Adobe Acrobat's Portable Document Format (PDF) allows you to create documents for distribution through several different types of media, such as print, the Web and email. But sometimes, for various security and copyright reasons, you may not want to allow users of your PDFs to print them. You can disable the PDF print function with Acrobat Pro's security settings.

Disabling PDF Printing in Acrobat Pro
Step
Open the PDF in which you want to disable printing in Acrobat Pro.
Step
Click "File" on the menu bar and choose "Properties" to open the Document Properties dialog box.
Step
Click the "Security" tab to display the Document Security section of the dialog box.
Video of the Day
Step
Click the "Security Method" drop-down and choose "Password Security." This opens the Password Security--Settings dialog box.
Step
Find the "Permissions" section of the dialog box, and then click the "Restrict editing and printing of the document. A password will be required in order to change these permission settings" check box.
Step
Type a password in the "Change Permissions Password" field.
Step
Click the "Printing Allowed" drop-down and choose "None."
Step
Click "OK." An alert dialog box appears informing you that some third-party products could override these settings. (There's nothing you can do about this—hacking is part of life on the Internet.) Click "OK." The Confirm Permissions Password dialog appears.
Step
Retype the password you entered earlier, and then click "OK." Acrobat displays an alert dialog box informing you that the changes won't take place until you save the document. Click "OK." This returns you to Document Properties.
Step
Click "OK" to close Document Properties.
Step
Click "File" on the menu bar and choose "Save" to save the PDF. Printing is disabled.