Print Pdf For Mac

2020-09-10 17:50:23 • Filed to: Choose Right Mac Software • Proven solutions

PrintToPDF is a shareware Macintosh printer driver that creates PDF (Adobe Acrobat) files. You do not need to have the full Acrobat package (asopposed to the. First, open the document that you want to print. Next, click on File option in the top menu-bar on your mac and then click on Print in the drop-down menu. On the print document window, click on the little arrow next to PDF and then click on Open PDF in Preview. Wait for your Mac to generate the PDF preview of your document.

Wondering how to print PDF on Mac? There are many free PDF printers for Mac that can do this, with no additional settings required. This article reviews the 8 top-rated PDF printer for Mac currently on the market and also outlines their advantages and disadvantages.

PDF Printer Mac that People Hate to Know So Late

#1. PDFelement

PDFelement is a complex PDF tool that allows for editing, annotating, creating, and converting PDFs. It also lets users protect PDFs with passwords, digitally sign PDF forms, and print to PDF. It is equipped with one of the best printing functions, capable of printing any edited PDF file. It features embedded page boxes that you can alter and adjust, which allows users to set the printing size during the printing process. The following steps are about how to print PDF on Mac easily.

Step 1: Open and Print

Open the file that you want to print to PDF with PDFelement. Click 'File' > 'Print' or use the Command+P keyboards to open the print command window.

Step 2: Set Printing Options and Save

Set the printing options you prefer. Click the PDF button on the print window and choose Save as PDF from the drop-down menu. Name the PDF file and select a location to save it to.

Videos on How to Print PDF on Mac

Benefits of PDFelement:

• You can easily modify the text, pages, and images, as well as insert or delete objects from your PDF.
• You can effortlessly combine multiple PDFs into a single PDF file, or split a single PDF into multiple different files.
• Passwords and permission restrictions are used to protect PDF documents.
• Fill and edit an existing PDF form, or create a new one with various fields, buttons, and boxes.
• Convert PDFs to a wide range of file formats or vice versa.
• It supports macOS10.12, 10.13, 10.14 Mojave, and 10.15 Catalina.

#2. Adobe^® Acrobat^® - Adobe PDF Printer Mac

Adobe^® Acrobat^® makes it possible to create and print PDFs from any application on Mac. When you install Acrobat, you are also installing a virtual printer known as Adobe PDF. It is important to note that when you print to this printer, it converts your document to an Adobe PDF file on Mac instead of printing sheets of paper. You can do this through the following steps.

• Step 1: Choose 'File' > 'Print'. Choose Adobe PDF in the printer popup menu on your Mac system.
• Step 2: Click on 'Save as Adobe PDF'. A dialog box will open and you'll have to select either Adobe PDF or another PDF reader.
• Step 3: After making your choice, you will be prompted to name the PDF file and select a location to save it to. Type a name for your PDF file and click 'OK' to save it.

However, Adobe Acrobat XI has now ended all support. This is why it's important to be aware of the best alternatives to Adobe Acrobat.

#3. Mac Computer Built-in PDF Printer

You can use the built-in printing feature on Mac to create PDF files directly, or print webpages, documents, or any type of file as a PDF document without the need for additional software. The easy process of printing to PDF takes only a couple of steps to complete. You simply export your document as a PDF using the Mac print function. The following steps outline how to do this.

• Step 1: Open the file you would like to print to PDF.
• Step 2: Click on the file menu, and select 'Print' or alternatively you can use the Command+P shortcut to open the Print dialogue box.
• Step 3: Find the PDF button in the lower left-hand corner and select 'Save as PDF'. Click on 'Save' in the dialog box and save it to your desired location.

#4. PDF Writer for Mac

This program installs a printer drive on Mac, which enables users to create any PDF file by using the 'Print' option within the most popular file formats. Note that it does not use ghostsc_x_ript to generate PDF files but it uses the Mac internal PDF capabilities which are designed to create synergy among different PDF tasks.

Advantages:

• It offers a simple way to create PDFs just by printing.
• It supports to merge multiple images in order to create one PDF file.
• It undergoes frequent updates.

Disadvantages:

• The PDF writer for Mac only comes with the print function.
• It is based on CUPS-PDF and the output file size can be quite large.

#5. CUPS-PDF

CUPS-PDF is an open source backend module for CUPS and it is a great tool if you want to print files to PDF format. The CUPS-PDF package for Mac is the standard version in macOS. In any program, you just need to choose the print command, select the PDF button on the dialog box, and then choose the ' Save as PDF' option. It will give you a virtual printer in which it prints a PDF file when a normal print task is sent to it. It is important to note that it is possible to create a desktop printer and use it to create PDF documents as well.

Advantages:

• CUPS-PDF is free and saves time.
• It is valuable for automating your print PDF mac task.

