Illustrator Multi-page PDF Export

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macavenger

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Probably an easy question, but I don't know the answer, so I'll ask it here :). I have been working on a design for a small robot in Illustrator CS, and it has recently grown to be larger than one page. I enlarged the page size and set up tiling in page setup to compensate, and it prints fine. Whenever I try to save as a PDF, however, it just saves it as one big page. This is a real problem when I try to print from other computers without Illustrator, as I need it to print full size (in order to preserve the full scale dimensions). Can anyone tell me how to save a multi-page PDF from Illustrator?

On a similar note, when I save the document as a PDF, and print it on my work computer (networked printer) it prints nearly instantly. If, however, I use "Save as PDF" from the output options section of the print dialog box and try to print that, it takes a good 5-10 minutes or more (no exaguration) after sending the print command before it actually prints. During this time no one else can print anything to that printer either. Anyone know why this is?

Thanks for any help you guys can provide.
 
can you clarify what you mean by growing more than 1 page? Do you mean that your illustration is larger than the page size? Like extending outside its borders? Or you mean that you need another page for another iteration? If you meant the former, you can adjust the document set up under File to a larger document size. Otherwise, I don't know what you can do to make a 2nd page in Illustrator. Perhaps, save as different files, save as PDF. Then, I'd use Acrobat (not the reader) to compile the PDFs into 1 document.
 
fuzz said:
can you clarify what you mean by growing more than 1 page? Do you mean that your illustration is larger than the page size? Like extending outside its borders? Or you mean that you need another page for another iteration?
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Thanks for the response. I meant the latter. What I have is three different illustrations of the robot I am designing (I could in theory attach the file if it would help): one front view, one side view, and one top view. Due to the size of the robot, I need two 8 1/2" x11" pages to fit all three: the front and side view on the first page, and the top view on the second. All three drawings are full scale.

fuzz said:
If you meant the former, you can adjust the document set up under File to a larger document size.
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I've done that, which makes room for all three illustrations within the page boundaries. And combined with the tiling options in page setup, it shows as two pages in illustrator, and prints as two pages if I print directly from Illustrator. The problem arises when I try to save a version as PDF to print from another computer, as it does not save the tiling settings as page breaks.

fuzz said:
Otherwise, I don't know what you can do to make a 2nd page in Illustrator. Perhaps, save as different files, save as PDF. Then, I'd use Acrobat (not the reader) to compile the PDFs into 1 document.
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I could split it up into multiple documents. I would rather not, however, because then there are more files to keep track of, and it is harder to view and edit the three sections as a whole, as I would have to switch between multiple windows. Not to mention the difficulty, especially as I do not have Acrobat. Of course, if I can't save it as a multiple page PDF, then I can't save it as a multiple page PDF. Saving as PDF through the print dialog box does work, but as I mentioned in the second half of my original post, it comes with its own set of problems.
 
Might be a silly question, but why not just make your illustrator drawing smaller so it fits on one page? Since it's vector you won't lose any resolution or detail as long as your lines are at least .25 px each.

The other way to print your Illustrator to multiple pages is to import your file into a layout program like InDesign and then export pdf pages that way. You set up each page as parts of the whole drawing, as much as will fit on the 8.5"x11".

If you only have Illustrator you can also Group the entire drawing together and move it around an 8.5x11 page and print each time you move it to capture the entire thing. Depending on the size of your drawing this could take a few steps and is probably the least desireable of these three options, but doable.

Hope this helps!
 
Natobasso said:
Might be a silly question, but why not just make your illustrator drawing smaller so it fits on one page? Since it's vector you won't lose any resolution or detail as long as your lines are at least .25 px each.
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I wouldn't say it is a silly question, but the reason I don't make it smaller is that it is designed to be a full-scale diagram. The diagram prints at the size the final product will be, allowing me to do things like easily measure if there will be enough room for a given component, or place physical components on the printout to see where they will fit best. As a design aid, rather than a drawing that exists solely as a drawing, having it full size is important.

