1pdftops(1)                  General Commands Manual                 pdftops(1)
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NAME

6       pdftops  - Portable Document Format (PDF) to PostScript converter (ver‐
7       sion 3.03)
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SYNOPSIS

10       pdftops [options] <PDF-file> [<PS-file>]
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DESCRIPTION

13       Pdftops converts Portable Document Format (PDF) files to PostScript  so
14       they can be printed.
15
16       Pdftops reads the PDF file, PDF-file, and writes a PostScript file, PS-
17       file.  If PS-file  is  not  specified,  pdftops  converts  file.pdf  to
18       file.ps  (or  file.eps  with  the -eps option).  If PS-file is ´-', the
19       PostScript is sent to stdout.
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OPTIONS

22       -f number
23              Specifies the first page to print.
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25       -l number
26              Specifies the last page to print.
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28       -level1
29              Generate Level 1 PostScript.   The  resulting  PostScript  files
30              will  be significantly larger (if they contain images), but will
31              print on Level 1 printers.  This also  converts  all  images  to
32              black  and  white.   No  more  than  one of the PostScript level
33              options  (-level1,  -level1sep,  -level2,  -level2sep,  -level3,
34              -level3sep) may be given.
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36       -level1sep
37              Generate Level 1 separable PostScript.  All colors are converted
38              to CMYK.  Images are written with separate stream data  for  the
39              four components.
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41       -level2
42              Generate  Level 2 PostScript.  Level 2 supports color images and
43              image compression.  This is the default setting.
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45       -level2sep
46              Generate Level 2 separable PostScript.  All colors are converted
47              to  CMYK.   The  PostScript  separation convention operators are
48              used to handle custom (spot) colors.
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50       -level3
51              Generate Level 3 PostScript.  This enables all Level 2  features
52              plus CID font embedding.
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54       -level3sep
55              Generate  Level 3 separable PostScript.  The separation handling
56              is the same as for -level2sep.
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58       -eps   Generate an Encapsulated PostScript (EPS)  file.   An  EPS  file
59              contains a single image, so if you use this option with a multi-
60              page PDF file, you must use -f and -l to specify a single  page.
61              No more than one of the mode options (-eps, -form) may be given.
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63       -form  Generate  a  PostScript  form  which can be imported by software
64              that understands forms.  A form contains a single  page,  so  if
65              you  use this option with a multi-page PDF file, you must use -f
66              and -l to specify a single page.  The -level1 option  cannot  be
67              used  with  -form.   No more than one of the mode options (-eps,
68              -form) may be given.
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70       -opi   Generate OPI comments for all images and forms  which  have  OPI
71              information.  (This option is only available if pdftops was com‐
72              piled with OPI support.)
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74       -binary
75              Write binary data in Level 1 PostScript.   By  default,  pdftops
76              writes  hex-encoded  data in Level 1 PostScript.  Binary data is
77              non-standard in Level 1 PostScript but reduces the file size and
78              can  be  useful when Level 1 PostScript is required only for its
79              restricted use of PostScript operators.
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81       -r number
82              Set the resolution in DPI when pdftops  rasterizes  images  with
83              transparencies  or, for Level 1 PostScript, when pdftops raster‐
84              izes images with color masks.  By  default,  pdftops  rasterizes
85              images to 300 DPI.
86
87       -noembt1
88              By  default, any Type 1 fonts which are embedded in the PDF file
89              are copied into the PostScript file.  This option causes pdftops
90              to  substitute  base  fonts  instead.  Embedded fonts make Post‐
91              Script files larger, but may be necessary for readable output.
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93       -noembtt
94              By default, any TrueType fonts which are  embedded  in  the  PDF
95              file  are  copied  into the PostScript file.  This option causes
96              pdftops to substitute base fonts instead.  Embedded  fonts  make
97              PostScript  files larger, but may be necessary for readable out‐
98              put.  Also, some PostScript interpreters do  not  have  TrueType
99              rasterizers.
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101       -noembcidps
102              By  default,  any CID PostScript fonts which are embedded in the
103              PDF file are copied into the PostScript file.  This option  dis‐
