PDFMarkz (PDF to InDesign) Review Background

In this PDFMarkz review article and video, Amybeth Menendez, shares her experience of converting PDF to Adobe InDesign, using Markzware’s stand-alone file conversion application to open PDF files in other desktop publishing formats:

Amybeth Menendez, Assistant Manager of Print Workflow at a major publishing company, with a high level of experience in processing PDF and Adobe InDesign files for print. She provides a variety of Adobe application training. Amybeth is an Idealliance Color Management Professional Master G7 Certified Expert, Color Management Professional.

Markzware: Amybeth works for a large publishing house and is going to share her experience with PDFMarkz. It converts PDF to InDesign, QuarkXPress, & Affinity Publisher and is a stand-alone application. 

Amybeth Menendez: Markzware PDFMarkz is a necessary part of my day-to-day workflow.

Markzware: What kind of Association work do you do?

Amybeth: I have been a mentor and board member for the Graphic Communications Scholarship Foundation of New York, which raises money for students, all over the Eastern part of North America and gives them scholarships for Graphic Communications, for all 4 years of college and graduate school. We also have been running a mentoring program, which I have been involved with, for 6 years. It is hands-on. Before the pandemic, we would meet with our mentorees and would take them on tours to printing companies, provide different training programs for InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, and Acrobat, all together, for free, bringing them to the print world, so that they know how to use the Adobe products, in a real world environment.

I also have been involved with APC-NYC (Acrobat Professional Club of New York City), in which I am a board member, and we are partnering with Debra Corn and Project Peacock. This is a fascinating online platform, which is like a mini-DRUPA that is open 24 hours and is a great network. They have special events, so you can come in, meet people, talk to vendors, and have samples sent to you. It is a cool platform. The APC is a great organization that does a lot of networking events. We help to raise money for graphic communication scholarships for those studying graphic arts.

I have been involved with the Idealliance on the Print Properties Committee, which is a group of the most fascinating color scientists that are developing and implementing different color standings for G7 methodology and color gamut, which has been an amazing experience. All of that color-geek, fascinating stuff, I try to stay involved with.

I’ve recently launched my own website (LearnAdobe123). I am an Adobe Certified Expert and Trainer, so I do one-on-ones or in-person training, for all different levels. I work with people who are just starting off, people that have InDesign and want to focus on one particular area. I also go into companies and I’ll audit their prepress process, to see where their strengths are, what they are not doing right, their print workflow, their Adobe PDF print-engine settings.

Markzware: We are going to show everyone, right now, your website. Amybeth has been a customer of Markzware’s, for years, and loves to share her knowledge and to help people. We think this is the perfect thing for you to do. Here is your webpage and I will put a link to this, down below in the description. I like the logo, “learnAdobe123”.

Markzware also came out with a new product, PDFMarkz, a stand-alone application, which does the same thing and much more. So, instead of me asking how you like it, which I will do, at the end, I thought you could share your screen and show how you use it, actually. 

AmyBeth: You don’t realize how much you need something, until you don’t have it. I have been a fan for a long time and I have watched, from the plugins, the Quark to InDesign, the PDF to InDesign, now the stand-alone applications, which do so much more, because you have the preview that shows you things.

I got two PDF files and one was a mystery. I couldn’t even figure out what the creator (application) was. I received an interior file from the designer, and we couldn’t figure out what application it was created in, and we needed to make edits to it. It came from a contractor on the outside, who was no longer working on the project, and this was all that we had.

One of the features that I really like about PDFMarkz, is that you can just drag-and-drop a PDF file, right onto PDFMarkz, and it will open up. Immediately, you see that it translated the document and it gives the size of the file in which it was originally created, how many pages are in the document, the spreads, how many different types of fonts are used, how many different colors are used.

It was supposed to be one color interior file and it was preflighted with more than one color, but the resolution was low, and, on top of that, they had to edit. Then, you look and the Creator was Canva. I know that you’re a fan, because I saw your video, “How to Convert Canva.com PDF to InDesign.”

Markzware: Well, we’re like Switzerland.

I cringe when I hear that somebody got a (PDF) file in Canva, but this was created in an application called, “Vellum”. (With PDFMarkz,) I get all the previews, I can look through the entire document, I can see the page size, and then, I can export this to (Affinity) Publisher, or if I wanted to, create my own PDF, or I can export and open in InDesign.

Now, I have my 324-page InDesign document. I just have to acquire the fonts used in this document, my production editor can make edits, we can replace logos with higher-res vector logos, route a PDF and PDF mark-ups, and go from first pass to second pass, and my workflow is not interrupted. (Now, with PDFMarkz), I don’t have to figure out how I’m going to work on a PDF file when a contractor is no longer working for the company, and he basically said, “Here’s your download file –– Boom –– I’m done!”

