What is the sequence when a PDF is generated?

Question

I'd like to know the sequence of events when a PDF is generated from InDesign CS4 using the Adobe PDF 7.0 printer. Postscript is somehow involved before the PDF is generated and I'd like to have a better understanding of what is going on.
Acrobat's Help states:
In an authoring application such as Adobe InDesign, use the Print command with the Adobe PDF printer to convert your file to Adobe PDF. Your source document is converted to PostScript and fed directly to Distiller for conversion to PDF, without manually starting Distiller. The current Distiller preference settings and Adobe PDF settings are used to convert the file.
This is the tricky one, at least for me, because the explanation is confusing. My difficulty is this: under InDesign > File > Print > Printer I have a file called Adobe PDF 7.0 (as well as my normal printers), and I'm not sure which "Adobe PDF settings" are being referred to.
QUES 1
The phrase from Help:
The current Distiller preference settings and Adobe PDF settings are used to convert the file
is that referring to Distiller > Preferences, and Distiller > Adobe PDF Settings (the main Distiller window)?
QUES 2
When I select the Adobe PDF 7.0 printer and press Print, does InDesign generate the Postscript all by itself, or does it ask for help from Acrobat or Distiller?
QUES 3
At some stage before I get the PDF, a Postscript file comes into existence, and this is "fed directly to Distiller for conversion to PDF". At this stage, does the Postscript file only carry all the options that I requested in the InDesign Print dialog box (Output, Graphics, Transparency, Advanced and so on)? Or has there been some back-and-forth discussion between Distiller (and it's settings) and InDesign (and its print settings) to sort out any conflicts?
In summary, is it correct to say that InDesign generates the Postscript all by itself (subject to its print settings), then Distiller takes the Postscript from InDesign and converts it to PDF (subject to its own settings).

Answer 1

Peter's right -- even I need a map to navigate this project. But anyone else trying to follow it would need a map and a GPS -- or my PDF. For future reference, I will be generating a detailed PDF on the process of getting from InDesign to iGen print, covering all the issues raised in my various posts, plus likely costs, and other aspects of the process. And that's quite a stack of info. I'll make the document freely available via this forum, and I'm hoping that Peter (anyone else?) is going to offer to check it for technical accuracy.
It's a bit worrying to hear from Harbs that maybe I should have printed to PDF. I've just generated PDFs for the smaller 4 books by exporting and using Quite Imposing to impose. They've given me a one-month license, and I must say QI works beautifully, generating an imposed 32-page signature in 10-20 seconds. Transparency has been retained, the images are unsliced, and the PDFs are a joy to look at. And so they should be after 3 years in the making. But will they print correctly on the iGen?
I've left the 800-page monstrosity till last, and maybe I will use the Adobe PDF 7.0 printer for that one, and impose with Print Booklet. But maybe I won't have to change the process. I have just sent the printer an 6-page test print (20 MB), which I hope will cover all the transparency issues, and I'm hoping there are no printing problems. It can be downloaded from:
http://www.mediafire.com/?mwxxdhdnnow
If anyone would like to comment on whether I have covered all the issues that might arise, I would be most appreciative.
Let me summarise (correct me if I'm wrong):
1. When generating a PDF to print from, there are different considerations than when generating a PDF to look at (I didn't realize that). When printing for example, slicing of images is not important (assuming they will print correctly), but it could be an issue in a "looked at" PDF because someone might want to copy images from the PDF. And that's not much chop if they're in five sections.
2. Exporting to PDF: retains layers, transparency, and "whole" images. There may be an issue with transparency, but if text is on the top layer, transparency should not be an issue -- supposedly. The problem is: when you impose a PDF using third-party software (such as Quite Imposing), or when you move/delete/add pages using Acrobat, layers are lost anyway. So, if having layers in a PDF minimizes transparency issues, the benefit is lost when you shuffle pages around. So maybe, as per Harbs comment, printing to PDF is the better solution.
3. Printing to PDF: using Adobe PDF 7.0 (or a later version) and imposing using Print Booklet has the advantage that there will be no transparency issues, because everything is flattened; and with the flattening comes correct printing -- except that images may be sliced and that could become an issue.
So it appears to me it comes down to this: is there any quality difference between printing and exporting to PDF? If there is no discernible difference, and if the document contains overlapping transparent areas:
• Print to PDF when the PDF is to be imposed and printed;
• Export to PDF when the PDF is to be "looked at" only.