Did you know you can edit some pdfs in Illustrator?

Sometimes, if you are lucky and need to make a correction to color or even font corrections, you can do this in Illustrator. I have found sometimes if it is something simple like a color change, this is the best way to do it.

When you open the pdf in illustrator, it may ask for font replacement. This is bad if you do not have the fonts that are in the pdf file. At that point you may need to call the customer. If you have the fonts it may work, but be sure to print a laser of the customer's pdf, in case of reflow within the paragraphs.

You could be even luckier and the fonts may already be converted to outlines. Then the fonts are treated as artwork. But in prepress you never know what you may end up with. I have used Illustrator many times to correct something quickly. That way everything can continue running smoothly and there will not be any hold up time printing for a client.

I have found working in prepress that there are many ways to work around problems. I will try everything I can figure out or know before contacting customers. Then I can contact the customers and educate them. I think that our clients like to know what they can do to help the speed up the printing of their collateral. At Clinton Press we offer this service to help educate customers on fixing the files before sending to us on the next go around. This helps to save money and time.

Have a Great Day!