Studio-Grade PDF Creator

Overview

This skill creates publication-quality PDF documents using Python's ReportLab library with custom typography, bold editorial design, and professional layout. The output rivals what you'd expect from a professional design studio or publishing house.

What this skill produces:

• Full books with cover, TOC, and chapter openers
• Professional reports and whitepapers
• Ebooks and manuals with editorial styling
• Single or multi-page designed documents
• Documents with styled code blocks, tables, and rich formatting

Quick Start Workflow

1. Read this SKILL.md (you're doing it now)
2. Understand the user's content and desired style
3. Install dependencies (see below)
4. Read references/DESIGN-SYSTEM.md for the full design system
5. Use scripts/pdf_builder.py as your base template
6. Customize colors, fonts, and layout to match the request
7. Build the PDF and deliver

Dependencies

CRITICAL — Install these FIRST before any PDF generation:

pip install reportlab --break-system-packages

ReportLab is the only required dependency. It's pre-installed in most environments but always verify.

Optional (for reading existing PDFs or advanced features):

pip install pypdf pdfplumber --break-system-packages

Font Setup

This skill bundles professional fonts in assets/fonts/. The core font stack is:

Font Registration Pattern:

from reportlab.pdfbase import pdfmetrics
from reportlab.pdfbase.ttfonts import TTFont
from reportlab.pdfbase.pdfmetrics import registerFontFamily

FONT_DIR = "./assets/fonts"  # Adjust to your skill path

# Register individual fonts
pdfmetrics.registerFont(TTFont("Lora", f"{FONT_DIR}/Lora-Regular.ttf"))
pdfmetrics.registerFont(TTFont("Lora-Bold", f"{FONT_DIR}/Lora-Bold.ttf"))
pdfmetrics.registerFont(TTFont("Lora-Italic", f"{FONT_DIR}/Lora-Italic.ttf"))
pdfmetrics.registerFont(TTFont("Lora-BoldItalic", f"{FONT_DIR}/Lora-BoldItalic.ttf"))

# Register family so <b> and <i> tags work in Paragraphs
registerFontFamily('Lora',
    normal='Lora', bold='Lora-Bold',
    italic='Lora-Italic', boldItalic='Lora-BoldItalic')

If bundled fonts are not available, fall back to ReportLab built-ins (Helvetica, Times-Roman, Courier). The design will still work — just less distinctive.

Design Principles

1. Bold Editorial Aesthetic

• High contrast — near-black text on white, with one strong accent color
• Generous whitespace — let content breathe
• Typographic hierarchy — clear distinction between heading levels
• Accent restraint — one primary accent color, used sparingly but boldly

2. Color Palette Structure

Every document needs exactly this palette:

C_BLACK      = HexColor("#0A0A0A")    # Primary text
C_DARK_GRAY  = HexColor("#2D2D2D")    # Body text
C_MID_GRAY   = HexColor("#6B6B6B")    # Secondary text
C_LIGHT_GRAY = HexColor("#E8E8E8")    # Rules and borders
C_PALE       = HexColor("#F5F5F3")    # Alternate row backgrounds
C_WHITE      = HexColor("#FFFFFF")    # Page background
C_ACCENT     = HexColor("#FF3D00")    # Primary accent (customize per project)
C_CODE_BG    = HexColor("#1E1E2E")    # Dark code block background
C_CODE_TEXT  = HexColor("#CDD6F4")    # Code text color

Swap C_ACCENT to match the project's brand. Good options:

• #FF3D00 — Bold red-orange (default, editorial)
• #0066FF — Corporate blue
• #00BFA5 — Teal/crypto
• #7C3AED — Purple/tech
• #F59E0B — Amber/warm

3. Page Layout (US Letter)

PAGE_W, PAGE_H = letter  # 612 x 792 points
MARGIN_LEFT   = 1.0 * inch  # 72pt
MARGIN_RIGHT  = 1.0 * inch
MARGIN_TOP    = 1.0 * inch
MARGIN_BOTTOM = 1.0 * inch
# Content area: 468pt wide × 636pt tall