Secondly, one of my interior designers received a map that they wanted to edit. The Creator of the original design of the project was unable to get any native (source) application files. l did a Command-I to find out that it was created in Illustrator. And most people say, “I will just open the PDF in Illustrator.” What does Dov Isaacs always say? “Illustrator is not PDF.” But it is an application. I can open it in Illustrator, but what if I have to edit the type, “Gulf of Riga”? Each character has been converted to its own unique text box. In this case, I would have to retype the entire “Gulf of Riga” for that text to be its own text-on-a-path.

Markzware: And once you move it, it is out of position. 

Amybeth: What a pain in the neck! You could struggle with your workflow, but, with PDFMarkz, you can export the PDF directly to Illustrator, and it would still be text-on-a-path. I prefer to work with the InDesign layout application. When I drag this (PDF file) into PDFMarkz, then I get a nice preview of my document, so I can then choose Export to InDesign.

Markzware: That is why editing maps is important. 

Amybeth: So, now, after converting the PDF with PDFMarkz, the “Gulf of Riga” is on its own text on a path and that says it all. It is a life saver! You can’t put a price on your time and productivity. You don’t want to spend tons of time, recreating stuff that you don’t have to.

Productivity and scripting helps designers and creators to be able to spend more time on the whole creative process path. People like to see a smooth workflow that won’t trip up their creativity.

Markzware: Right. This is a great example of a real-life file you can get right to work on and not struggle. 

Amybeth: Yes, spend 3 hours retyping things, creating type-on-a-path, having to paste one letter after another into it. You don’t want to spell something wrong on a map in a country that you’re not familiar with, yet.

Markzware: I love how you drag and drop from Acrobat, the icon. I never knew that and I learned something new. That is really neat! 

Amybeth: I drag and drop from anything into anything. I always do that, with Acrobat. You can just drag from your Desktop.

Markzware: Wow! That’s neat! I was dragging from Keynote into Illustrator and I thinking it’s kind of neat how you can do that kind of stuff. That was really neat how you were taking it from the title bar. 

Amybeth: I navigate to my Desktop and drag it into the application. Boom!

Markzware: I love it! It’s like a real life scenario, here. It’s really cool!

Amybeth: They are real life and Markzware is a real-world production saver. It was like I had to have it. Markzware, for me, is a must-have, in my workflow. Otherwise, I’m going to spend hours, tripped up, recreating things, stumbling, circling back in emails, looking for original content –– or I can just get the job done. Referring to the PDF, I can see if anything moves. There is no perfect process, … but we’re helping the operator. 

Markzware: PDFMarkz will extract the images and a lot of people are using it just for that. 

Amybeth: And another beautiful thing about PDFMarkz is, not only does it make a fonts folder for you,  but it collects the images. 

Markzware: I know that you have to get going. With all this working remotely, you have a lot of commitments. You’re wearing a lot of different hats, and we really appreciate your time.

Amybeth: I love Markzware! I really appreciate the software. It makes my job so much easier. It is really an essential tool in my workflow. I highly recommend it. Another beautiful thing about PDFMarkz is, for people who don’t have InDesign application, to get a document preview.

And you should also check out the new FlightCheck preflight application. That works without the (original Creator) applications and is awesome! Fantastic! It’s check, check, check. Preflight, preflight, preflight.

Markzware: You are a real production person, so you know that checking is so important, at all stages of the workflow. But, Amybeth, thank you so very much for your time! We appreciate it!

Amybeth: My pleasure. Have a great day!

Markzware: You, too!

About PDF To Adobe InDesign Converter, PDFMarkz

Markzware PDFMarkz helps print and publishing professionals to meet challenges in PDF to InDesign workflows for printing, publishing, and graphic arts. It converts PDF files into fully-editable Adobe InDesign (.indd) files, with text, fonts, styles, colors, objects images, links, tables, etc.

Experience Markzware’s PDF to InDesign converter, for yourself. PDFMarkz can convert PDF files to Adobe InDesign, QuarkPress, Affinity Publisher, Adobe Illustrator, and Acrobat.

PDFMarkz is available as a:
Subscription for only $219,
Perpetual version for $359, or
Freebie for PDF file preview only, at no cost.
Download the PDFMarkz Freebie, today!

Check out the great Reviews and Testimonials we receive from PDFMarkz users. Please sign up to receive our newsletter, to get the latest Markzware product news, discount specials, and more, at:
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Click the video below, to see Markzware’s interview with PDFMarkz user, Amybeth Menendez, who works in a print workflow, based in New York:

Amybeth Menendez offers training on the use of Adobe
InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Acrobat, and more, at
https://www.learnadobe123.com

Amybeth Menendez (left) educates trainees, for the
Graphic Communications Scholarship Foundation
https://gcsfny.org

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