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lb_leedreamwriteremmy asked for our procedure for PDF-izing comics, ebooks, and zines, so here is our step-by-step procedure for it using InDesign (the more reliable, traditional method, but Adobe has gone monthly subscription model) and also our friend Leaf's Racket PDF-izer (which is free and open-source but still in testing; you should help us test it)! This is using Windows and Linux; our InDesign methods has only been tested on Windows, but Leaf's program should work on all OSes. (Also, Leaf is our nickname for her. We are not mispelling her name.)Before you start with either method, you need the following things:
* Some means to have digitized your pages--either they're digital from the start, or a scanner. DON'T USE A CAMERA.
* An image-editing program that allows for fiddly tweaking of resolution and size. GIMP is free and open-source; I use it.
Pre-PDFizing Work (skip if you already have your images ready):
* Have all your pages at the same resolution: 300 dots-per-inch (DPI) at least. (Some people do higher, but I've never bothered.) This will mean they print out looking nice, without pixelization or blurriness, despite appearing huge on your computer. If you need to change the DPI, you can use GIMP.
* Make sure all your images are the same size, which is also the size you're printing them. (For example, 8.5 x 11 inches, or 5.5 x 8.5 inches.) You can do this in GIMP, using scaling or cropping. (InDesign seems to be more able to handle fluidity on this, but good habits are good to set.) (NOTE: I once had InDesign vomit on me because while all my pages were the same size in my program, one or two were labeled enormous low-res images instead of smaller high-res. If, using the InDesign method, some images show up as massively larger or smaller than they should be, despite having the exact same pixel size, then you have the wrong resolution on them. Took me YEARS to figure this out.)
* Now is the time to decide which, if any, pages will be "full bleed"--AKA, have art that goes all the way to the edge of the page. This is in contrast to "standard," which requires at least .25 inches of white space around on all sides so nothing will get cut off. Here is a visual example of the difference between the two. If you are doing full bleed (and I DON'T recommend it for a first project), you need to insure that your art is on a page .25 inches bigger on every side, and have the art go all the way to the end on all of them, so that when it's trimmed to its final size, it will look right. But that's a pain; I don't do full bleed.
* Name your pages in a specific linear sequence, and remember your zeroes! If you have ten or more pages, label them 01, 02, 03, etc; if you have more than a hundred pages, label them 001, 002. Otherwise, the program will think they go in the sequence of 01, 10, 100, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 2, 20, 21. (If there's an easy way to batch-rename them properly, I haven't found them yet, but it surely must exist somewhere.)
* Make sure your pages are all in the same folder, with nothing else there. Don't mix it with other files!
Got your pages all set? Let's go!
Leaf's PDF-izer Method
NOTE: this method does not work on Windows XP computers, as far as I can tell. Sorry!1. Download Racket. Install it. It will take a while. (Also, on Linux Mint, the newest version of Racket shits the bed. However, I know that version 7.3 works fine!)
2. Download Leaf's Build Booklet program. Unzip the contents.
3. Open Racket up. DrRacket, the GUI window, should load and open.
4. Go to File, then Open, or press Ctrl+O.
5. Go to the folder you put Leaf's Build Booklet files in, and choose "racket.main"
6. Once it loads up, click "Run" in the top right-hand corner; it has a Green sideways triangle next to it.
7. A menu will pop up with the header "Generate PDFs." Click the load images button, and pick the folder you put your pages in.
8. If you want an ebook, and thus the pages in read order, click the "Generate Screen PDF" button. If you want a print-PDF for saddle-stitching, click "Generate Booklet PDF."
9. You're done!
The InDesign CS2 Method
NOTE: We can't claim credit for this how-to; the original was given to us by our friend Kimball, which we expanded over time. Also note that this is specifically for Windows computers and the CS2 version: you are SOL if you're using Mac or Linux or later versions.
BEFORE YOU START
InDesign these days requires a Creative Cloud subscription. I don't know if this link still works, but at least back in the day, Adobe would allow for free downloading of the old InDesign from Creative Suite 2, which is the one we use: https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/entitlement/index.cfm?e=cs2_downloads (EDIT 2023/12/14: this link seems to be dead. Sorry! If you're really dying for it, you can ask me for the installer?)
Serial Number: 1037-1412-5094-8316-6812-7982
1. Download the script “imagecatalog.jsx” (Back-up link here, or the original: http://keomars11.free.fr/ADOBE%20INDESIGN%20CS2%20FR/Informations%20Techniques/Scripts/Exemples%20de%20scripts%20Adobe/JavaScript/ImageCatalog.jsx)
2. Download the script “Buildbooklet.jsx” (Back-up link here, or the original: https://web.archive.org/web/20140325191304/http://pdsassoc.com/downloads/Buildbooklet.zip)
3. Go to program files, Adobe, Indesign CS2, Presets, Scripts and drop it in that folder, and restart the program.
4. Click on Window, Automation, Scripts
5. make sure your image files are labeled so that it’ll put them in the right order (that is, it will put image1 and image10 right after one another and before image2 unless you have like image001, image002, etc). (If there is a way to batch-rename these easily, I don't know yet.)
IMAGECATALOG
6. Click on imagecatalog, select folder with images in it
7. 1 column, 1 row, no offset; turn off all label stuff; click “proportional” off
8. File, Document Setup. Set it to the size of your images.
9. Run that, it’ll take a bit. This will put all your images in the correct sequence, one per page.
EBOOKS/PERFECT BOUND BOOKS
If you are making ebooks or perfect bound books (like your average paperback), this is the stage you want to do it!
* Ctrl+E to Export it as a PDF.
* While exporting, do NOT check 'spreads.' Go to Compression.
* Choose 'Bicubic Downsampling' to 300 DPI.
* Compression: JPEG
* Image Quality: Low [Maximum is print quality; Medium will compress down some]
* Check 'Compress Text and Line Art'
* Boom! Ebook/Perfect Bound Print PDF achieved!
However, if you are printing something saddle-stitched (AKA, a stapled floppy, like a magazine or a comics issue), you need to take some extra steps, because the pages will have to be printed in a different order--you can see this for yourself if you take apart a magazine and lay the pages out--they don't go pages 1, 2, 3, 4, but last page, first page, second, second-to-last, etc. This is also sometimes known as "booklet printing."
BUILDBOOKLET/SADDLE-STITCHED VERSION
10. Click on buildbooklet
11. That will take a little bit
12. Go to File, Page Setup. Click “facing pages”
13. File, Export. Save it as a pdf. Turn off downsampling, turn off compression. Click spreads. Select other details that are important.
14. That will go for a while.
15. Done!