104              ables that embedding.  No attempt is made to substitute for non-
105              embedded CID PostScript fonts.
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107       -noembcidtt
108              By default, any CID TrueType fonts which are embedded in the PDF
109              file  are copied into the PostScript file.  This option disables
110              that embedding.  No attempt is made to substitute for non-embed‐
111              ded CID TrueType fonts.
112
113       -passfonts
114              By  default,  references  to non-embedded 8-bit fonts in the PDF
115              file are  substituted  with  the  closest  "Helvetica",  "Times-
116              Roman",  or  "Courier"  font.   This option passes references to
117              non-embedded fonts through to the PostScript file.
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119       -aaRaster yes | no
120              Enable or disable raster anti-aliasing.  This defaults to  "no".
121              pdftops  may  need to rasterize transparencies and pattern image
122              masks in the PDF.  If the  PostScript  will  be  printed,  leave
123              -aaRaster  disabled and set -r to the resolution of the printer.
124              If the PostScript will be viewed, enabling  -aaRaster  may  make
125              rasterized text easier to read.
126
127       -rasterize always | never | whenneeded
128              By  default, pdftops rasterizes pages as needed, for example, if
129              they contain transparencies.  To force rasterization, set  -ras‐
130              terize  to  "always".  Use  this to eliminate fonts.  To prevent
131              rasterization, set -rasterize to "never". This may produce files
132              that display incorrectly.
133
134       -optimizecolorspace
135              By  default, bitmap images in the PDF pass through to the output
136              PostScript in their original color space,  which  produces  pre‐
137              dictable results.  This option converts RGB and CMYK images into
138              Gray images if every pixel of the image  has  equal  components.
139              This  can fix problems when doing color separations of PDFs that
140              contain embedded black and white images encoded as RGB.
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142       -preload
143              preload images and forms
144
145       -paper size
146              Set the paper size to one of "letter", "legal", "A4",  or  "A3".
147              This  can  also be set to "match", which will set the paper size
148              of each page to match the size specified in  the  PDF  file.  If
149              none  the  -paper, -paperw, or -paperh options are specified the
150              default is to match the paper size.
151
152       -paperw size
153              Set the paper width, in points.
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155       -paperh size
156              Set the paper height, in points.
157
158       -origpagesizes
159              This option is the same as "-paper match".
160
161       -nocrop
162              By default, output is cropped to the CropBox  specified  in  the
163              PDF file.  This option disables cropping.
164
165       -expand
166              Expand  PDF  pages smaller than the paper to fill the paper.  By
167              default, these pages are not scaled.
168
169       -noshrink
170              Don't scale PDF pages which  are  larger  than  the  paper.   By
171              default, pages larger than the paper are shrunk to fit.
172
173       -nocenter
174              By default, PDF pages smaller than the paper (after any scaling)
175              are centered on the  paper.   This  option  causes  them  to  be
176              aligned to the lower-left corner of the paper instead.
177
178       -duplex
179              Set  the  Duplex  pagedevice entry in the PostScript file.  This
180              tells duplex-capable printers to enable duplexing.
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182       -opw password
183              Specify the owner password for the  PDF  file.   Providing  this
184              will bypass all security restrictions.
185
186       -upw password
187              Specify the user password for the PDF file.
188
189       -overprint
190              Enable overprinting.
191
192       -q     Don't print any messages or errors.
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194       -v     Print copyright and version information.
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196       -h     Print usage information.  (-help and --help are equivalent.)
197

EXIT CODES

199       The Xpdf tools use the following exit codes:
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201       0      No error.
202
203       1      Error opening a PDF file.
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205       2      Error opening an output file.
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207       3      Error related to PDF permissions.
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209       99     Other error.
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AUTHOR

212       The  pdftops software and documentation are copyright 1996-2011 Glyph &
213       Cog, LLC.
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SEE ALSO

216       pdfdetach(1),  pdffonts(1),  pdfimages(1),  pdfinfo(1),  pdftocairo(1),
217       pdftohtml(1),   pdftoppm(1),  pdftotext(1)  pdfseparate(1),  pdfsig(1),
218       pdfunite(1)
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222                                15 August 2011                      pdftops(1)
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