DTP and PDF

In the era of several different media types, there is the need of multifunctional file types. The format which is suitable extremely well for this demand, is the Adobe Portable Document File (PDF) as one of the most flexible solutions.
The biggest advantages of this kind of format are:
• the small file size
• the open standard
• the availability to look at its contents on all platforms with the Acrobat Reader
• the possibility to insert all needed data like the used fonts, all graphics and the colour data (Colour Management) with the Distiller
• the possibility to make a full text search with the Reader
• the possibility to create high quality files for the web, printing, eBooks, etc.
• the possibility of limited editing of its contents relating to the
text with Acrobat
• the possibility to open the graphic files with the program, which made them, with Acrobat
• the possibility to limited the access or functions of the Acrobat, Acrobat Reader and the file, respectively with coding (up to 128 bit)
Generally, the best method to produce a save and error-free PDF file is to create a PostScript file first. But there are also other ways to produce a PDF file:
• over the Adobe PDF Writer
• over the print menu of the PostScript driver (Apple: with the Adobe US printer driver only!)
The method over the PDF Writer is not recommendable because of its low printing quality. It was developed to exchange low resolution files for the monitor only. The method over the printer driver is also not recommendable because of the faulty generated code and its quality of the PDF file compared to the way over the PostScript file.