What to send to us (and why) to have your project print the “first time”.

You have completed your project and now are ready to get it off your desk(top). You have run spell check on the document and had an associate read-over the copy to insure that it’s grammatically correct. You’ve printed a hard copy of the project as well and everything looks acceptable. (Be proactive and have an associate proofread the copy before submitting it to us. Chances are good if something was overlooked initially, it will happen again.)

First - Your Source File

The latest version of your project with all the links updated.

Second - The Links

The logos, photos, designs in the respective format of process or spot color depending on your design. We prefer 300 dpi tif or eps files. Although we will work with jpeg files in cmyk format with 300 dpi minimum resolution. PDFs are not a problem if you contact us for our recommended settings for your distiller. Also another consideration for your links is that the 300 dpi requirement is for reproduction at “same size”. A 300 dpi file enlarged three times becomes a 100 dpi file which could look good on your screen but will look “jagged” (note #5) when printed.

Third - Your Fonts

Fonts are one of the major pieces of the puzzle. To produce an authentic rendition of your file - it is very important to have the exact fonts that you used. Granted everyone has a Arial or Times New Roman but they may “track” differently. Thus causing kerning or run-around issues. Include fonts even if they are embedded in your Publisher or Illustrator file. Another issue with fonts is to avoid using the “buttons” to select an italic or bold version of the font your utilizing. It’s conducive to select the font i.e. Times New Roman Bold.

Forth - Save for Service Provider, Package or Collect for Output

Quarkxpress, Indesign and Pagemaker have tools that enable you to gather up the fonts and links used for your particular project. This will save you time and energy, also some third party utilities like font management programs and flight check will also aid in the process.

Fifth - Don’t embed photos etc. in the document your sending

In theory it would sound like a good idea for you to embed the files directly in the document, although if an image requires adjustment we won’t be able to perform the operation. Plus by embedding files makes the Source File huge and slows the production process down by taking longer to work with large files.

Sixth - The Hard Copy

Chances are if you can get your file to print - we will. We require that you send a hard copy for us to use to review our version of your project. Of late we have waived hard copy for PDF files that reflect the project. We request that you check with your sales person or our prepress department prior to sending your project.

To Reach Dave

Union Made