In The Global Indie Author I counsel against using Word’s Save as PDF option for creating PDFs for submission to CreateSpace or Lightning Source International because the files do not meet the specifications outlined by the manufacturers; instead, you must use Adobe Acrobat Pro. Yet some indie authors are reporting using Word to create PDFs and their files have been accepted. So what is the definitive position of these companies’ submission requirements?

Users of Word 2007 or higher have the option to save as PDF; however, the utility only allows the user to create “ISO 19005-1 compliant (PDF/A)” PDFs. This PDF format is for document archiving and does not contain options and information usually required for print (“prepress”) publication; these elements are found instead in the PDF/X format. Lightning Source’s documentation outlines very specific file requirements that are only possible if using Adobe Acrobat Pro or its equivalent, and the documentation specifically states that Adobe Acrobat 6 or higher is required. Moreover, LSI warn that failure to provide the appropriate files “may delay the production process and will add additional time and expense to your project.”

However, at the end of the same document LSI write that the files “should be Acrobat Professional Version 6 or Higher and meet PDF/X-1a:2001 standards.” The key word here is, apparently, “should”: some PDF/A files made using Word are allegedly making their way through production. What I suspect is that these book files are only the most basic of black and white interior formats — that is, novels that do not contain any interior graphics or images — since it is image handling that is most affected by the different PDF formats; and the authors are likely contracting out the more complex cover files to graphic designers, who have Acrobat Pro.

On the CreateSpace website they explain how to create a PDF using Word:

With the native document open in the application you used to create your work, select “Save As” from the application’s main menu or “File” menu.

1.  Choose “PDF” from the list of available file formats.
2. Click “Settings” or “Options” (naming depends on your system) to check the PDF settings that will be used to create your PDF file. If your system allows, make sure the following settings are chosen. Any other settings should be left to default in most cases.

1. Fonts and images are embedded.
2. Bookmarks, annotations, and comments are disabled.
3. Document security (any type) is not used.
4. PDF/X format is used. PDF/X is preferred, but if you are submitting non-PDF/X files (for example, PDF/A), any comments, forms, or other non-printing objects could be removed during our review process.
5. Transparent objects are flattened.
6. Spreads and printer’s marks are disabled.
7. Downsampling, or decreasing resolution, of images is disabled.
8. Bleeds are enabled (if applicable).

3. Provide a name and location for the PDF file you are saving to (may default to the current name and location of the native document) and click “OK” in the print dialog box.
4. Once created, make sure to open the PDF file to see that it appears as you intended. Otherwise, make the necessary adjustments in the native document and re-create the PDF file.

As the screen shot below illustrates, when you use Word’s Save as PDF utility, of the options outlined in step 2, only the one to enable/disable bookmarks and comments appears in the Word to PDF dialogue box:

Why these PDF/A files are then accepted is, I believe, because, when a PDF/A file is created, fonts and images are automatically embedded, security is not created, transparent objects are automatically flattened, spreads and printer’s marks are not created, and images are only downsampled if they exceed 300 ppi (the required resolution for print). Thus, for the most part the PDF/A format will work.

Update: I have been doing more tests using this option, and in all cases when Word 2007 saved as a PDF, Word resampled all images higher than 200 ppi down to 200 ppi, the minimum required for print but 100 ppi less than CreateSpace recommends/requires. More importantly, there was a significant loss in image quality as a result. If your book makes use of images, this method is strongly discouraged. To see the loss of quality, click here and here to see the comparison I created using my book cover and an interior image as examples; and here for a typical grayscale 3″x5″ interior image. (And bear in mind these are screen shots; the superior quality of the Adobe Acrobat file is even more marked when you see the original.) In addition to the overall image degradation, notice the ghosting around the type caused by the decompression (these flaws are called artifacts) and the posterization in the grayscale image.

As noted in The Global Indie Author, interior bleeds are not possible when designing in Word, which is why the option to include bleeds is not offered. Remember that, if using Word, you cannot include in the interior of your book any elements that extend to the edge of the page (because they won’t print properly without a bleed), and each manufacturer has further limitations on how far, if at all, you can extend into the margins.

If you wish to attempt to design in Word an interior file that contains illustrations, know that issues are likely to arise:

• • if your images have any transparent areas, these are “flattened” and changed to a white background, so any text or other graphic elements behind the transparent images will be blocked out;
  • images used in the document must be 300 ppi or higher and placed in the document at no larger than 100% in size. Images below this resolution will return errors, and CreateSpace will warn you the images are inferior and give you the option to print as is or correct the file; see note above on exported images.
  • the images should be in grayscale if printing in B&W; if not, you will also receive a warning from CreateSpace that the images will print in grayscale and may not print to your liking; and
  • you will find that your images and any graphic elements such as lines and borders may not export into a PDF from Word as satisfactorily as they would from a proper graphic design program such as InDesign or Quark XPress.

When using this format, remember to select the “Optimize for Standard (publishing online and printing)” in the Save As dialogue box; and in the PDF Options dialogue box select “ISO 19005-1 compliant (PDF/A).” Disable the comments and bookmarks (the option will be grayed out if your book does not contain comments or bookmarks), disable “document structure tags for accessibility,” and publish only the document (“document showing markup” will be grayed out if there are no markups in your book). And always, always, always check the resultant PDF file viewed at 100% so you will see how it will actually print and not merely how it looks on your monitor.

CreateSpace appear to be more forgiving of PDF/A files than LSI are; and if LSI reject your PDF/A file, you will have to pay again to upload a PDF/X version or pay them to fix the file. Either option means an added expense. You will also have to balance the potential financial savings against any loss of quality if you use graphic elements in your book and export to PDF using Word.

Thus, I would still counsel my readers to use Adobe Acrobat Pro if you can afford to, or find a friend who has it and ask them to convert your Word files into the preferred PDF/X format and to the manufacturer’s specific instructions. This way you avoid delays and possible further expense.