make content stretch all the way to the edge of the page ).

• Adobe Acrobat can convert your manuscript to a PDF. You must upload a PDF version between Acrobat 1.3 and 1.5. (If you plan to purchase a Distribution Service, your PDF must be distilled by Adobe. More info) Acrobat can be purchased from Adobe Systems or any software retailer
• Adobe offers an online subscription service that allows you to pay a fee to turn a set number of documents into PDF files. Learn more at http://createpdf.adobe.com
• OpenOffice is an open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It can read and write files from other common office software packages and covert them to PDF. OpenOffice is available for Windows, Macintosh, Linux, and other operating systems and can be downloaded and used completely free of charge at OpenOffice.org
• InDesign is a desktop publishing software application made by Adobe Systems which can be used to create your manuscript and convert it into a PDF. InDesign can be purchased from Adobe Systems or any software retailer

Note: Lulu does not recommend creating a PDF using the PDF button found in the print menu on a Mac. Mac Quartz / Preview (Mac graphics technology that easily produces PDFs) was not intended for creating professional print quality PDFs, therefore it is not a suitable option when publishing on Lulu.

Last updated: 2009-10-16 15:56:02 | Back to top

When creating a PDF with Adobe Products, use Lulu's Adobe Acrobat Job Options (right click or control click here to download). After downloading them to your computer, double click the icon and it will be installed into all Adobe products.

If using OpenOffice, follow the instuctions here.

If you are uploading your own PDF, follow these guidelines:

• Fully embed all fonts used in the document. Take care that all fonts are only embedded once. Subsetted fonts over multiple pages can cause problems when your PDF is rasterized for print. Your document may be printed with symbols instead of fonts, garbled text or missing text.
• Set compatibility mode to PDF 1.3 (PDF 1.3 does not support transparencies and will flatten them when creating the PDF).
• Leave the PDF's colorspace in its original profile. Do not convert CMYK to RGB or vice versa.
• Solid blacks will print solid at 100% with no other colors added. If you do add colors to improve the richness of the black, TAC (total area coverage) should never exceed 270%.
• Avoid very light color builds of less than 20%. Below 20% tint variation is very difficult to control on a consistent basis.
• Turn off Overprint and Simulate Overprint
• The PDF filesize should not exceed 700MB
• If your image DPI is greater than 300, downsample to 300 DPI.
• Flatten your images.
• Flatten all transparancies.
• Do not use any security / password protection. The printer will not be able to print the PDF.
• Image compression should be set to ZIP if you want lossless (no artifacts/distortion-free) images. To reduce filesize, use JPEG -> High. Do not use CCITT or LZW compression. LZW compression creates multi-strip images, which may show white lines when printed.
• If you are printing a color book that has black & white images in it, the black & white images should have the colorspace set to grayscale.
• The gamma of a grayscale image should be between 2.2 and 2.4.

Last updated: 2009-10-16 16:01:18 | Back to top

Using Word on a PC Mac version here

1. Go to File on the menu bar and click Print
   
2. Select Adobe PDF printer and click the Properties button
   
3. Under the Layout tab click the Advanced button
   
4. Adjust the Paper Size to be the same as the paper size of your Word Document and click OK
   
5. Under the Adobe PDF Settings tab select lulu (right click or control click here to download these Lulu settings)
   
6. Change the page size in the Adobe PDF Page Size field or click the Add button to add a custom size
   
7. Enter the Paper Name and Page Size of your manuscript and click the Add/Modify button
   
8. Select View Adobe PDF Results, Rely on system fonts only; do not use document fonts, and Delete log files for successful jobs and click the OK button
   
9. Enter a file name and click the Save button
   

Using Word on a Mac

1. Go to File on the menu bar and click Print
   
2. Select the Adobe PDF printer from the Printer drop down box and click the Print button (right click or control click here to download these Lulu settings)
   
3. Enter a file name for your PDf and click the Save button
   

Last updated: 2009-11-03 06:36:10 | Back to top

InDesign for PC and Mac look and work the same way.

1. Go to File on the menu bar and click Export
   
2. Enter a file name and click the Save button
   
3. Under the Adobe PDF Preset select lulu (right click or control click here to download these Lulu settings)
   
4. Click the Export button
   

Last updated: 2009-11-03 06:37:05 | Back to top

OpenOffice for PC and Mac look and work the same way.

1. Go to File on the menu bar and click Export as PDF
   
2. Under the General tab select Lossless compression or JPEG compression with a Quality of 100%. Reduce image resolution to 300 dpi and deselect all the General options
   
3. Under the Initial View tab select Page only and Default for Magnification and Page Layout
   
4. Under the User Interface tab deselect everything except All bookmark levels
   
5. Under the Links tab deselect all except Default mode under Cross-Document links
   
6. Under the Security tab do not select any options then click the export button
   

Last updated: 2009-10-16 15:55:36 | Back to top

When converting a Word document to a PDF in Microsoft Word the PDF will be created at 8.5 x 11" if you don't adjust the default page size. If you are creating a book at a size other than 8.5 x 11" follow the steps found here.

Last updated: 2009-11-03 06:35:23 | Back to top

If you are planning to upload your own PDF, you may use any fonts you like, but you must embed the fonts in the PDF before uploading to Lulu. It is possible to embed all of the characters in a font or only the characters used. Lulu's Distribution service requires fonts to be fully embedded. If you do not have printing rights for a font, you will not be able to embed it properly and it will not print correctly.

Embedding fonts in Adobe products:

The easiest way to ensure your PDF prints the way you want with the fonts you want is to use Lulu's Adobe Acrobat Job Options (right click or control click here to download).

The other option is to adjust the settings yourself by gonig into the PDF settings.

1. Under the fonts tab select Embed all fonts and Subset embedded fonts when percent of characters used is less than: Set the percentage to 1%.
   
2. Select the folder with the fonts you want to embed from the drop down box under Embedding
   
3. Check the Never Embed Font box and remove any fonts in the box.
   

Embedding fonts in OpenOffice:

OpenOffice automatically embeds all fonts used.

Last updated: 2009-10-16 15:56:40 | Back to top