Disadvantages:

• It can be a bit confusing for users trying to save a document as a PDF.
• Navigation is not as easy as with some other printers.

#6. iPubsoft PDF Creator for Mac

You can also create PDFs from other file types, such as image files like jpg, tif, ico, gif, bmp, pcx, cur, xpm, tga, or text files such as Word documents. It includes many high-quality features for converting PDF documents while retaining the original formatting. You can also convert PDFs to other file types while maintaining the original layout and quality.

Advantages:

• It supports the ability to merge multiple PDF documents into a single PDF document.
• The created PDF document will still have the same format and layout of the original document.
• The features are easy to use.

Disadvantages:

• It does not maintain the formatting of excel or word documents.
• It does not support adding encryption to PDF files.

#7. CUTEPDF

CutePDF is one of the most sought after free print to PDF solutions, and has an easy name to remember! It works as a stand-alone interface that can work with ghost script to help you create a PDF file without buying writer software. It has a virtual printer for all print support applications on your computer. To print PDF with the CutePDF printer, it is important to first install a PS2PDF converter which is a postsc_x_ript driver that supports processing PDF printing tasks. Printing with the CutePDF involves using the 'Print' button and selecting the destination folder to save the output file.

Advantages:

• There are two versions - the free version and the paid version. However, the free version has almost identical features to the paid version.
• It is fast and has the capability to re-size printed PDF files to a more email-friendly size.

Disadvantages:

• To get the password to protect feature, you will need to upgrade the program to the paid version.
• It does not have a text editing tool. Therefore, it isn't possible to alter your PDF documents.

#8. Bullzip PDF Printer

Bullzip PDF printer has the capability to give you a high-quality output every time. It has the most features compared to its competitors. With Bullzip, it is possible to password-protect your PDF files, add a watermark, and merge multiple documents. This application includes translation features that support multiple languages. It is simple and easy to use, even for beginners, and it is a very valuable tool to have in a corporate setting. To print on Bullzip PDF printer, you will need to choose the Bullzip printer driver, customize the output PDF file and save it.

Advantages:

• It has an easy to navigate interface with great capabilities for adding security and display settings via a dialog box.
• It has the ability to encrypt PDF files.

Disadvantages:

• It is not possible to deploy the output search function in the exported files and there's no way users can control the output's file zoom level when opened with Adobe reader.

Free Download or Buy PDFelement right now!

Free Download or Buy PDFelement right now!

Buy PDFelement right now!

Buy PDFelement right now!

Want to convert your Word document to a PDF file or to save a webpage as a PDF without using Adobe Acrobat? Don’t worry because macOS has a built-in feature that lets you do this from any application. Whether you’re using Chrome, Microsoft Office, Note, or any other app, macOS allows you to print documents, webpages and all other files directly as a PDF.

How does this work? This built-in macOS feature creates a PDF file directly without using any additional app or software. This trick works for basically every Mac app. If you can print a file through the regular Print functions, then you can also turn that file into a PDF document. The PDF file is created via a keyboard shortcut which we will discuss in detail below and is automatically saved to a particular folder.

This article will show you how to use the feature macOS Print to PDF via a keyboard shortcut.

There are some macOS applications that support direct export or save as PDF functions. For example, Note and Microsoft Word apps let you directly export files as PDF. If you want to save a document as a PDF file, all you have to do is go to File, then choose Export as PDF. A PDF copy of your document will be then saved to your preferred folder.

There are also apps, such as Safari and Mail, that support direct export of emails and web pages to PDF.

However, not all apps have the Save as PDF menu. It also takes a couple of clicks to go to the Save as or Export as PDF menu and save the file to your chosen folder.

Fortunately, there’s an easier way to do this using the print shortcut on Mac. Yes, you can print or save any file as PDF by using the Print menu. So if the app you are using does not support the Save as PDF feature, you don’t have to worry because the print shortcut on Mac will let you accomplish the task quickly and easily.

This function has been in macOS for several years now, though the dialog looks slightly different in older versions of macOS. However, the general idea and most of the options are the same, so you won’t have a problem figuring things out.

Here’s a tip: Creating PDF files can take up a significant storage space, especially if you have big PDF files. Make sure to clean up your Mac with an app like Tweakbit MacRepair to maximize your storage and optimize your computer’s performance.

Microsoft Print To Pdf Driver

MacOS Print to PDF via Keyboard Shortcut

Exporting a file as a PDF using Mac’s print service is not complicated. Here’s how you can use one of Mac keyboard shortcuts to print to PDF:

• Open the file, document or web page you want to save or print as a PDF.
• Go to File > Print. Or you can simply hit the Command + P shortcut to open the print dialog.
• Look for PDF at the lower left of the screen and click it to reveal the dropdown menu. You’ll see several options there, so scroll down and click Save as PDF.

• Click Save in the save dialog box and choose the folder where you want to save the file to. The default save location is the Documents folder.
• Check the PDF file by looking for it in the folder where you saved it in.

