How to Create a PDF from Illustrator Artboards Without White Space
Question details
The user wants to export an Illustrator EPS file with multiple artboards into a PDF without generating excess white space, incorrect rotation, or incomplete artwork.
- Product
- Adobe Illustrator
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Exporting multiple artboards to a PDF for a customer workflow where artboards need to be arranged side by side.
- Observed behavior
- The resulting PDF shows incorrect rotation, missing artwork, and too much white space around the artboards when using older PostScript workflows.
Ensure your Illustrator application is up to date and that your artboards are properly sized and snapped to the edges of your artwork before exporting.
Use the Asset Export Panel for PDF Generation
Using the built-in Asset Export feature is Adobe's recommended method for exporting individual or multiple artboards neatly into a PDF.
The Asset Export panel provides the most reliable way to extract artboards at their exact dimensions without including unwanted pasteboard space.
Open your Illustrator file and navigate to the top menu, then select Window > Asset Export to open the panel.
Click the 'Generate multiple assets from artboards' button at the bottom of the Asset Export panel, or drag your artboards into the panel area.
In the Export Settings section, click the Format dropdown menu and select 'PDF'.
Click the 'Export' button, choose your destination folder, and save the PDF files without excess white space.
Save Directly as a PDF (Avoid PostScript)
Avoid the obsolete PostScript (.ps) to Distiller workflow, which often causes rotation and bounding box issues.
Place Artwork in InDesign for Side-by-Side Layouts
If you need precise control over a side-by-side spread layout for your customer, placing the Illustrator files into InDesign is a robust alternative.
Easily Edit and Crop PDFs with WPS Office
If you already have a PDF with excess white space and don't want to re-export it from Illustrator, you can quickly crop and adjust the pages directly using the WPS PDF editor.
- 1. Open your PDF: Launch WPS Office and open the PDF file that contains the excess white space.
- 2. Navigate to Page Tools: Click on the 'Page' tab located on the top toolbar to access page management options.
- 3. Select Crop Page: Click the 'Crop Page' tool from the available menu options.
- 4. Adjust Margins: Drag the crop box boundaries inward to frame your artwork and eliminate the excess white borders.
- 5. Apply and Save: Apply the crop settings to the document and save your newly formatted PDF.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does exporting via PostScript create excess white space?
The PostScript workflow is an older, obsolete method that often misinterprets modern Illustrator artboard boundaries and bounding boxes, resulting in incorrect rotation and extra white space in the final file.
Can I export multiple Illustrator artboards into a single PDF?
Yes. When using the 'Save As' or 'Save a Copy' command, select the PDF format and check the 'Use Artboards' option. You can then choose to save all selected artboards into one multi-page PDF.
How do I remove white space from an already exported PDF?
You can use a PDF editor like WPS Office. Simply open the PDF, select the Crop tool from the Page menu, and drag the margins inward to remove the unwanted white borders.
What is the Asset Export panel used for in Illustrator?
The Asset Export panel allows you to quickly collect artwork and artboards, configure multiple export settings (like PDF, PNG, or SVG), and generate them all at once with optimal bounding box accuracy.
