Quick internet search reveals - CS3 and cropmarks in PDF is a common WTF, something in this version is wrong or unintuitive.
In Acrobat, command+shift_t will bring up the crop pages dialog.
The "crop" dimension is what is normally displayed in Acrobat. If you check the other crop to boxes, trim, bleed and art, your bleed should be revealed, but your trim marks will not be in the correct location.
When saving as to pdf in CS3. As long as the crop area is within the artboard, the crop and art bounding area is set to the crop area dimension set.
The trim is set to the artboard dimension. Bleed is the bleed setting added to the artboard dimension.
So, you want to adjust your artboard to your trim dimension, release the crop area, and save to a pdf.
The problem gets worse if you crop area selection crosses in and out of the artboard.
Illustrator introduced exasperated this issue since cs2 when they did a quick fix for cs1 behavior of setting the crop box to the arts bounding box. We are still suffering with it in cs3 but I hope it is address in 4.
It seems the Crop Area tool, and the Object> Crop Area> Make are the same thing, and both are NOT intended to be used as crop marks like we want for printing and in conjunction with Save as PDF. They look like cropmarks but are actually evil. Actually they are good for things like webdesign, or titles design eg when you save for web it saves just the stuff defined by crop area, this is nice. But evil for printing.
SOLUTIONS
One Method
Use the crop area tool to make the crop marks, then DRAW OVER THEM and then delete the crop area. Useful if for example you will also be drawing in other things like fold lines.
Another Method
Use filter > create > crop marks (still need printers marks etc though). This is similar to just drawing over then deleting the crop area method above. I find it not ideal.
Crop area's "crop marks" are not crop marks. Filter>Create>Crop marks is what you are after in CS2. However, reports are that filters were removed and the crop mark filter has been moved to effects. (I think he is talking about CS4 here).
Again, Object>crop area>make is not what you are after.
The Right Way!
...First DO NOT use the CROP area tool to make crop marks. Simply make the artboard the size of the finished document. Make sure all images or artwork that is going to bleed off the page extends at least 1/8th or .125 inches over the edge or you artboard. I personally like to be very precise and I either make them exactly .125 using a guide or a I use a clipping mask to clip anything going farther that .125 so that the image ends exactly .125 over the edge of the art board. This is not always necessary but besides having a nice clean piece there are other benefits to doing this.So in summary:
Now the trick here is where you were close and I don't know why so many people have a hard time time with this but believe me they do. You File/Save as/PDF in your marks and bleeds select trim marks only ( you don't need all the other extra garbage) Set you offset to .125. This makes your cut marks start at the edge of your bleed outside of the artwork. DON'T FORGET TO SET THE BLEED. So many people miss this little part. set the bleed to .125 on all 4 sides. Save an walla a Perfect PDF with .125 in bleed and cut marks outside the artwork.
1/ Set up your document size (the artboard) when you begin to the same size as the finished artwork size (like if you want a full bleed A4 flyer, set your document size (the artboard size) to A4. Don't think about it too much you just make the size of the artboard the size of what you want to get back from the printer.
2/ Makes some guidelines 3mm or whatever your printer requires offset outside the artboard area. This is your bleed area. Make sure your artwork extends into this area.
3/ The cropmarks are made when you Save As > PDF along with other printers marks, following instructions as described above.
4/ AGAIN DONT USE THE CROP AREA TOOL or OBJECT > CROP AREA > MAKE command. They are evil.
Indesign Cropmarks Script
also - just good to remember this relates - in Indesign if you want crop marks you usually do them when you export your PDF, but if you need custom crop marks, and fold marks and such things, then you need to make your crop marks in the Indesign file itself, not when you make the PDF. You need to install a script that does it...
If you want to produce your own crop marks, there is a script that comes with InD that will draw crop marks around any selected object. I find it useful when it is absolutely essential that I include fold marks (which making a PDF won't do). I also find it useful to put all these marks in a slug area.Window>interactive>scripts. You may have to install the scripts. They're on one of the install disks.
In CS3, Scripts go into applications>Indesign>Scripts>Script Panels
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