Print Production Tips

A little extra time spent reviewing your project before sending it off for printing can make the difference between having it done on time within the budget, and having to make costly and time-consuming revisions. We recommend that you read and follow these suggestions carefully – it could be the difference between doing it right and doing it again.

Check the type – how it looks and what it says

1. Do a final spell-check and proofread the entire document before you send it out. If possible, have someone less familiar with the text do the final read – preferably someone familiar with spelling, grammar and punctuation standards.
2. Check line breaks: fix widows and orphans, ugly rags (jagged line endings), awkward hyphenations, gaping holes in justified lines.
3. Use Find/Change to remove double spaces after periods in the body copy.
4. Use Space Before/After rather than multiple linefeeds to add space between paragraphs.
5. Check that bold or italic type is set from the font menu rather than by applying styles. Some fonts do not output styled text properly.

Make sure what you see IS what you’ll get

1. If the piece is to be printed to the edge of the page, create a 1/8" (9pt/3.5mm) bleed.
2. Check style sheets and remove unused styles. Set “normal” style to be the same as the body text.
3. Delete unused master pages, unused colors from the color menu, and unused fonts from the “font usage” list
4. Check color separations by running laser separations.
5. Clearly label FPO (For Position Only) images in the file and on the hard copy.
6. Place photographic images at 100% size at the correct resolution.
7. Make sure that all color images are spot color or CMYK, not RGB.

Eliminate the guesswork

1. Make sure all elements supplied are clearly marked with the job/project/client identification, contact name and number, service rep’s name, any special instructions.
2. Include a full-size mock-up (color if possible) and a hard copy marked up for color breaks, folds, die-cuts etc.
3. Print the disk directory window with folders open and include it with the files supplied.
4. Include ALL linked images and required screen and print fonts.

A PDF Output Specifications Form is provided. This form must be completed and submitted with your graphics files. Preparing proper graphics files for a CD project is a complex procedure, which done incorrectly could cost you time and money.

Further Information

• Graphic Design
• Logos, Symbols, Etc.
• Graphic File Formats