4. Typography Scale

Display (cover title):     38pt BigShoulders-Bold
Chapter number:            72pt BigShoulders-Bold
Chapter title:             30pt BigShoulders-Bold
H2 sections:               20pt BigShoulders-Bold
H3 subsections:            13pt InstrumentSans-Bold
Body text:                 10.5pt Lora, 16pt leading
Code blocks:               8pt JetBrainsMono, 11.5pt leading
Headers/footers:           7.5pt InstrumentSans

Document Architecture

Every studio-grade PDF follows this structure:

Cover Page

Drawn entirely by the page template's onPage callback — no flowables needed.

• Full bleed background color (usually black or dark)
• Oversized decorative text element (e.g., a key number)
• Title in display font
• Subtitle in lighter weight
• Author/brand attribution
• Accent bars for visual rhythm

Table of Contents

• "CONTENTS" heading in display font
• Numbered entries with accent-colored chapter numbers
• Light separator lines between entries
• Clean table layout with proper alignment

Chapter Openers

Custom Flowable subclass that draws:

• Large 2-digit chapter number in accent color
• Accent bar separator
• Chapter title in display font
• Subtitle in secondary font

Body Pages

• Header: chapter title (left) + book title (right)
• Content: paragraphs, bullets, code blocks, tables
• Footer: page number centered with decorative dots

Key Components

1. Custom Flowables You Need

Read references/DESIGN-SYSTEM.md for complete implementation code. The essential custom flowables are:

2. Markdown-to-Flowables Parser

The parser converts markdown content into ReportLab flowables. It handles:

• H1/H2/H3 headings → styled Paragraphs
• **bold** and *italic* → <b> and <i> tags
• `inline code` → font-switched spans
• Fenced code blocks → CodeBlock flowables
• Bullet/numbered lists → indented Paragraphs with accent bullets
• Tables → styled Table flowables
• Horizontal rules → HorizontalRule flowables
• Checkboxes → accent-colored list items

CRITICAL: Inline Formatting Safety

When converting markdown inline formatting to ReportLab XML, you MUST:

1. Extract code spans FIRST (protect from bold/italic processing)
2. Extract links SECOND
3. Then process bold/italic
4. Restore code spans and links last

This prevents nested XML tag conflicts that crash ReportLab. See the format_inline() function in scripts/pdf_builder.py.

3. Page Templates

Use BaseDocTemplate with multiple PageTemplate objects:

doc = BaseDocTemplate(output_path, pagesize=letter, ...)
doc.addPageTemplates([
    PageTemplate(id='cover',   frames=[frame], onPage=draw_cover),
    PageTemplate(id='toc',     frames=[frame], onPage=draw_toc_chrome),
    PageTemplate(id='chapter', frames=[frame], onPage=draw_chapter_chrome),
])

Switch between templates using NextPageTemplate('template_id') flowables.

4. Dynamic Header/Footer State

Headers must show the CURRENT chapter title, not the last one processed. Use a SetChapterAction flowable:

class SetChapterAction(Flowable):
    def __init__(self, template_obj, chapter_text, chapter_num):
        Flowable.__init__(self)
        self.template = template_obj
        self.chapter_text = chapter_text
        self.chapter_num = chapter_num
        self.width = 0
        self.height = 0

    def wrap(self, aW, aH): return (0, 0)

    def draw(self):
        self.template.current_chapter = self.chapter_text
        self.template.current_chapter_num = self.chapter_num

Insert this flowable at the start of each chapter, AFTER the PageBreak.

