strange sign on my pdf in Preview app

paragon · 03-20-2012, 03:56 PM

does any one know what are these signs and why preview shows them and acrobat doesn't? and how can I permanently stop preview from showing them?
they appear at the top and bottom of every page (of only some files). thanks

NaOH · 03-20-2012, 04:09 PM

They're printer's marks. Usually, they're included with a PDF when the file is created. Are you saying that you're seeing them in all your PDFs, even if, say, you do a Print to PDF of a web page?

trevor · 03-20-2012, 04:47 PM

My guess is that you have "Show Art, Trim, and Bleed Boxes" unchecked in Adobe Reader Preferences (or something similar in Acrobat? I don't have Acrobat at the moment), and there's no similar option in Preview. Unfortunately, I can't test this 'solution'.

Trevor

paragon · 03-21-2012, 01:20 AM

I see it only in certain files, never if i print anything into pdf.
This setting exist in acrobat and I tried it, the only thing that changed is a green, one pixel wide rim around the page.
I am adding one page from that file, and another screenshot of that green rim.
I have just noticed another interesting fact, even quick look ignores these markings as well as the preview of the finders info window

NaOH · 03-21-2012, 01:34 AM

It's probably due to the software used to create the PDFs which have the printer's marks. I'm guessing those files came from someone else. As you can see from your attached pictures, your settings in Acrobat (that Trevor referenced) are set such that the marks don't show. If you have lots of these PDFs, you may want to use Acrobat instead of Preview (or other software can be recommended, if you'd like).

benwiggy · 03-21-2012, 02:56 AM

The setting that Trevor indicates just shows a coloured line where each of the "boxes" is.

The PDF document format describes several boxes, which are all rectangular areas on the page (including the page itself).
If you create a PDF from Word, Preview, the print menu, then all these boxes are in the same place (the page edge).

Apps like Indesign, Illustrator, Quark XPress can be set to create trim marks and registration marks when making PDFs. This is usually because the PDF is destined for professional printing. These apps will also alter the trim box to fit the area described by the trim marks inside the page. The Bleed box will be slightly bigger than the trim box.

It's conceivable that Acrobat has a setting to show only the Trim Page size (though for the life of me I can't find it). There is no setting in Preview to display just the trim area.

You could always crop the pages, either using Preview or Acrobat Pro.

It's interesting that you say QuickLook only displays the trimmed page. PDFs that I have made show the whole sheet with trim marks in QuickLook.

However, I am not convinced that Apple's PDFKit always uses the correct box for the correct job. I've had some funny behaviour converting PS to PDF and getting wonky pages. But I digress.

Any chance you could post a sample of one of the files?

Cris Frison · 03-21-2012, 06:19 AM

I would advise you to see if you can use a better alternate for present software that you are using.

03-20-2012, 03:56 PM	#1
paragon Major Leaguer Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 467	strange sign on my pdf in Preview app does any one know what are these signs and why preview shows them and acrobat doesn't? and how can I permanently stop preview from showing them? they appear at the top and bottom of every page (of only some files). thanks Attached Thumbnails __________________ there is nothing better than a... oh well, that aint that good...

03-21-2012, 02:56 AM	#6
benwiggy League Commissioner Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 5,040	The setting that Trevor indicates just shows a coloured line where each of the "boxes" is. The PDF document format describes several boxes, which are all rectangular areas on the page (including the page itself). If you create a PDF from Word, Preview, the print menu, then all these boxes are in the same place (the page edge). Apps like Indesign, Illustrator, Quark XPress can be set to create trim marks and registration marks when making PDFs. This is usually because the PDF is destined for professional printing. These apps will also alter the trim box to fit the area described by the trim marks inside the page. The Bleed box will be slightly bigger than the trim box. It's conceivable that Acrobat has a setting to show only the Trim Page size (though for the life of me I can't find it). There is no setting in Preview to display just the trim area. You could always crop the pages, either using Preview or Acrobat Pro. It's interesting that you say QuickLook only displays the trimmed page. PDFs that I have made show the whole sheet with trim marks in QuickLook. However, I am not convinced that Apple's PDFKit always uses the correct box for the correct job. I've had some funny behaviour converting PS to PDF and getting wonky pages. But I digress. Any chance you could post a sample of one of the files? Last edited by benwiggy; 03-21-2012 at 03:08 AM.

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03-20-2012, 04:09 PM	#2
NaOH Hall of Famer Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 3,642	They're printer's marks. Usually, they're included with a PDF when the file is created. Are you saying that you're seeing them in all your PDFs, even if, say, you do a Print to PDF of a web page?

03-21-2012, 01:34 AM	#5
NaOH Hall of Famer Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 3,642	It's probably due to the software used to create the PDFs which have the printer's marks. I'm guessing those files came from someone else. As you can see from your attached pictures, your settings in Acrobat (that Trevor referenced) are set such that the marks don't show. If you have lots of these PDFs, you may want to use Acrobat instead of Preview (or other software can be recommended, if you'd like).

03-21-2012, 06:19 AM	#7
Cris Frison Prospect Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 9	I would advise you to see if you can use a better alternate for present software that you are using.