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 1
Open the PDF in which you want to disable printing in Acrobat Pro.
Step 2
Click "File" on the menu bar and choose "Properties" to open the Document Properties dialog box.
Step 3
Click the "Security" tab to display the Document Security section of the dialog box.
Step 4
Click the "Security Method" drop-down and choose "Password Security." This opens the Password Security--Settings dialog box.
Step 5
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 6
Type a password in the "Change Permissions Password" field.
Step 7
Click the "Printing Allowed" drop-down and choose "None."
Step 8
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 9
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 10
Click "OK" to close Document Properties.
Step 11
Click "File" on the menu bar and choose "Save" to save the PDF. Printing is disabled.
Tip
You can also restrict viewing and editing of the PDF from the Password Security--Settings dialog box. To require a password to open the PDF, click the “Require a password to open document” check box, and type a password in the “Document Open Password” field. To restrict editing, click the “Changes Allowed” drop-down, and then choose the set of editing restrictions you’d like to apply.
Warning
Make note of the passwords you use to restrict your PDFs. If you forget them, you won’t be able to change the security settings.