Acrobat PDF and Workflow InDetail

Rating:
Summary: PDF Reference
Review: "Acrobat PDF and Workflow InDetail" is the book to have if you know the basics of Acrobat. Written for those who have some experience with Acrobat, PDF, and prepress, "Acrobat PDF and Workflow InDetail" will fill in those areas that can be somewhat confusing. The early chapters cover the PDF format its roots and relationship to postscript. This is followed by features in Acrobat 4 including plug-ins.

"Acrobat PDF and Workflow InDetail" covers all aspects of the PDF format and the application of PDF files in various workflow environments. From prepress to web publication "Acrobat PDF and Workflow InDetail" addresses many questions that come up in real-world situations (e.g., correct compression settings, trapping, imposition and other print related issues). Use of Acrobat with Excel, Word, and Quark are covered as well as a section on PDF and InDesign.

Distiller 4 is covered in detail from fonts through color management, including compression options. There is not too much about Acrobat and PDF that "Acrobat PDF and Workflow InDetail" does not include. If you use Acrobat or want to know how to take better advantage of PDF and what a digital workflow has to offer, I suggest you read "Acrobat PDF and Workflow InDetail." This is the reference book for PDF and its application in digital publishing.

Rating:
Summary: PDF Reference
Review: "Acrobat PDF and Workflow InDetail" is the book to have if you know the basics of Acrobat. Written for those who have some experience with Acrobat, PDF, and prepress, "Acrobat PDF and Workflow InDetail" will fill in those areas that can be somewhat confusing. The early chapters cover the PDF format its roots and relationship to postscript. This is followed by features in Acrobat 4 including plug-ins.

"Acrobat PDF and Workflow InDetail" covers all aspects of the PDF format and the application of PDF files in various workflow environments. From prepress to web publication "Acrobat PDF and Workflow InDetail" addresses many questions that come up in real-world situations (e.g., correct compression settings, trapping, imposition and other print related issues). Use of Acrobat with Excel, Word, and Quark are covered as well as a section on PDF and InDesign.

Distiller 4 is covered in detail from fonts through color management, including compression options. There is not too much about Acrobat and PDF that "Acrobat PDF and Workflow InDetail" does not include. If you use Acrobat or want to know how to take better advantage of PDF and what a digital workflow has to offer, I suggest you read "Acrobat PDF and Workflow InDetail." This is the reference book for PDF and its application in digital publishing.

Rating:
Summary: Really good deal
Review: At full price this is a good book. At the bargain basement prices of these used copies you're a loser if you don't buy one.

Rating:
Summary: Sloppy construction, useful info
Review: This book fills a BIG gap in the computer press - i.e. the lack of good books on Adobe Acrobat 4.0. It contains a lot of really useful information for the intermediate/advanced PDF user. I bought it to learn how to tweak some advanced PDF settings for a large document job, and I am pleased to say it gave me exactly the information (compression settings etc) I was looking for.

That said, I'm only giving it three stars. This is because the presentation of the book is not good. It has spelling and grammar mistakes. It occasionally references the wrong product (Acrobat 3.0?). The writing is verbose, and the logical structure of the book leaves a bit to be desired.

It is also completely Mac-centric. It does not mention that its screenshots, examples etc are all taken from a Mac, which might confuse some Windows readers (they look pretty similar, but not exactly the same). And it offers almost nothing in the way of Windows-specific information. At least it tells you when fumctionality is different between the Windows and Mac versions, though.

Overall, a great book for the PDF power user - highly recommended for the detailed information it provides. However it's only great because there are so few books out there on this topic. I'd buy a better-written one tomorrow, if such a book existed.

Rating:
Summary: Amateurish disappointment on a major league level
Review: This book was scrapped together with content almost totally downloaded from software makers' web sites. Not even edited together in any coherent fashion. The same topics were treated multiple times in numerous places. Mr. Roman may be knowlegable about PDF workflow, but it doesn't show in this overpriced, over-rushed, overly-complex and already out-of-date book.