Images downsized and converted when exporting to PDF

Question

I have Pagemaker 7.0.1 installed on Virtual XP so that I can help out a family member.
Pagemaker's embedded Acrobat 4 was not working properly so I installed my Acrobat 9.0 on Virtual XP. This unfortunately has not solved the problem, which is:
My images are greyscale and 300 ppi when imported into Pagemaker. When exported to PDF using Acrobat 9.0, the images are being converted to CMYK and exported at about 50% of the actual size. Interestingly, those images that are only at 200 ppi are converted but not downsampled.
This is happening no matter how I fiddle with the settings. Happens to both jpegs and tiffs.
I found an old thread on another forum where this problem occurred but a solution was not found or posted.
Any ideas?
Michelle

Answer 1

This reply is a series of comments and suggestions rather than a definitive answer.
1. Your set up is less than perfect, if not unstable, and will be prone to all sorts of bizarre behaviours.
2. Never copy/paste a graphic or table into PageMaker.  Always use the Place command. The only "exception" would be that you can copy and paste a properly Placed graphic from within your PageMaker document.
When placing images in a PageMaker file, the following message appears: “The graphic in the linked file would occupy xxxxxxx bytes in the publication. Include the complete copy in the publication anyway?” The correct answer to this question is always "NO".
(You can permanently avoid this popup in future docs by unchecking "store copy in publication" under Element -> Link Options with no publication open. You can do the same to avoid further prompts in pre-existing documents.)
3. Try updating PM to Ver 7.0.1a which had a better Export… AdobePDF…macro. http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/product.jsp?product=34&platform=Windows 
4. In PageMaker’s Print dialogue, click on the Options button, and check "Write PostScript to File." Select the "Normal" radio button. Set both Type 1 and TrueType fonts to download. As always, set the Send TIF/Images option to Normal and NOT Optimized. Make other settings elsewhere in the print dialog as desired, such as "paper" size, crop marks, separations, etc.
5. With your non-standard setup, try the two stage print then distill process. Create a PS file using a postscript printer file, then load Distiller and convert the PS file to PDF.  Note: if you have hyperlinks in your PMD file, they will not appear in your PDF and need to be re-created using Acrobat.
6. It's time to leave PM and move on to InDesign - see it as PM Ver 13. 
7. Aternatively, use PM7 on a contemporary Win2K PC.  http://bigjohnd.org.uk/PageMakerExportPDF/index.htm