Methods of Exporting PDF compared

From NeoWiki

Why are PDFs created by NeoOffice/J's "Export as PDF" feature lower-quality than those created by Mac OS X's "Save as PDF…" (in the Print dialog box)?

NeoOffice/J offers three qualities of PDF Export: screen-optimised, print-optimised and press-optimised. The resolution can only be selected by using the File>Export as PDF... menu item. The Export As PDF button bypasses this step. If you have not changed these settings, the default is "Screen Optimized", which uses a resolution of 72 DPI.

In comparison, the native Mac OS X PDF export (using the print dialogue) has a resolution of 300 DPI.

While the difference in file size may be trivial for most text documents, the resulting file size between the various options can be huge when there are images in the PDF file. In general terms, the Export As PDF button is used to quickly export PDF files that are small enough to be mailed whereas the files created using the native print dialog are designed to print at a consistently high-quality.

If you want a higher-quality PDF that may get pretty big, use the function provided by OS X's print dialog box. If you want the smallest file suitable for email and screen-viewing only, use NeoOffice/J's screen-optimised function.

Experience in "real-life" suggests that, with few exceptions, NeoOffice/J's print-optimised quality generally offers the best compromise between print quality and file size, often producing smaller file sizes than OS X's native print dialog while producing comparable print quality from most office printers.