Editing a print PDF in Illustrator-is it reliable?

Printing and Prepress
#1

Hi everyone,

I’m working on a company magazine project for a former client who only has the final PDF version of the magazine — no original source files like InDesign or .ai.

The PDF is a print-ready file, with bleed marks and crop marks, and displays two pages per artboard (spreads).

I opened the PDF in Adobe Illustrator, and the text is still editable (not outlined), so I’m able to select and modify some content.

The task includes:

  • Replacing 6 pages with new content and layout in the same format (size, margins, color mode)
  • Making a few minor text edits on the existing pages
  • Exporting the final version as a print-ready PDF

Since InDesign doesn’t support native PDF editing, I’m planning to use Illustrator for this.

My questions:

  1. Is it safe and acceptable to use Illustrator for preparing a final print-ready magazine, given that the only available source is a PDF?
  2. What limitations or risks should I be aware of when working from a PDF in Illustrator?
  3. Is there anything specific I should ask my client to check with the printer, apart from standard specs like bleed and safe margin areas, before final delivery?

I’d appreciate any advice, best practices, or lessons learned from others who’ve handled similar projects.

Thanks in advance.

#2

I use PDF2ID from Recosoft for this sort of thing. It’s good for multi-page documents. I’m not sure how it would handle something that includes marks though. It may think those are part of the page, so you would need to make adjustments.

#3

Thanks, I took a look and the annual subscription fee seems to outweigh the benefit for me. This type of project is only occasional, so I don’t think it’s the right fit.

#4

The latest version of InDesign now allows you to open PDFs for editing.

I strongly recommend not opening PDFs in Illustrator unless the file was originally created there. Illustrator is not a PDF editor it interprets PDF content into its own format and structure, which can cause layout issues or missing elements.

To check whether a PDF was created in Illustrator, open it in Acrobat and go to File > Properties > Description and look at the Application field. If it says Illustrator, you’re safe to open and edit it there. Otherwise, steer clear.

If you’re rebuilding pages, do it properly in InDesign. Overlay the PDF for reference and recreate the layout.
If you’re more comfortable in Illustrator and it’s a full redesign, you can rebuild there just don’t use it to directly edit existing PDF files unless they originated in Illustrator.

For minor edits, use Acrobat Pro. You can edit text directly using the Edit PDF tool.
If you need to tweak specific elements like text blocks or images, select them in Acrobat, then right-click and choose Edit With > Illustrator (or Photoshop for raster images). This targets only that element and updates the PDF cleanly when saved.

Honestly, I’d always recommend editing PDFs in chunks via Acrobat, not by opening the whole file in Illustrator it avoids a lot of hidden headaches.

And just so you know Adobe is working on better PDF editing in InDesign, with some new features already in the latest Beta version. If you’re curious, give it a spin, but stick to the stable version for anything production-critical.

The Beta might get you out of a hobble to convert the PDF to InDesign then revert to your standard InDesign for the rest of it.

I’d still stick the original on a layer on top and lock it - usually I set this to 40% opacity and difference mode so I can see if anything has changed/moved.

Good luck.

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#5

Thanks, I didn’t realize the latest InDesign can open PDFs for editing. I’ll take a look.
I usually work in Illustrator for logo design, and only occasionally take on layout projects that would normally require InDesign. But you’re right — working on this project in Illustrator can be a bit of a headache.

FYI, the document was originally created in Indesign.

#6

Great try opening it in InDesign first, and if that doesn’t work, give the Beta a go and see if it handles it better. But don’t work in the Beta for production, get it back to your stable version of InDesign.

If not, I’d stick to editing as much as possible in Acrobat Pro, and only send specific elements to Illustrator or Photoshop using the Edit With function. It’s much safer than opening the entire PDF in Illustrator, especially when the document wasn’t created there.

For full page redos, you can select the whole page in Acrobat and choose Edit With Illustrator, but I’d only do that if you’re rebuilding the page entirely. In that case, I’d break out all the parts, rebuild from scratch and reassemble especially with complex layouts. For simple text layouts, it might be quicker and less risky.

For trickier pages, I sometimes open the PDF in Illustrator, then create a new artboard beside it and rebuild the layout carefully, side by side. That way, I avoid copying over any of Illustrator’s weird artefacts like broken clipping masks or embedded junk that can mess up print output. Been burned by that once and once is enough.

If it were me, I’d just rebuild the whole thing in InDesign. Cleaner, more stable, and more reliable in the long run.

But hey time is fickle. Deadlines pressure you into shortcuts, and every shortcut comes with a caveat. So it’s just about balancing risk with what’s possible.

#7

Do a test run and check the exported PDF with the help of Acrobat Pro Preflight and Output Preview. Text black color separation, overprinting in Preview, error messages in Preflight.

#8

Maybe ask your client for the formal right to edit. In some countries you need that form of copyright.

#9

The quick and dirty way - place the PDF pages in an InDesign document, make the changes with opaque boxes on top of the PDF (on another layer for preference), Export a new PDF.

The Long but more future-proof way - Extract the photos in PhotoShop, Copy/paste the text from the PDFin Acrobat, and rebuild the whole thing. Place the original PDF pages on a layer below to get precise positioning of all the text/pics/graphics.

#10

wrong thread

#11

If you use Copy with Formatting it’s slightly better results.
But if you export to a Word doc or RTF you might get the text as easier to place in .

But I agree - build it from scratch, which I touched on earlier - great to see we have similar approaches by overlaying the original file and replicating.

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