PDF requirements and recommendations

Here are some key formatting practices that will ensure you get the best results with your uploaded publications.

The following outlines how you can format your PDF (using Adobe Acrobat^®up to PDF version 1.6).

The Basics

• All the pages must be merged in one file (We recommend an Optimized PDF).
• Number of pages allowed per PDF conversion is 1,000
• 500 MB maximum file size.
• Single page cropped (no double page spreads) and remove all crop marks.
• All page sizes must be consistent with a maximum surface area of 430 square inches or around 17.5"X24". No minimum size requirement, but best to keep above 5 inches width and height to ensure quality is acceptable when pages are viewed on larger screens.
• All pages must be in the same orientation. Either in Portrait or in Landscape mode.
• All pages must be in the correct order.  You will not be able to re-order the pages post upload (although you can replace pages post upload).
• Secured PDFs will be processed, but any security settings on the PDF will be removed during processing.
• Avoid text as images. Only use "real" text (FONTS) so your Flipbook looks sharp even on zoom and can be found by search engines.
• Embed ALL fonts in your publication - Use fonts that are installed on your system AND are permitted to be embedded.
• Avoid CID fonts if possible as they may not be extracted or displayed properly.
• Embedded Open Type Fonts (EOT) are not supported for the Desktop platform and will likely not display at all on Flipbook pages.
• Use an RGB Color Space for most accurate color conversion
• Merge all layers and flatten all transparencies.
• Avoid Overprint Elements if possible.  These may not render correctly in the Desktop Flipbook.
• Delete clipping paths when possible to avoid white ghost lines in your actual PDF, which can show upon conversion.
• No embedded scripts, media(video/audio) or buttons will be maintained post upload to the system.
• PDF Comments will NOT be shown after upload.
• We do not support PDF version 1.7+.  Although the PDF may be processed, some errors may occur. Please review your PDF if you provide a 1.7 version.

Links

• Your Flipbook will maintain links and create articles from bookmarks post upload to our system. We even support nested bookmarks!  (NOTE ON BOOKMARKS - Make sure you are linking to a page number and not a Named Destination.) Of course you can use our Auto-Link tool to create links from URLs as well. 

Images

• Avoid low quality images by saving in at least 200DPI resolution.
• Our system by default downsamples all images to 150DPI level, however you can increase that to 200DPI at the Folder level. See this article for more information about setting the DPI level.
• If you find there are conversion problems with your PDF post upload, you may need to use Force Vectorization option for your Flipbook. This is an option you can turn on when you edit your folder under Advanced>Parser defaults.  More information about Forced Vectorization here.

​Gradient Conversions

• ​If you see any problems with gradients post conversion, and the above forced vector/engine options to not work you can try to Print to PDF from Adobe Acrobat using the Adobe PDF print plugin 

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• We do not recommend binding multiple PDF files into one PDF file.

For further instructions on how to edit your PDF file, here are some helpful links:

• Creating Bookmarks in Adobe Acrobat (version 7.0+)
• Create Links in Adobe Acrobat (version 7.0+)
• Adobe Acrobat 9.0 Standard Help File