Natobasso said:
The other way to print your Illustrator to multiple pages is to import your file into a layout program like InDesign and then export pdf pages that way. You set up each page as parts of the whole drawing, as much as will fit on the 8.5"x11".
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That would probably work nicely, except, of course, that I do not have such a program :(

Natobasso said:
If you only have Illustrator you can also Group the entire drawing together and move it around an 8.5x11 page and print each time you move it to capture the entire thing. Depending on the size of your drawing this could take a few steps and is probably the least desireable of these three options, but doable.
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Well, printing directly from illustrator works fine without need for such things, as I can set up page tiling for printing in the page setup dialog box (or is it the print options? Either way.) So I can tell Illustrator, for printing purposes, this is page one, this is page two. That just doesn't carry over for saving purposes.

It looks like from what I am hearing here that there is no way to get Illustrator to save a multi-page PDF file directly, is this correct? That all the methods of getting a multi-page PDF from Illustrator require manipulation with some other program, which I likely don't have (as I am running very software light)? This seems a little odd to me, since I can hardly be the only person wanting to produce a diagram that spans more than one page, but I suppose it is possible.

Thanks for the various workaround possibilities. I actually do have a workaround that does work, that of choosing "Save as PDF" from the print dialog. This does produce the multi-page PDF as desired, and would be an acceptable workaround but for the problem described in the second half of my original post. Some people at my office actually need to use the printer for actual work on occasion, and can get a little testy if it is tied up for ten minutes with my document :)

The reason this is an issue at all is that I am designing in Illustrator on my home computer, but I can currently only print from my work computer, which is not only windows, but also does not have illustrator or anything comparable. The closest we get is Acrobat. If I could print from my home computer, there wouldn't be a problem.

Thanks again, keep the good ideas coming!
 
Are you saying you can't print at home because you have no printer there or because it's not connected properly to your home computer? You raise another question with your last comment that might actually be your best solution!

Also, for what you are doing there are plug ins for illustrator that allow you to make actual measurements, like CAD does, for your dimensions. Then you won't have to print it out at full size, which is kind of kludgy (inefficient) anyway, because it will never be "exact to spec" for the kind of detailed work you are doing. You require down to the mm accuracy for something like a robot. :) I think it's called CADTools.
 
Natobasso said:
Are you saying you can't print at home because you have no printer there or because it's not connected properly to your home computer? You raise another question with your last comment that might actually be your best solution!
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I cant print at home because I don't have a printer there at the moment, unfortunately. Due to my living/travel situation at the moment, half my stuff, including my printer, is in storage. You're right, if I did have the printer hooked up that would be the best solution :) Even if I did, however, I would still like to be able to save as a multi page PDF for sending to others, or even just so I know how. That is, of course, assuming it is even possible, which it is looking like it is not the case.

Natobasso said:
Also, for what you are doing there are plug ins for illustrator that allow you to make actual measurements, like CAD does, for your dimensions. Then you won't have to print it out at full size, which is kind of kludgy (inefficient) anyway, because it will never be "exact to spec" for the kind of detailed work you are doing. You require down to the mm accuracy for something like a robot. :) I think it's called CADTools.
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Thanks for the tip, I'll check that out. And you are right about the acuracy needed. Actually, Illustrator does come with a fair amount of actuall measuring built in - just set the units to millimeters (or inches, depending on what dimensions the object you are trying to fit is in) and then use the built-in ruler tool, or create objects by specifying the dimensions. For most design this works quite well (although I don't think you can measure angles - perhaps CADTools will do that?) I do like having the printout as well, though, since it gives me a better "feel" for how big things will be than numbers or looking at it on the screen. The PDF save is primarily for portablility.
 
