Friday, March 23, 2012

Top Ten Common Problems to Avoid When Preparing Files for a Printer


Once you have decided upon a print service provider and you have learned the basic terminology that will help you to best communicate with your printer, there are some red flag items that you should AVOID when sending a printer your files.  

1.  Fonts not embedded in PDF or missing application files
  • If you send a printer a PDF file of a book or document, be sure to embed the fonts in the file so that the fonts will be viewed as the author intended
  • If you send application files (Quark, InDesign), be sure to include a font file
2.   Incomplete or corrupt files
  •  Check and re-check your files to make sure all the pages and images are included, and that the files all open correctly
3.  Colors that are not converted from RGB to four-color CMYK mode
  • When transitioning from the computer screen to the printed page, colors appear differently. It is very rare that a computer monitor will display accurately the colors chosen in your layout.
  • Our digital presses can convert RGB to CMYK, but with less than optimum results. The color may be represented inaccurately, or in black and white. For the best color quality, conversion is recommended.
4.   Black and White images in RGB or CMYK instead of Grayscale
  • If these images are not saved as Grayscale, the document will print with some color
5.   Images with too low or too high resolution.  A resolution of 300 DPI (dots-per-inch) is recommended.      
  • Low Resolution- A scan resolution that is too low produces a low-quality image. With a low resolution (72-100 DPI), images downloaded from the Internet do not print clearly.  
  • High Resolution - This increases the file size and printing time without increasing quality 
6.  Inadequate Bleeds
  • Without proper bleed, the image that extends to the edge of a printed sheet will show a tiny white line on the trimmed edge, which results in an unpolished end product
7.  Image delivered in the wrong file format
  • JPEG (Joint Photographic Expert Group) - These file formats are great for photographic images on the Web because they compress the files, reducing the size. For printing, these file formats are not ideal, because every time the file is saved, color and detail is lost
  • GIF (Graphic Interchange File) - These file formats are limited to eight bits or 256 colors, and are best used for the Internet
  • TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) or PSD (Photoshop Document) - These files form high-resolution images of digital pages, producing the best images for printing without loss of color or detail.  Files can be large, but are easily compressed.
8.  Missing Images
  • If images are missing, a blank or low resolution image will be substituted
9.  Wrong Applications used for complex page layouts (Word, PowerPoint).  
  • Preferred Applications are programs designed specifically for publishing tasks, such as  InDesign, Quark or Pagemaker
10.  Not supplying a Hard-Copy Proof
  • Submitting a Hard-Copy Proof makes it much easier to spot potential problems. It is best to provide a printer with final color or black and white laser print-outs along with the digital files.  Print-outs should be actual size (100%).















               




               







Monday, March 5, 2012

Six Basic Printing Terms to Know if You Want to Print a Book

1Bleed - When printing a book, "bleed" is a necessary design element to ensure that a book cover is trimmed correctly. It refers to the area extending beyond the finished (trim edge) of a document.  Bleed protects the trim edge of a document when it is being cut to its proper size during the final stages of the book production process. Without bleed, white edges would appear on a final document. Proper bleed area is 1/8 inch from the edge on all four sides of a book, which means that an 8.5” x 11” document with proper bleed would be 8.75” x 11.25”. 

2Trim - The trim size is the final size of a document- the dimensions of a book in its final bound size. 

3.  Safety Zone –The safety zone is a protected area 1/8 inch smaller than the trim size of a book. Any critical information, including type (text) logos, graphics, or page numbers must remain within the safety zone or these elements will appear crowded when the document is trimmed to its final size.     

4.  Crop Marks – These short little lines are found at the outside corners of each page indicating the exact trim size of a document.  Crop marks are an essential element during the bindery process so that documents are trimmed correctly.



5Embedded Fonts - This refers to the fonts that are necessary to print a job; fonts are embedded in the PDF file so that they appear exactly as they were intended to be seen by the author of the document.  The fonts will appear the same to different users in all applications.

6.  Image Resolution - All images should be scanned or saved at the correct resolution required by a printer, which is usually a minimum of 300 DPI (dots per inch).