Flatten PDFs: How to Make Sending Documents Easier and More Secure

Flatten PDFs: How to Make Sending Documents Easier and More Secure

You’re familiar with PDF files, but have you ever heard that you need to flatten PDFs? If you’re working with a printer, you may be familiar with PDF files. The next time, before you send a PDF file to your printer, take an extra step known as PDF flattening.

Sending and Receiving

In today’s business world, it’s common to send documents by email, upload them, and use share them online. When you flatten PDFs, you make your documents easier to send and more secure. This is especially useful if you’re sending a PDF with confidential information in it.

Why Businesses Use PDF Files

PDF stands for Portable Document Format. It’s a format that preserves the original appearance and formatting of a document. Unlike many other file formats, a PDF can be read on any computer or mobile device and on any operating system. This versatility has made PDF the most widely used business format in the world.

A PDF has several advantages over other shareable document types.

• Platform independence: All computers and mobile devices support PDF viewing and sharing, so with a PDF, you can work on the document anywhere you are.
• Secure sending: You can add passwords to PDF documents to make sure that only the correct recipients can open them.
• Formatting: Text files in other formats lose their formatting when opened on other platforms. If you use a PDF, your document maintains its images, formatting, and style.

What Is PDF Flattening?

A standard PDF is made up of many small, separate elements that come together to produce the document. When you send a PDDF through electronic mail or upload it, those elements remain separate.

In a printing PDF, those separate elements usually are:

• Interactive elements like dropdowns, radio buttons, and text boxes.
• Reference materials like footnotes and page numbers.
• Header styles.
• Text styles.
• Typography elements like bolding, font choice, and italics.
• Layout elements like margins.
• Fillable forms like those forms where you place your name, address, or phone number.

When you flatten PDFs, you remove all those separate elements and merge them into one. Everything turns into normal text. Your footnotes and references, header styles, forms, and text boxes all lose their formatting and become what’s known as “native text,” that is, text that looks just like any other text in the document.

When Should You Flatten PDFs?

Why would you want to do this? Here are some good reasons.

Improve security

Flattening your PDF will take fillable fields and filled-out forms, merging them into the document and hiding them. That means nobody can extract your images, electronic signature, personal information, and other elements from your PDF. It’s not enough by itself to completely secure a document, but it is an added layer of protection that is worth adding.

Get all the elements into print

When you create documents in Adobe and other software programs, the PDF comes out in several layers. When you send the PDF electronically, you run the risk of losing some elements. It’s rare, but it can happen. A flattened PDF will have all the print elements in place. This is the reason that some direct-to-print publishers requires you to flatten PDFs before sending the files to them.

Send documents faster

Sending a large PDF back and forth can be time-consuming. PDF flattening reduces the number of layers. That means faster sending and speedier downloading. You’ll save time and won’t have to wonder if your PDF got held up in transit somewhere.

Note that, in some cases, flattening PDF can result in a bigger file size. That’s typical if you’ve used complex images or high-resolution graphics. The file will still be easy to work with because its large sizes ensures that the design will look consistent in every application.

Improve formatting and usability

After many uses, a PDF can wear out. It seems inconceivable that a digital file would become worn out, but it happens. After many uses, it can lose elements, disintegrate, or freeze during transmission. PDF flattening prevents this. It makes the PDF stronger, more streamlined, and more likely to render correctly.

Embed annotations

Normally, a PDF prints without including the annotations. If you want to include them, you must flatten PDFs. You’ll be able to print all the visual elements, including the annotations.

Is PDF Flattening Necessary for Every File?

No, it’s not. It’s useful when you have private information on the PDF that you want to protect, and it’s a good idea if you’ve used the same PDF many times, but you don’t have to do it every time. Check with your printer or whoever you’re sending the file to.

How to Flatten PDFs

PDF flattening will make your files more secure, more streamlined, and easier to share. Here’s how to flatten PDFs.

Flatten PDFs in Canva

1. Open your design, and select the Editor function.
2. Click Share, and choose the Download option.
3. Choose PDF Standard or PDF Print.
4. On the dropdown menu, choose Flatten PDF.
5. Click on Download.
6. If you use pay elements, you’ll have to pay for them before you print. Select Pay and Download.

Flatten PDFs in Adobe

You must use Adobe Acrobat Pro to flatten your PDF.

1. Make a copy of your original PDF, and store it securely.
2. Select the Advanced feature, and go to Print Production.
3. Select Flattener Preview.
4. Adjust the images, as necessary.
5. Choose “Convert All Text to Outlines.” On the dropdown menu, deselect the Clip Complex Regions button.
6. Click Apply to flatten your file.
7. Close the Flattener Preview, and print your document.

Flatten PDFs in Microsoft

If you don’t have Adobe Acrobat, you can flatten your PDF in Microsoft’s Print to PDF feature.

1. Open the PDF file in any browser that allows you to view PDFs.
2. Press Control/P to open the print box.
3. Choose Microsoft Print to PDF.
4. Save your flattened document to a folder.

Flatten PDFs on a Mac

With Mac Preview, you can flatten your PDF without going through a separate software program or third-party supplier. To get started, go to Mac Preview.

1. Open your PDF in Preview by double clicking on the thumbnail.
2. Open File, and select Print.
3. Select Show Notes.
4. Select Save as PDF. Give your file a new name.
5. Select Save. Mac Preview will save the flattened PDF.

Flatten PDFs While Maintaining Quality

Are you concerned that PDF flattening will cause your file to lose quality? Follow these steps in Adobe Acrobat.

1. Start by making a copy of your PDF and saving it in a separate folder.
2. Open the copy, and select the Advanced feature. Go to PDF Optimizer and select Save.
3. Click on Discard User and Data, then Discard Hidden Layer Content, and click OK.
4. Open the PDF in Chrome or another browser that supports PDF viewing.
5. Select the Print function, and click on Save as PDF. Be sure to save the flattened file with a new file name.
6. In the Navigation Panel, select Layers. Click on the Options button, and choose Merge or Flatten Layers.
7. Save your new document. You can now print it.

Get the Most from Your PDF Files

Using PDF documents has made many business functions fast and easy. If you use commercial printing services, the importance of a safe, clean, and usable PDF can’t be overstated. At times, flattening your PDF will make your document easier to share and more secure. If you have questions about PDF files or any of your printing projects, contact Publishing Xpress.