You don’t have to worry because the PDF file will be saved as a separate, new file and will not affect the original file you used to create the PDF file from.

How to Automatically Select a Folder When Printing to PDF

One of the annoying facts about the Save as PDF feature is that you need to choose a folder to save the file to every time you use it. So if you’re someone who likes to save stuff on your desktop for easy access, you can just imagine how messy your home screen will look like.

Fortunately, Apple has made it possible to edit the list you see under the Print > PDF dialog.

See the Edit Menu option below? That’s where you need to go to customize the print dialog box.

Here’s how to edit the menu and add another save folder location.

• First, create a dedicated folder for all your PDF files. You can create the folder under Documents, Desktop or whatever location you think is accessible to you.
• Click Edit Menu under Print > PDF.
• A new window will open. Click the (+) sign at the bottom of the list to add a new target folder to the list.
• Choose the folder you have created for the PDF files, then click OK.

Go back to the print dialog box and click PDF. You’ll see that the folder you have added has been listed as one of the options in the dropdown menu. The next time you want to save a file as PDF, go to File > Print or hit Command + P. Click on the dropdown menu under PDF and choose the folder you have created. A PDF version of the file will be automatically saved to the folder you have added. It’s a huge timesaver because you’ll save a couple of clicks.

How to Add Apple Keyboard Shortcuts

We have already shown you how to use the Command + P keyboard shortcut to print practically anything. But what if you want to skip the whole Print > PDF menu and use just a shortcut to automatically save the file as a PDF and select the folder at the same time? It’s possible. You can use a shortcut to automatically select your save folder location so you don’t have to click a lot of buttons and open different menus.

Here’s how to add Mac keyboard shortcuts to directly select your chosen folder:

• Go to System Preferences and select Keyboard.
• Go to Shortcuts > App Shortcuts.
• Click the + button to add a new shortcut.
• In the Application dropdown, use the default All Applications option.
• Type in a Menu Title that matches the name of the folder you added to the Print > PDF dialog.
• Click the Keyboard Shortcut text field and type your preferred shortcut using your keyboard.
• Click OK and close System Preferences.

You can designate any keyboard shortcut that you want. You can choose the Command + R or Command + H shortcut, depending on what you want. However, we recommend you use the same Command + P shortcut so you don’t have to remember many Mac keyboard shortcuts.

You might think that using the Command + P shortcut will confuse your Mac, but that is not the case here.

When you use the Command + P keyboard shortcut, macOS will try to match it to the folder you created under the File > Print menu. Let’s say the folder was named PDF Files. Unless you have other apps with a menu entry named ‘PDF Files’, macOS won’t find it because the folder is saved as a sub-dialog of the print menu.

When macOS can’t find the exact match for the shortcut you just typed, it looks for the next best match, which is File > Print. The print dialog will now appear. If you hit the Command + P shortcut again, macOS won’t be looking for the Print function anymore but will find the ‘PDF Files’ and trigger it.

In short, using the Command + P shortcut twice is a genius idea because you don’t have to remember two different Apple keyboard shortcuts. You only have to tap the Command + P shortcut twice to save any file as a PDF to the PDF Files folder. This useful trick saves you from opening dialogs and clicking menus.

PDF Printers for macOS

If you want to edit or modify your saved PDF file, the built-in PDF feature of Mac is not enough. You can use a third-party PDF printer to edit, fill out, convert, or combine PDFs, or insert images within the original PDF file.

Here are some of the popular PDF Printers for macOS to help you do more with your PDF files.

1. PDFelement for Mac

This app is an all-in-one PDF powerhouse that lets users edit, annotate, create, convert, protect, sign, and print PDF files. It is very easy to use, and it let’s you customize your PDF according to what you need. You can add text, images and pages within the file, combine or split PDFs, convert your PDF into a different format, and protect your file with passwords and permission restrictions.

2. Adobe Acrobat

When it comes to PDF files, Adobe Acrobat is the number one authority. It allows you to create and print PDF files from any app on Mac.

3. PDF Writer for Mac

This app installs a printer drive on Mac, allowing you to create any PDF file, using the Print function. It can also merge multiple images to create one PDF file.

Print Pdf For Mac

4. Bullzip PDF Printer

If you want high quality output, multiple features and a user-friendly interface, this PDF printer might work for you. With Bullzip, you can set a password for your PDF file, add a watermark or merge multiple documents into one PDF. It is so easy to use and supports a variety of languages.

Conclusion:

There are several ways to print or save a file as PDF on Mac. You can either use Mac keyboard shortcuts to directly generate PDF files or use a third-party app for more features. Once you have created your PDF file, you can then print it, send it through email. You can also edit, fill out or share the file. Saving a file as PDF allows you to easily share information in a convenient format.

Print Pdf Writer For Mac