I will turn my word file to pdf and submit to createspace for publishing my book

Two questions:

1) should i just do a save as pdf or print pdf? which is better? my book has color images in it. which method preserves picture quality better?



2) when inserting pictures into my word file i made sure the picture files (all jpg) were at least 300 dpi (which is what createspace wants)... but now that these are inserted in my word file, that 300 dpi means distorted? or will it be distorted when i turn into pdf? if so what should i do?

To 'print' to PDF you need third party software. The only option Word provides is to save as PDF. Some third party products handle links better than the more rudimentary Word version, but graphics are much the same whichever you use.

If your pictures look distorted in Word Print Preview they will still be distorted in the PDF.

__________________
Graham Mayor - MS MVP (Word) (2002-2019)
Visit my web site for more programming tips and ready made processes www.gmayor.com

This is a discussion you may want to be having with your publisher.

Choose File > Export > Create PDF/XPS.

Create PDF/XPS button on the Export tab in Word 2016.
If the properties of your Word document contains information that you do not want included in the PDF, in the Publish as PDF or XPS window, choose Options. Then select Document and clear Document properties. Set any other options you want and choose OK.

Clear Document properties to avoid sharing that information in the PDF file.
For more information about document properties, see View or change the properties for an Office 2016 file.

In Publish as PDF or XPS, navigate to where you want to save the file. Also, modify the file name if you want a different name.

Click Publish.