Creating PDFs in Quark XPress 8.1:

Creating PDFs from Quark XPress 8.1 can be done by exporting directly to Postscript and distilling the resulting file in Acrobat Distiller. If you don't have Acrobat Distiller you may use the built-in Quark PDF export filter, but generally you will get the best results if you use Acrobat Distiller to convert Postscript to PDF.

Quark 8.1 introduced the ability to export PDFs with live transparency, which can work much better in our workflow. This requires some special export settings files that are unique to Quark 8.1. If you are using Quark XPress 8.0 or earlier go to this page instead.

Watch Video

Making a PDF in Quark Xpress 8.1
Video Tutorial - This movie takes you through changing the Quark preferences to produce Postscript, then outlines the process of installing our PDF export settings into Quark and shows you how to convert Postscript to a print-ready PDF using Acrobat Distiller.
(3min, 14MB, flash format)

1. Download Instructions for Quark 8.1
First download this instruction sheet with information about setting up the Quark 8.1 export filter to produce Postscript.

2. Download Export Settings for Quark 8.1
Download and install these settings to make the Quark 8.1 export filter produce a Postscript file with the correct settings.

3. Download Instructions and Settings for Distiller
Download the instructions sheet for setting up Acrobat Distiller and the Acrobat settings files for your version of Acrobat. These joboptions have been edited to allow for Quark transparency. For transparency to be preserved you must use these custom settings.

	Instructions for setting up Acrobat Distiller
	Acrobat 7-9 Joboptions		Acrobat 6 Joboptions

1. Download Instructions for Quark export to PDF
Although this method may seem the easiest, the Quark PDF Export filter doesn't always create clean PDFs. For best results we suggest that you create a Postscript file as indicated above and use Distiller to create your PDF. If Acrobat is not available than these instructions show the settings that will give the best results in OS X or Windows.

2. Download Export Settings for Quark 8.1
Download and install these settings to make the Quark 8.1 export filter produce a PDF file with the correct settings.