Well, according to the Adobe Illustrator online support page (http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/333b6.htm Why didn't I think to look there earlier? :)) the only way to create a multi page PDF is through the method I have been using - the print dialog. So anyone have any idas on the whole print delay issue with files created this way? Thanks for all the help and suggestions of workarounds.
 
if you're getting print delays, it could be b/c your illustrator file has a lot of lines/vector art. if you've gradients, it slows down the printing too. also, perhaps the printer memory is limited. either way, i don't think it helps you.
 
You've actually hit on one of my major, major pet pet peeves with the Ilustrator Suite of products. As someone who produces a lot of scale sensitive, multi page documents that need to be sent to people who need them in PDF format I have NO IDEA as to why Adobe seemingly refuses to make this a straightforward "Save As" kind of situation. I've long used the Distiller solution and have never known why they make this as awkward as it is. One good thing you should know about printing to PostScript and distilling it is that it drastically, drastically reduces the size your resultant PDF. Printing to PDF does not have that effect.

I've also long used CadTools and it comes highly recommended. Very customizable and comes with some very conveient isometric tools.

Pardon my venting here but this has always bugged me. Mind you, this seems so simple I've wondering myself if I'm missing something really obvious....
 
Actually, in Illustrator CS it IS a "Save As" situation.

CadTools is awesome, I have it too.

I definitely hear your frustration, though CS solves that dilemma. You can then go to Acrobat Professional and "Reduce File Size" in the File Menu.
 
Are you serious? I have Illustrator CS (in my defense, not for long) and haven't been able to figure this out. Even the Adobe online help talks about going through the distilling process (http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/333b6.htm) to get a multi-page pdf from a multi-page Illustrator doc. I don't have Acrobat professional though. Would I be needing that? That simplify feature sounds pretty handy.

I don't mean to seem thick as a post but could explain what you do? If I 'Save As' a PDF, seemingly no matter how I set it up, I get all of my pages laid out on a one page PDF.
 
Yeah, same here, which is primarily why I started this thread. Natobasso - could you explain to us how to do this? Thanks.
 
A couple of months ago there was a doc on the Adobe Illustrator support pages (http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/3383e.htm) I havn't read it again and think it has been superceeded by the page "333b6" mentioned above - but it might be relevent....

If you can save a PostScript file from Illustrator - you may be able to get a half decent PDF created by Preview - which uses the Mac OS X Quartz engine.

Re printing delays on your network - have you tried setting up up virtual (PS) printer
and selecting as the current printing device before you Save as PDF? I think this is now a fairly trivial procedure in Mac OS X 10.3.
 
Ok i just skimmed this but my idea for saving out a multi page pdf would be to go file -> print -> save as pdf

Don't know if that's what you want but that's my two cents. ;)
 
I actually just got Acrobat Pro over the course of this thread. That Simplify PDF feture is pretty much what the doctor ordered. Use the 'Print to PDF' which tends to generate a honkin'-ass multi-page PDF then use Acrobat to simply it. This is about as simple as the workflow gets.

However, I still say there are people at Acrobat with the compassion of a three-hole-punch for making us having a thread like this in the first place.
 
If they did what you are proposing, they'd have to do away with either Illustrator or InDesign. :) They keep the features separate for a reason. Do you have InDesign? That would give you ultimate control over what you print, multi-paginationly speaking. (if that's a word.)
 
I do have InDesign, but for my money and the types of technical illustration I do it's easier to set things up in Illustrator. I know, I know Illustrator is designed to be a one page / single graphic application, but it would just SO EASY for them to include some more effective multi-page support. It's one of those things I'm sure thery're just sitting on to get us to buy the next release.

So I'm pretty much just griping here. I have no point to make, anymore.
 
Like I said, just re-read my post for your answer. It's all about the money. :) I agree with you completely that Illustrator would be a much better program with more pagination options.

InDesign has some great organization features. You can even create "Books" that are comprised of multiple InDesign docs. Doesn't sound like much till you start creating lots of pages and want them all in one place.
 
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