Microsoft Print to PDF

I’ve opened an existing PDF in PDF Architect 4 (on a new Win 10 laptop).
If I print the document to Microsoft Print to PDF (which outputs PDF ver. 1.7 [Acrobat 8:x]), then view it in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, I don’t get the result I ask for:

  1. I want no color and choose that. The result is in color.
  2. It’s landscape, and I choose that. The result is Letter.
  3. At the bottom of the Print screen in PDF Architect is a check box: Use Actual PDF Dimensions for Paper Size. I’ve checked it and tested. I’ve unchecked it and tested it. (a) It makes no difference. (b) The PDF Architect User Guide DOES NOT MENTION THIS CHECK BOX.

What should I do?

Postscript: I’m trying to print investment reports, which are in PDF ver. 1.3 (Acrobat 4.x), doubtless for backward compatibility.

Hi,

while this doesn’t directly address the problem with the color settings not being respected, sinply saving the PDF in PDF Architect 4 should also increase the PDF level to 1.7.
I did a quick test here and it seemed to work properly.
Regarding point 2, landscape is an orientation, while letter is a paper format; did you mean portrait (e.g. the orientation of the output is wrong)?
The “Use actual PDF dimentsions for paper size” does (or should do) what it says: If you have a PDF which is e.g. 21,3x32,8 cm, it will print the file as if the printer actually had this kind of paper and not try to scale the content.

Best regards,

You’re right about letter/legal vs. portrait/landscape. But what I was describing was a page with landscape orientation printing on paper of portrait orientation.
Thank you for explaining the “Use actual PDF dimensions” check box. It would be nice to include an explanation in the user manual.
Finally, my problem with actual printing has to do, I’m sure, with limitations of the self-service copy machines at my favored service provider. It doesn’t like PDF ver. 1.3 (Acrobat 4.x), the version used for backward compatibility; and it doesn’t like ver. 1.7 either. No one has cared to update their copier control software from Microsoft. I printed the ver. 1.7 documents (at high cost) via a PC hooked up to a high-speed printer.

We use Ghostscript to automatically detect the correct orientation by default. the the automatic detection sometimes fails. In most cases, setting the orientation directly in PDFCreator->Profile Settings->PDF solves this issue. Do the copy machines require PDF input? If yes, please try using PDF/X as output format, this is the PDF format for pre press. If they don’t require PDF as input, you could try using a different output format for PDFCreator.

Best regards,

Robin

I converted the offending PDFs to PDF/A 1b (the default). It worked fine.

One part of your answer is not clear: “We use Ghostscript to automatically detect the correct orientation” of WHAT? Usually I don’t want to print on my own wireless printer/scanner, but on the printer(s) of a service provider. If the “correct orientation” involves the settings of my local printer, there’s a problem.

Hi,

Ghostscript uses an algorithm to detect the orientation of the content on the page, e.g. it looks for text in a 90° angle to the edges and then calculates a probability, so the settings of your local printer aren’t involved in this. Hardware printers technically always print in portait and then it depends how you hold the paper; this is different for virtual printers, so some kind of detection is needed.

Best regards,

Robin