For those supplying their own artwork, we have put together a few simple guidelines which will help you correctly supply artwork first time. This means that intervention is minimised which will save you time and money. Listed below are the most common problems that the Pre-press department at Redlin encounters:
- Fonts
- Images/Graphics
- RGB formats
- Spot colours
- Missing bleeds
- Page Sizes
- Transparencies
- Poor Quality PDF files
Most up-to-date programmes have built-in pre-flight check tools, which are worth using. This enables the user to check all the final files prior to saving and warn of any potential problems.
Fonts
Please always supply your fonts with your artwork. This avoids potential time wasted searching for fonts and the wrong fonts being used which can result in reflow. Fonts are licensed by various different companies, so what appears to be the same may be very different. Also remember PC fonts are different from Mac fonts.
Supplying of fonts:
Postscript fonts are made up from 2 parts - A screen font and a printer font. Both parts of the fonts need to be supplied. This will prevent bitmapping, which can render the font useless.
Styling fonts:
Try to avoid the styling font buttons; Bold, Italic, Bold Italic. Where possible use the correct font Helvetica Bold rather than emboldening Helvetica. Programmes like Illustrator allow you to convert fonts to Paths/Outlines making them graphic images. Remember when doing this any copy amends cannot be easily done so always keep a copy of the file in its original form.
Images/Graphics
Always Import or Place your images or Links into files. Never copy and paste from one programme to another, as this usually results in a low res preview which is not useable for print. Try to avoid embedding images in files - always supply files separately. We base image quality for reproduction purposes on a 2:1 ratio (twice the resolution to output) for Greyscale and colour images. As standard we run a 175 (dpi) screen ruling, so files should be supplied between 350 and 400 dpi, whilst line art and bitmaps should be between 600 - 1200 dpi. Low resolution images can appear blurry or pixilated. Remember Photoshop is designed for image manipulation not for pages of text.
RGB
R (red) G (green) B (blue) files are not designed for litho print. All images must be converted to C (cyan) M (magenta) Y (yellow) and K (black) wherever possible. All other colours must be assigned a PMS or Pantone (Pantone Matching System) reference.
Spot Colours
One of the commonest faults is to include more than one version of the same pantone or spot colour. Please ensure that they are named correctly and only one version is used. Most programmes have more than one swatch, either use U (uncoated) or C (coated) versions. The letters after the numbers only represent the medium onto which they are to be printed. Spot colours can also be converted to cmyk; however, be aware of the potential colour variation from that of the spot colour.
Missing Bleeds
Where possible add at least 3mm bleed to all pages. Most programmes have this facility either at creation stage or printing and saving stage. If the file is created as printers pairs or spreads it is not necessary to include bleed on the folded edge, only include it on the trimmed edges. On single pages, bleed needs to be included on all edges.
Wrong Page Sizes
Microsoft, being a US company, as a default use US standard sizes - Letter 8" x 11" (imperial measurements). In the UK, we use the metric system and standard pages sizes are A4 210mm x 297mm and A3 297mm x 420mm. Alter your page sizes in document set up before commencing working on your document. It will save lots of time and aggravation later on.
Transparencies
Illustrator & In Design allow you to set transparency values within documents. Remember to flatten transparency when saving files. Postscript printers can have problems interpreting files that are unflattened. If in any doubt try printing your file as a composite and as separations. This will give you a good idea if it is going to work.
Poor Quality PDF files
Always try to generate Hi res press ready PDF files. This can be achieved by following these simple steps:
- Embed all fonts
- Remove all compression
- Ensure there are bleeds (min req. 3mm)
- Include crops or trim marks
- Separations
- Leave unchanged or preferably use Device N
Sending Files
Files can be saved to disk, emailed or uploaded to our FTP Site - details available upon request. When sending source files please include a PDF file (it does not have to be hi -res) or a hard copy of the final press ready file for comparison. Where possible also include previous printed sample if available for colour match.
Problematic Programmes
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Publisher
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Power Point
Corel Draw
Photoshop
Preferred Programmes
Quark Express
Indesign Illustrator
Adobe Acrobat
Problematic Graphic Formats
WMF
PSD
PICT
GIF
BMP
PCX
Preferred Graphic Formats
Tiff
EPS
JPEG
Finally, remember, if you have any queries about generating Hi-res Press ready files, please contact Redlin on 01245 280 555 or email origination@redlin.co.uk