Importing and saving PDFs in Paint by Zaweba

PDF sits in the middle of a lot of jobs: a client sends one, a printer wants one, a portfolio goes out as one. Paint by Zaweba works with it in both directions. PDF pages import at a resolution you choose, each page as an artboard or a layer, and File > Save As > PDF writes your artboards back out as pages with options aimed at print and at people who will open the file later.

Bringing PDF pages in

When you import a PDF, you set the resolution first. This matters, because a PDF page often contains vector artwork and text that can be drawn at any size. Pick the resolution for the job: a lower one if you just want to take a screenshot-style reference, a higher one if you plan to print or crop in tightly.

Each page can become an artboard or a layer. Artboards suit multi-page work where each page should stay its own canvas, for instance editing a set of leaflets or annotating a few pages of a document. Layers suit cases where you want to combine pages, compare them, or take a single element from one page and use it elsewhere.

Saving as PDF

File > Save As > PDF can write every artboard as a page or only the active one. That makes artboards a neat way to build a short multi-page document: a set of social posts to send for approval, a small brochure, or a portfolio of images with consistent margins.

You choose lossless or JPEG compression for the pixel content. Lossless keeps every pixel exact and suits graphics with flat colour and sharp edges. JPEG makes much smaller files for photographic pages, which is kinder to email.

Print and vector options

Optional crop marks are there for files that will be trimmed. If a print shop asks for crop marks, switch them on; if they ask for none, leave them off, since some shops add their own.

PDF layers put each layer in an optional-content group. Someone opening the PDF in a viewer that supports layers can switch them on and off, which is handy for a design with alternative versions, or a map with optional labels.

Shape and text layers can be written as vector outlines. Vector outlines stay crisp at any zoom and any print size, so logos and type in your PDF look sharp even though the photos around them are pixels. It is one of the main reasons to save a layered design as PDF rather than flattening it to a JPEG.

A workflow that works

Set up artboards at the final page sizes. Build each page with your normal layers, keeping text and shapes live. When ready, save as PDF with vector outlines on, choose JPEG for photo-heavy pages or lossless for graphics, and add crop marks only if asked. Keep the .ptx master so you can make changes and write a new PDF in seconds.

For a document that came in as PDF, import at a sensible resolution, make your edits, and write it out again. Bear in mind that imported pages become pixels at the resolution you picked, so text from the original isn't editable as text. If you need to change words, cover and retype them with a text layer.

Two things to get right

Importing at too low a resolution is the usual one, and it can't be fixed later without importing again. The other is flattening type before saving, which throws away the vector option. Paint by Zaweba keeps both choices open, so let the file stay layered until the PDF is written.