PDF/X (ISO 15930, Print-Ready)
Open BetaPDF/X (ISO 15930) is a subset of PDF for print production: fonts are embedded, the colour space is described by an output profile, scripts are forbidden, and trim and bleed frames are in place. We deliver the PDF/X-3:2003 profile with an embedded sRGB ICC profile — it permits RGB when the working space is set by a profile. There is no automatic conversion to CMYK: it is more correctly done by the print house for their own press. A format for offset, large-format printing and atlases.
Key Features
About PDF/X Format
PDF/X (ISO 15930) is the PDF profile for the printing industry. It removes from the file everything that print production stumbles over: fonts must be embedded, the colour space described by an output profile, scripts are forbidden, and the trim and bleed boundaries are set explicitly. Print houses ask for exactly this kind of file, because it prints predictably.
Exporting a map into PDF/X is what you need when the sheet goes not to an office printer but into production: a poster, an atlas spread, a diagram in a magazine, a banner, souvenir goods. An ordinary PDF is sometimes accepted there too, but in prepress it more often needs manual touch-up.
We deliver the PDF/X-3:2003 profile (ISO 15930-3). The map is rendered by the QGIS print layout, then the required markers are added to the file: an output profile with an embedded sRGB ICC profile, the PDF/X version identifier in the metadata, TrimBox and BleedBox frames on every page, the trapping flag and the document title. The PDF version is fixed at 1.4, as this profile requires.
An important detail about colour: PDF/X-3 permits RGB if the working space is set by an embedded profile — and sRGB in our file is exactly that. We do not do automatic conversion to CMYK: it is more correct for the print house to do it for their own press and paper. If your print house has a hard requirement of PDF/X-1a with ready CMYK, ask them to run the conversion with their own profile, or do it yourself in Acrobat Pro or pdfToolbox.
What Program Opens PDF/X Files
The following programs and applications can open, edit, and work with PDF/X (ISO 15930, Print-Ready) (.pdf) files exported from OSM2CDR:
Format specifications
- Open standard
- 2D only
- Lossless (no quality loss)
- No attributes
- Output: 1 file
- PDF/X-3:2003 (ISO 15930-3). Print-production subset of PDF: OutputIntent with an embedded sRGB ICC profile, TrimBox/BleedBox, embedded fonts. No automatic conversion to CMYK.
Who Uses PDF/X Maps
How to Export PDF/X
How to Open After Export
- Adobe Acrobat Pro — the Preflight tool with the PDF/X check profile: the report shows that the markers are in place and, if needed, converts the colour to CMYK using the required print profile.
- The print house — when handing the file over, state that it is PDF/X-3 with an embedded sRGB profile; if CMYK for a specific press is required, ask prepress to run the conversion on their side.
- Adobe InDesign or Scribus (free) — place the map in the publication layout and produce the final file already in the PDF/X profile that production asks for.
- Ghostscript or callas pdfToolbox — command-line conversion of colours and profiles, if prepress is automated and there are many files.
- Before the print run — print a proof sheet and look at the thin lines and small labels: on paper they read differently than on screen.
Popular maps in PDF/X
Get PDF/X (ISO 15930, Print-Ready) map exports
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