Sending design files to print

Things to Watch Out For

In any business, the more prepared one side of the job is, the quicker the other side can complete it. The same is true with printing.

We have put together a list of important details necessary for incoming digital files. If you follow these simple guidelines, your job will take less time to process.

In many cases we would like to work from a PDF file (Adobe Acrobat File), as long as it is built properly. When creating a PDF, either for production or for proof, completely embed the fonts. Make sure you include your bleed if necessary.

If you are sending us traditional files, it’s a good idea to organize your job before sending it by gathering all of the files used to produce the piece. For instance (package), put your document, pictures, and fonts all in one folder. This makes it easy to determine which files are being used. Then you can also simply compress the entire folder and send it on its way.

Following these simple instructions will help us tremendously, and will save you time and money.

• Always supply us with everything your file uses by means of ‘Package’ in InDesign, ‘Collect for Output’ in Quark, or ‘Save for Service Provider’ in Pagemaker. This is an easy way to collect all of the graphics and fonts needed to produce the piece into one location. Make sure you always include the fonts.
• If you are planning on emailing files or uploading them to our FTP site, be sure to compress the folder containing them using StuffIt or Zip compression utilities. Most operating systems have a compression utility built in.
• Photos and other placed images should ideally have a resolution of at least 300 dots per inch (dpi). Line art or text typed in Photoshop should be a minimum 600 dpi (1200 ideally). Also make sure that photos/graphics placed into layouts are in the correct color mode, such as Grayscale or CMYK. We can force CMYK separations from RGB later in the RIPing process, but the results are unpredictable and you’re relying on the RIP to decide what the color of an image should be.
• Your document should match the finished trimmed size. If the piece runs off the page then include an 1/8″ bleed off the sides of the document. Example: 8.5×11 Letterhead will be set up on an 8.5×11 document with an 1/8″ bleed all the way around. The document will still be 8.5×11, but this makes the final size of the PDF 8.75×11.25. No crop marks are necessary, just make sure to include the bleed.
• It’s a good idea to check that your job separates correctly by printing laser separations, or by creating color separated PDFs. Additionally, if you have access to Acrobat or if you’re using InDesign to create your layout, you can preview separations right in the program.
• Remember that black text should be only black, unless it is a design feature to have a rich black (black plus other colors). Even then it’s not a good idea to use it for text since it can make the type (especially serif fonts) look blurry.

If you have any further questions please feel free to give us a call. Contact Laurie Jones, Prepress Manager at 937.228.9418.