Printing complex PDF document using Acrobat

Many of the tasks below are more advanced options that can be helpful for document service bureaus and others working with professional-level printers. For more basic troubleshooting tasks, see Troubleshoot PDF printing in Acrobat and Reader (cpsid_87346)

Print the PDF one or two pages at a time. By printing in small batches, you can determine if a particular page, or an object on a page (such as an image), causes the problem. If you can identify a page or an object that does not print, do one of the following:

• Remove the page or object.
• Re-create the page or object that is causing the problem.
  Note:  This option requires that you have the source file.
• If you don't have the source file, extract the page and try to print the page as an image. See Quick fix | Print PDF as image | Acrobat, Reader (cpsid_87345).

Print by using the Acrobat default settings to determine if a print setting could have changed and is causing the problem.

When you convert documents that contain transparent images into PDF files, the transparent images are processed in many small fragments in the PDF. A Word document containing a transparent GIF is an example. This processing can increase the file size of the PDF, which can cause printing problems. In Acrobat 8 and later, you can merge these fragments to reduce the PDF file size.

PDF files can contain layered content if they are created from layered documents by using applications such as Adobe InDesign. As a result, a single page of the PDF file can contain different layers with different content. If you print a PDF that contains layered content, only the layer that is currently visible onscreen is printed. Acrobat Pro and Pro Extended let you specify which layer is visible and printable. Merge or flatten the layers in the PDF to determine if one of the layers is causing the printing problem.

Note: Merging or flattening layers can't be undone. For this procedure, use a copy of your PDF.

To determine which version of Acrobat you are using, choose Help > About Adobe Acrobat (Windows), or Acrobat > About Acrobat (Mac OS).

For Acrobat 8 Professional or later:

For Acrobat 7 Professional:

If a document contains transparent objects, such as images with transparency, Acrobat flattens the document before printing it. Flattening removes transparency information and converts images to a format that the printer can interpret. Adjust how Acrobat performs the flattening to determine whether transparency is causing the problem.

To determine which version of Acrobat you are using, choose Help > About Adobe Acrobat (Windows), or Acrobat > About Acrobat (Mac OS).

For Acrobat 8 Professional or later:

For Acrobat 7 Professional:

If you print a PDF with color separations, print a composite to determine whether one of the color plates is causing the problem. When you print a composite, all the colors print on one plate, regardless of whether individual colors are selected. If a composite prints, sometimes it indicates that one of the individual color plates is causing the problem.

Print using variations of the default PostScript options to determine whether a specific print setting is causing the problem.

If you print to a PostScript printer, enable the PostScript error handler for the printer, if one is available for your printer. The PostScript error handler prints a list of PostScript errors that occur when you print. For help interpreting and resolving PostScript errors, see Troubleshoot PostScript errors (328515).

Excess temporary files can cause Acrobat to freeze or appear to freeze when you print.

To delete temporary files using Disk Cleanup:

To delete temporary files using the command line:

Windows Simplified Mode disables startup items and services. Starting in simplified mode can eliminate some errors or conflicts caused by one of these items.

Windows 2000 does not have the MSConfig utility for disabling startup items. You can manually disable the items or obtain the MSConfig utility for Windows XP, which also works with Windows 2000. Disable these processes every time you restart the computer.

To manually disable startup items:

To re-enable startup items and services, follow these steps:

To re-enable startup items and services, follow these steps:

To re-enable startup items and services, follow these steps:

Switch to the standard VGA video driver and then restart Windows in VGA mode. If the printing error doesn't occur when you use the standard VGA driver, contact the video card manufacturer for an updated driver. If you already use the current version, try using a different video resolution (for example, 800 x 600, rather than 1024 x 768).

Note: Standard VGA drivers display 16 colors only. Switch to Super VGA for applications that require a minimum of 256 colors, such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere Pro, or Adobe Illustrator. 

Download the current version of Adobe Reader or Acrobat, at the Adobe Product updates site. Or, in Adobe Reader or Acrobat, choose Help > Check For Updates.