How to Flatten a PDF on Mac for TpT (Free Using Automator!)

Do you use a Mac to create TpT products? You are going to be AMAZED at how EASY it is to flatten a PDF on Mac! Bonus: the tool is FREE!!!

When you purchase clipart from TpT, most clipart artists require you to “flatten” the clipart in your finished product. This means you are taking a page with lots of pieces of clipart and text and combining them into one flat image. This prevents end users from being able to copy and paste individual pieces of clipart out of your product. If you’re not flattening, you could be putting your clipart artists’ work at risk!

Learning how to flatten a product is a BIG step in creating products for TpT. It’s one of those things that sounds complicated but is actually super simple once you set it up.

A common method is to export each page as an individual image and then recombine them as one PDF document. This is a time-consuming process if done manually! Nobody wants to sit there exporting 30 pages one at a time, right?!

Instead, I take advantage of a native program on the Mac called Automator to automate the entire process. Automator is built right into your Mac, so you don’t need to download or pay for anything!

Note: Automator is still available on current versions of macOS. Apple has also introduced the Shortcuts app which can do similar things, but Automator still works great for this!

Here is an overview of how to flatten a PDF on Mac:

This is by far my favorite method and the one I use all the time. I take advantage of a native program on the Mac called Automator to automate the entire process. Automator is built right into your Mac, so you don’t need to download or pay for anything to flatten a PDF on Mac!

This is how to setup Automator to do PDF to IMAGES:

This is how to do PDF to Image to PDF:

What Happens If You Don’t Flatten Your TpT Products?

I know this seems like a lot of steps, so you might be wondering: does it really matter?

YES! Here’s why flattening is so important:

It protects your clipart artists. When you buy clipart with a commercial license, you agree to protect that artwork. If your PDF isn’t flattened, anyone who buys your product can open it up and pull out individual clipart images. That’s basically giving away the clipart for free, which violates most clipart licenses.

It protects YOUR work. Flattening also prevents people from easily copying your text, layouts, and design work. All that time you spent making your product look amazing? Flattening helps protect it.

It can prevent display issues. Sometimes layered PDFs display differently on different devices. Flattening ensures your product looks exactly the same no matter what device or PDF reader your buyers are using.

So yes, it is absolutely worth the extra time it takes to flatten your files! Now that you know WHY it matters, let’s do a quick recap of how to flatten a PDF on Mac from start to finish.

BONUS!

I LOVE PDF Squeezer to reduce file sizes for PDF! It is a paid program but worth every penny! Large file sizes can cause issues when buyers try to download your products, and nobody wants to deal with that. Run your flattened PDF through PDF Squeezer and you’re good to go!

There are also free online tools like iLovePDF and SmallPDF that can compress your files if you don’t want to buy an app.