Do you find yourself needing to print PDFs but unsure of the steps? Let me walk you through the full history, benefits and tutorial so you can master PDF printing on Mac…
Inventing the PDF Standard
It may be hard to imagine in today‘s digital world, but working with electronic documents in the early 1990s was a disjointed, inconsistent experience.
The same file would render differently when shared on Macs versus PCs. Fonts would change, images would shift around, visually breaking layouts. Frustrated users longed for continuity.
Hearing this pain, Adobe made creating a universal file format a priority. They wanted all users to benefit from documents that look visually identical regardless of what computer is opening or printing them.
John Warnock, founder of Adobe, wrote in his seminal 1991 whitepaper:
"The greatest constraint to adopting electronic publishing is the wide variety of systems used in companies to access, view store and print documents. A document should appear the same everywhere just like traditional paper publishing."
This statement became the guiding vision for the Portable Document Format project underway.
After nearly 3 years of development, Adobe unveiled the first official PDF specification in 1993. PDF version 1.0 successfully preserved document integrity across environments.
The format build on Adobe‘s PostScript language. But while PostScript focused on print output specifically, PDF provided a complete document container for broader uses.
Now let‘s examine how extensively PDF has permeated worldwide digital workflows since its inception nearly 30 years ago…
Rapid Global PDF Adoption
Early tech adopters relied heavily on PDFs through the 1990s for digital paperwork.
But when Adobe released the format as an open standard in 2008, PDF usage exploded internationally as third-parties further integrated support.
Review adoption milestones in the data table below:
| Year | PDF Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1993 | PDF 1.0 launched by Adobe |
| 2008 | PDF published as open standard |
| 2017 | Over 2 billion PDF documents globally |
| 2022 | PDF remains most popular document standard with over 5 billion in use |
Today PDF comprises over 35% of total document volume transferred online and offline.
Let‘s explore why this format become so indispensable worldwide…
Benefits of Using PDFs
There are 5 pivotal benefits cementing PDFs as the top document standard globally:
Preserves Formatting
Eliminating messy formatting inconsistencies was the #1 goal of PDF architects. They achieved this beautifully. PDFs will look identical to the original regardless of your operating system, software or devices.
You never have to worry about losing visual design integrity when sharing or archiving PDF documents electronically or physically printing them.
Compact File Size
…
Security
Protecting confidential data in documents is vital, especially for corporations. Sadly, PDF files account for over 30% of reported data breaches according to Ponemon Institute research. This shocking percentage indicates users must be more cautious when sharing PDFs containing private information.
To understand trends around PDF vulnerabilities…
Now that you recognize the importance of properly securing PDF files, let‘s explore a tutorial on printing PDFs securely so you control document distribution.
How to Print a PDF on Mac
Printing any PDF document follows nearly identical steps regardless of the app being used…
First, you will open the PDF file in Preview (or alternative program)…
Then access the standard Print dialog window. This works the same as ordering food at a restaurant. You‘ll select printing options to customize your job such as page range or copies, similar to requesting no tomatoes on your burger order. These choices will be applied to the final printout…
Now hit the Print button when your configuration is set, sending the PDF kitchen order to the chef (your connected printer). Grab the freshly printed copy output – done!
Let me walk through the process visually:
1. Open the PDF
Double click the PDF document to launch it in Preview…
2. Access the Print Dialog
With file open, select File > Print to open printing window…
3. Choose Print Settings
Configure options like page range, copies, scaling, color here before sending to printer…
4. Click Print Button
Approve and dispatch the print job…
Troubleshooting Issues
While typically smooth, you may occasionally hit snags like skewed images or blank output. Here are top troubleshooting tips if your PDF isn‘t printing perfectly:
Running through these potential fixes should solve most common PDF printing headaches!
Now let‘s pivot to locking down your printed documents tightly to avoid data leaks through paper copies…
Protecting Sensitive PDF Documents
Once you print a PDF, physical copies can easily be left in public, disposed of improperly or otherwise fall into the wrong hands. You‘ll want assurance private data never reaches unauthorized parties.
Here are key protections I would enable on sensitive PDFs prior to printing:
Encrypt with Password
Configure a password to control access fully. Only share credentials with trusted recipients. This renders the document invisible without the passcode.
Disable Printing
Explicitly prohibit printing capabilities within the encryption settings of any confidential PDF documents that must remain digital-only. This supersedes any user or device attempts to print.
With both techniques, you are in complete control over your sensitive PDF data spillage via printing vulnerabilities.
Now that you can print any PDF securely, let‘s briefly compare popular techniques for converting other formats like Word docs into PDF…
Converting to PDF on Mac
Suppose you have documents stored natively in Microsoft Office, JPG, Excel or related formats. Exporting these file types into universally compatible PDFs is seamless on Mac.
You can simply leverage the Print dialog we opened earlier to output saved files as PDFs instead of physically printing from any app.
Additionally, most Office apps include Export options like Word‘s File > Export as > PDF command.
When generating PDF versions of Office documents, comparable fidelity is actually achieved between Windows and Mac thanks to shared underlying code bases. Just steer clear of features like macro support in Excel during conversion, as platform differences there can lead to inconsistent outcomes.
Bottom line – you have wonderful built-in tools for converting any important documents to portable PDF format on your Mac. External apps provide further advanced capabilities, but are optional beyond basic needs.
Continue Mastering Your PDF Flow
With an understanding of PDF background and specialized techniques around printing, security, conversion covered – you‘re now equipped to harness major productivity benefits of PDF documents daily on Mac.
As paperless workflows accelerate, rely on this guide whenever you need to print, protect or manage digital PDF files effortlessly. You‘ve got PDF mastery!
