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Is there a way to create a PDF file that shows a background color or image when viewed in Acrobat Reader, but when printed that background does not get printed by default?
Ideally, this would happen as the default for the PDF, i.e. the user need not be concerned with any settings. I am interested, if this is possible at all, but tool specific answers regarding Creative Suite are welcome, too.
The only way I can think to do this is via a watermark.
The basics...
Open PDF in Acrobat. Choose Pages > Watermark > Add Watermark.
Select a jpg or PDF of your background and adjust scaling options as desired.
Then click the Appearance Options.. and uncheck the Show When Printing option.
In this image the PDF is a blank page with the word "Test" on it. The watermark is the stamp and impression (a stock photo jpg).
If you want a solid color background, just create a flat image of the background color for use as the watermark.
This could be saved as an Acrobat Action. I have several watermark actions I use. I don't believe you can't make it a default in anyway. Automation may be possible via scripting and watched folders.
You can use layers for this as well, e.g. from adobe-indesgin (note to export the layers you must use PDF ≥ 1.5, unfortunately export doesn't seem to carry over the non-printing property!). Open the pdf in Acrobat Pro, right click the specific layer and change its print initial state to "Never prints".
I actually struggled with this for hours and finally determined that my issue was that, because I am a Mac user, my default output is Preview. I could not get this to work until I installed Acrobat Reader on my Mac. As soon as I did this several methods worked for me.
Ultimately I used the layers method similar to what Tobias laid out. I created my entire document in InDesign and made sure that the full color background for screen was on one layer and my black and white elements for print purposes on a second layer.
Then I opened my interactive PDF in Acrobat Pro on my Mac and opened the Layers panel, right clicked the colored layer that I only wanted to show on screen and not print, and designated the full color background for screen only to "Never Prints" here.
I was having trouble getting this to work no matter what I did until I finally installed Acrobat Reader on my machine. Actually, it worked for Acrobat Pro as well, but most users are not going to have Acrobat Pro installed on their machines... and that was the clue that pointed me toward Acrobat Reader over Preview. The print version (B&W) showed up in my Print Preview pane (FINALLY!!) and it occurred to me that Preview could not "process" the layers in the Adobe created file (for lack of a better way to describe it).
Regardless, this is my solution, it works, this is what was causing me so many problems and how I overcame them... and I hope this helps others that are trying to do something similar using a Mac!
FYI, this works the same as Josh's method in Adobe Illustrator as well. Put the stuff you don't want to print on a separate layer in Illustrator, likely the bottom layer. If you save out a PDF in Adobe Illustrator, check off "Create Acrobat Layers from Top-Level Layers". Then follow Josh's method above for setting that layer NOT to print. Go to Layers Panel in left sidebar in Acrobat, right-click on that layer and select Properties, then Initial State > Print > Never Prints. Doesn't print anything on that layer. Thanks to the folks above.
