From the 2nd line of the initial post:
" I have installed the PPDs and they work in Illustrator and InDesign but do not work in Acrobat"
I'm not trying to use my desktop epson for separations... I'm just saying that it's the ONLY thing that shows up. I'm not trying to "Print" at all, I'm trying to create a PDF that is Separated. Again, this is no problem on Windows (although a separated PDF with live transparency is still not an option that I'm aware of), it's just the Mac where "Print to PDF" is no longer an option since OSX 10.6.This is an extremely specific set of circumstances. It only really affects screen printers trying to create a separations file.
I was trying to "print" to a PDF above version 1.4 that supported transparency to avoid my gradients being flattened to an image, attempting to keep the spot color gradient "live" until i actually printed the vellum. PostScript flattens, period. But I couldn't even get PostScript to work.
Last night, I sort-of got it to work. I have to "Save As Other > More Options > PostScript". THEN I can se the PPDs installed and have the "separations" option. I had already tried this, but apparently the Distiller setting I had were set to print at 2400 dpi and to convert Spot colors to CMYK. I was getting an Error everytime. I adjusted the default settings and it finally worked, but I'm getting less that perfect results. I was going to test,test,test and research as much as possible before posting so other screen printers in the same situation who find this post had some workable solutions.
Although I love Photoshop and Illustrator and have NO plans to switch applications, Adobe doesn't really seem to care too much about the screen printing industry. Solidity is no longer supported by default in Illustrator in DCS 2.0 files and it's really hard to see whats going on when you place your separated file inside Illustrator to print to a RIP. A lot of screen printers are still having to use a technology that Adobe hasn't updated since 2002 (PostScript) to make separations, and I see not plans to offer us any kind of solutions. They are focused on web and digital publishing, and since most screen printers I know use Corel, it seems like they have no incentive to offer a solution.
Too bad, because I use Illustrator and Photoshop to make a living doing this, and just assigning a few guys at Adobe to work on technology that that would modernize workflows for screen printing would be gobbled up by the industry. Until then, I guess we'll be hunting down old PPD files that flatten transparency. Are you reading this Adobe? You could make our lives way easier and we would be grateful. Beyond this one MAJOR issue, keep up the good work.