Step-by-Step Build Process

For a Full Book (multiple chapters):

1. Register fonts
2. Define color palette
3. Create ParagraphStyles dict
4. Create page template handler class
5. Create BaseDocTemplate with cover/toc/chapter templates
6. Build story array:
   a. Cover page spacer + NextPageTemplate('toc') + PageBreak
   b. TOC heading + chapter list table rows
   c. For each chapter file:
      - NextPageTemplate('chapter') + PageBreak
      - SetChapterAction flowable
      - Parse markdown → flowables
      - Extend story
7. doc.build(story)
8. Copy to output directory

For a Single Report/Whitepaper:

1. Register fonts
2. Define color palette
3. Same style setup but simpler templates (cover + body only)
4. Build story:
   a. Cover spacer + PageBreak
   b. Parse content → flowables
5. doc.build(story)

Common Pitfalls

1. XML Tag Nesting Errors

Problem: ReportLab crashes with "saw instead of expected " Cause: Markdown with **text with code inside** creates overlapping XML tags Fix: Always extract code spans and links BEFORE processing bold/italic

2. Flowable Too Large for Frame

Problem: LayoutError: Flowable too large on page Cause: A Spacer or Flowable exceeds the frame's available height Fix: Never use Spacer(1, PAGE_H) — use Spacer(1, 1) for cover pages since the cover is drawn by onPage callback

3. All Pages Show Last Chapter's Header

Problem: Header shows "Chapter 18" on every page Cause: Setting template.current_chapter in the build loop only sets the final value Fix: Use SetChapterAction flowable to update state during rendering

4. Unicode Characters Rendering as Black Boxes

Problem: Special characters appear as solid rectangles Cause: The registered TTF font doesn't contain those glyphs Fix: Use ReportLab's <sub> and <super> tags instead of Unicode subscripts/superscripts. For other special chars, verify glyph coverage or use a different font.

5. Fonts Not Bold/Italic in Paragraphs

Problem: <b>text</b> doesn't render bold Cause: Font family not registered Fix: Use registerFontFamily() after registering individual font weights

Customization Guide

Changing the Style Mood

Corporate / Conservative:

• Accent: #0066FF (blue)
• Body font: swap Lora → IBM Plex Serif
• Headings: swap BigShoulders → InstrumentSans-Bold
• Reduce heading sizes by ~20%

Tech / Modern:

• Accent: #7C3AED (purple)
• Body font: InstrumentSans
• Headings: BigShoulders-Bold (keep)
• Use more code blocks and tables

Crypto / Web3:

• Accent: #00BFA5 (teal) or #FFB300 (gold)
• Dark cover background
• Monospace elements for addresses/hashes
• Keep editorial boldness

Minimal / Clean:

• Accent: #000000 (just black)
• Reduce accent bar usage
• More whitespace
• Lighter separator lines

Adding New Font Pairs

1. Place .ttf files in assets/fonts/
2. Register with pdfmetrics.registerFont()
3. Register family with registerFontFamily()
4. Update style definitions

Good free font sources: Google Fonts (fonts.google.com)

File Reference

studio-pdf/
├── SKILL.md                          ← You are here
├── references/
│   └── DESIGN-SYSTEM.md              ← Full code for all components
├── scripts/
│   └── pdf_builder.py                ← Complete working template script
└── assets/
    └── fonts/                        ← Bundled TTF fonts
        ├── BigShoulders-Bold.ttf
        ├── BigShoulders-Regular.ttf
        ├── Lora-Regular.ttf
        ├── Lora-Bold.ttf
        ├── Lora-Italic.ttf
        ├── Lora-BoldItalic.ttf
        ├── InstrumentSans-Regular.ttf
        ├── InstrumentSans-Bold.ttf
        ├── InstrumentSans-Italic.ttf
        ├── InstrumentSans-BoldItalic.ttf
        ├── JetBrainsMono-Regular.ttf
        ├── JetBrainsMono-Bold.ttf
        ├── CrimsonPro-Regular.ttf
        ├── CrimsonPro-Bold.ttf
        └── CrimsonPro-Italic.ttf

When to read what:

• Start here (SKILL.md) — always
• references/DESIGN-SYSTEM.md — when you need the full component code
• scripts/pdf_builder.py — copy and customize as your starting point