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Bleeds - General

  • When ink covers the paper all the way to the edge of the sheet it is said to "bleed". You need to account for this in your file by extending the color or image .125 inches beyond the final size of your document. This is especially true when dealing with imported images. For example: if you have a business card that has a photo as a background, the size of the photo in your document needs to be 3.75 x 2.25 inches to allow for the .125 inch bleed on all four sides.
  • With bleeds, if you are making a PDF from your layout document you must remember to select .125 inch bleeds on all 4 sides as well as crop marks when going through the set up options.

Color - General

  • CMYK and RGB color formats are not interchangeable. RGB colors cannot be reproduced on press as they are made specifically for the screen.
  • 4 color process files should be in CMYK.
  • There will be a color shift when you convert from RGB to CMYK.

Fonts - General

  • Try to limit the number of fonts used in your document to 1-3. The majority of file issues are due to fonts so limiting the number of fonts used will help limit the number of file problems.
  • Try to use fonts that offer you multiple style options rather than just one.
    • Ie: Frutiger font that includes bold, italic, bold italic, etc.
  • With fonts that have more than one style option, select the style option from your "Type" menu and not from the options in the control palette. These create false styles and may not reproduce the same. They will appear similar, but when placed side by side with the original they will be noticeably different.

File Set Up - General

  • Make your document size the same size as the final size of the your piece.
    • Ie: A standard business card size is 3.5 x 2 inches. Make your document size 3.5 x 2 inches. (Bleeds would extend beyond that 3.5 x 2 inch document size.)
  • We will add crop marks and layout the job to maximize the press sheet for you, unless you are sending a print ready PDF. Then we would need you to set up the bleeds and crop marks to these guidelines.
  • If you make your own crop marks, use the color "Registration" that is already in your color list. This color will automatically print on all plates.
  • When moving an object on your page, use the control palettes in the program to move a set accurate amount.
  • Use the alignment function in the program to make sure that objects line up correctly or are evenly spaced.

Spot Colors - General

  • Unless your job will be 4 color process, use PANTONE spot colors in your file.
  • Select PANTONE spot colors by choosing them from the PANTONE color library.
  • Do not change the name of the PANTONE spot color or your file will not output correctly.
  • If you will be importing graphics that use spot colors into your layout document make sure that the name of the PANTONE spot color(s) in your imported graphic(s) is exactly the same as the name of the PANTONE spot color(s) in your layout document. This will ensure that the file separates correctly.

Images - General

  • Graphic formats preferred: EPS, TIF
  • All images should be edited, rotated, cropped, and sized before being placed into the layout document. All images should be placed at 100%.
  • Image resolution should be 300 dpi at its final size. Images taken off of the web are typically only 72 dpi and although look good on screen will not print well.
  • Monotones, Duotones and Tritones need to have the same color name spelling as the color that you are using in your layout program.
  • Black can overprint everything. However, unless the area of black is large and is partially on a color it will change a little depending on the color underneath. You may want to trap the color to the black to keep the color change to a minimum.
  • The original scans or images that are placed or imported into the layout document need to be included when you send us the source file or embedded when sending a print ready PDF.

Preflight Checklist - General

  • Ensure all graphics and images are 300 dpi when at 100%
  • Image files should be EPS or TIFF and linked properly
  • Spot colors should be designated as PANTONE spot colors and not CMYK builds unless printing on digital press.
  • With bleeds make sure the color(s) or image(s) extends to .125" beyond the edge of the document size
  • Gather all source files: fonts, images, layout document
  • Make a PDF to send along with source files (can be low resolution, we will use this to verify proper page order and any image or font issues)

Spot Colors - Digital

  • Bill can match the majority of PANTONE spot colors (prefers darker colors to light) so even if your job will be running digitally you can still set your file up with PANTONE spot colors.   In fact, if color is of concern, setting up your file with PANTONE spot colors will allow Bill to make color corrections to each individual color. Please do not change the name of the PANTONE spot color.
  • When using tints of PANTONE spot colors use 50% or above to get the best color accuracy and quality.
  • Spot colors cannot be used with transparency effects, i.e. drop shadows.

Transparency Effects - Digital

  • If you are using a transparency effects that sit on top or near a spot color you will need to convert that spot color to CMYK in order for the transparency effect and color to print correctly.

Gradients - Digital

  • Gradients will look the best when created using vector gradient tools
  • Saturated colors generally produce the smoothest blends
  • Avoid using dark colors that blend to white
  • For colors blending to white do not use white, use 0% of the same color

You may save to a high quality print PDF but we prefer to have the source file with fonts and linked images.