Correct preparation of PDF
files
When creating a PDF in Acrobat Distiller, there are job
options which must be set for commercial printing.
These include default resolution, compression settings
and font embedding.
Please ensure you choose high resolution. Compression
settings for colour and greyscale should be downsampled
to 300dpi with "auto compression" set on high.
Bitmapped (monochrome: i.e. line art) images should be
set at 600dpi. Font embedding should be set to "embed
all fonts."
Bleed
Make sure there is 3mm bleed all round the
PDF, i.e. save the PDF with 6mm added to each
measurement (i.e. for A4 usually 210mm x 297mm, save as
216mm x 303mm). Crop marks may be included. If it is
not saved in this format, we will not be able to use it
as artwork and if there are any changes to the job, you
may have to amend and re-supply the artwork.
Artwork must be
suppplied as CMYK for commercial
printing, NOT RGB!
Please ensure that all embedded images are CMYK files
please. RGB images may look good on your screen but
final output to print is always in CMYK. One should be
aware that files converted from RGB to CMYK may alter
the colour composition significantly.
Microsoft Office &
Publisher files
If you are creating a PDF from a MS Publisher or Word
file, care must be taken to ensure spot colours are
created correctly in your original
documents. Do not set to RGB
colours.
Supplying EPS
files
Any other file formats not listed above must be saved
as an eps or jpeg. If there are any changes to the job,
you may have to amend and re-submit the artwork as we
will be unable to change it. Ensure file has bleed and
crop marks and please confirm the final size of the
artwork and supply a hard copy for reference.
Bleed and crop
marks
All artwork must have
3mm bleed if you require the
image to bleed off the edge of the paper.
Crop marks should be included if artwork does not fill
a whole page area (i.e. no bleed). They should be 5mm
long, 3mm outside of the page area and coloured in the
colour 'registration' to ensure they appear on each
colour separation.
Please ensure that artwork is supplied at the correct
finished size required. If this is not possible, please
inform the printer to allow time for amending the
artwork.
Artwork amendments or
re-submission
Please remember that most printers charge for any
amendments needed.
Imposition
In General, please do not supply imposed pages or
"printers pairs" because most printers workflow
includes imposition software to impose correctly for
their printing processes.
Booklets
If you are supplying a document with multiple pages,
please try and make the front and back cover of the
document a separate file, and supply as single pages in
page order. Also, please remember to allow for "creep"
I suggest you keep all text and copy at least 5mm away
from the trimmed edge.
Fonts
Include all fonts you have used in the file. Whilst
printers have extensive font collections, there is no
guarantee the version you have used matches theirs.
This can create problems with line lengths and spacing
of the type.
Lineart and
images
Scanned colour and greyscale images should be 300dpi at
the final size in the document submitted for
output.
Images should be submitted as TIFF's, JPEG's or
EPS.
Lineart (bitmapped) should be 600-1200dpi at the final
size in the document submitted for output.
Screens
Screen tints may range from 99% down to 1%.
From a practical viewpoint, anything above 90% or less
than 5% will generally not be visible to the naked
eye.
Sending PFS for Commercial
Printing
| |
|
