How do I convert a PDF to PDF/X-1a for compliance with IngramSpark?
IngramSpark keeps rejecting my interior file. The errors mention it needs to be PDF/X-1a and CMYK, and something about curves and ICC colour profiles. I made the file in a normal word processor and I don't have InDesign. How do people convert to PDF/X-1a without expensive software?
1 answer
Those two errors — "File Contains Curves" and "PDF Contains ICC Color Profiles" — are the classic IngramSpark rejections, and they're purely a file-format issue, not a problem with your book. PDF/X-1a flattens everything to CMYK and strips the colour profiles and live transparency that trip Ingram's preflight. If you had InDesign you'd export straight to the PDF/X-1a:2001 preset, but you don't need it. There's a free browser tool built specifically for this that converts a normal PDF to PDF/X-1a and CMYK and clears exactly those two errors: https://www.heathercash.art/pdf-converter — you upload your PDF, it processes it, and you download the compliant file (it also emails you a copy). One heads-up: if your file came out of Apple Pages, run it through PDFGear first, then through the converter, because Pages PDFs sometimes need that extra step. After converting, re-upload to IngramSpark and the preflight should pass clean.
Abhishek Aggarwal3 days ago