How do I automatically print only part of a PDF page in OS X?

Question

I frequently have to crop out the top half of a PDF (it's a shipping label) and only print that on A4 paper, instead of the whole label.

I can do this very easily with Adobe Acrobat Pro, by opening the file, then going to Edit Text & Images, then manually removing all I don't need, and finally printing through OS X' system dialog. However, that's a little cumbersome when I have multiple files.

Can I somehow automate this on OS X, by using Automator or any command-line script?

Answer 1

If it is only for the occasional "print only top half" on OS X, you actually do not need to install anything.

1. Open the PDF in Preview.app (which likely is the default PDF viewer on your system anyway).

2. From the application's menu, make sure that 'Tools -> Rectangular Selection' is active.

3. Use mouse pointer to select that half (or other part of page) you want to print (or export to PDF).

   

4. From application menu, select 'File -> New from Clipboard' (or use appropriate keyboard shortcut).

5. A new window titled "Unknown" opens. It contains your rectangular selection. Print it or export to PDF.

6. When printing, you can 'Scale', 'Scale to Fit' and/or 'Autorotate' as you please.

   

7. There is no need to save the "Unknown" file, if you do not want.

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_{As you may have noticed, I demoed my method not with a PDF. Because this method works for any file which Preview.app can open and display. It also works for PDFs, of course. I know you have asked for some automated way to do this, and this isn't it. But it avoids the heavy guns of Adobe Acrobat Pro, which is not required when doing it manually on occasions only.}

Answer 2

Here are the steps:

• Install Homebrew. Make sure to follow all instructions on the command line.

• Install ImageMagick with brew install imagemagick.

• Open Automator.app, then create a new Print Plugin.

• Drag Run Shell Script from the left pane to the right.

• Select Pass Input: as arguments and paste the following code:

  # Crop off the top half of a PDF and print it
  CROP_PERCENT=50                 # top percent to keep
  DENSITY=600                     # DPI density for PDF reading
  OUTPUT_SIZE="28x21cm"           # Output page size, e.g. 28x21cm is A4
  TMP_OUTPUT="/tmp/cropped.png"   # Output tmp file
  
  convert -density "$DENSITY" "$1" -crop 100x${CROP_PERCENT}%+0+0 -gravity North -extent "$OUTPUT_SIZE" "$TMP_OUTPUT"
  
  echo "$TMP_OUTPUT"
  

• Drag Print Finder Items from the left pane to the right.

It should look like this:

Save it under any name you want, e.g. Print Top Half, and now you can access it from any print dialog:

Answer 3

You actually don't have to bother with contents. All you need to do is cropping the page.

Another possibility would be creating a custom paper format corresponding to A5 landscape (probably what the packaging label is about).

You do that in the printer driver dialog, just ignoring the Acrobat complaint that you will leave now the Acrobat print dialog and end up at the printer's dialog. There you create the new format, and save it; or if you already have it, select it. Confirm, and you get back to the Acrobat Print dialog. There deactivate automatic rotating and centering, and this new page size will be active. Verify that it is correct in the little preview thumbnail. If OK, you can print.

The settings in the Acrobat print dialog are persistent, which mean that they will be remembered the next time you use the dialog.

You can now, of course assemble an Action using the Action wizard.

You might also look at the printParams (Acrobat) JavaScript object, whether it is sufficient for your needs; if so, you could create an app-level JavaScript with a menu item, and run it whenever it is needed.

Finally, you could also use AppleScript with System Events to fully control the Acrobat Print dialog AND the printer's print dialog. This Applescript can then be made into a Droplet.

So, there are many options, all available with on-board means.