“The PDF has no output intent (or the wrong profile)”: How to set the output intent in a print PDF

Why printers ask for this

The same CMYK numbers print differently on different presses and papers: C60 M40 Y40 K100 on glossy coated stock looks deeper than on uncoated paper or newsprint. The output intent tells the printer which of those conditions your file was made for. Their software uses it to show a soft proof, to convert any RGB images in a PDF/X-4, and to decide whether your colors need adjusting for their press. The PDF/X standards require one in every file, which is why a missing output intent is a hard fail in most preflight profiles.

It usually goes missing when a PDF is made with a non-PDF/X preset such as [High Quality Print], printed to PDF, saved from Word or an online editor, or edited after export. The wrong one is just as common: Adobe apps default to the document’s CMYK profile, which on a US install is usually U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2, while the printer runs GRACoL2013 on coated sheetfed, or FOGRA39 or FOGRA51 in Europe. A file labelled for coated paper on an uncoated job, or the reverse, is the mismatch printers worry about most.

Changing the output intent changes the label, not the numbers. Between two similar coated profiles that is usually all a printer wants. A move to a very different paper, such as from coated to uncoated, also needs the images and colors converted, so they suit the new paper and stay under its ink limit.

How to set the output intent in a print PDF

1. Ask the printer for their profile, or the name of their printing condition. They may give you an ICC file to install, or a name such as GRACoL2013 (CRPC6), FOGRA39, FOGRA51 (PSO Coated v3) or SWOP; the standard profiles are listed in the ICC registry.
2. Check what your PDF says now. In Acrobat Pro, open All tools → Use print production → Output preview (Tools → Print Production in older versions): when the file has an output intent, the Simulation Profile list usually shows it, labelled Output Intent. The free print-ready checker shows the PDF/X version and output condition a file declares on a Standard line, and no Standard line means it declares neither. It doesn’t judge whether the profile is the right one.
3. InDesign: File → Export → Adobe PDF (Print) and choose the PDF/X preset your printer asks for, usually [PDF/X-4:2008] or [PDF/X-1a:2001]. In the Output panel, set the Destination to the printer’s profile and check that Output Intent Profile Name shows it too. That field is only available with a PDF/X standard selected, and the choices depend on your color settings.
4. Illustrator: File → Save As → Adobe PDF, choose the PDF/X preset, and in the Output section set the Destination and the PDF/X Output Intent Profile Name to the printer’s profile.
5. Leave Color Conversion alone unless the printer asks for it. No Color Conversion or Convert to Destination (Preserve Numbers) keeps your CMYK numbers as they are; Convert to Destination recalculates them for the new profile. Ask before converting a finished CMYK file from one profile to another.
6. If the job moved to very different paper, convert the photos too: in Photoshop, Edit → Convert to Profile with the printer’s profile, then place them again and export.
7. Only have the PDF? In Acrobat Pro, choose Save as other → Press-ready PDF (PDF/X) → Settings, pick PDF/X-4 and the printer’s output condition, then save a new copy. The dialog differs between Acrobat versions. Word and most online editors have no output intent setting, so this is the way to add one to their PDFs.
8. Open the new PDF and check again: Output Preview or the checker should now show the printer’s condition, and the file should pass their PDF/X preflight.

Or send it to us

• Set the output intent to your printer’s exact profile and PDF/X version
• Check every image and color against that profile, converting only where the paper calls for it
• Keep spot colors, overprint and the bleed exactly as they were
• Send a PDF/X file that passes your printer’s preflight, with a note of what changed