1. File Formats
We use the very latest Adobe PDF (Portable Document Format) Rip in our Pre-press department and our workflow is based on working with files sent to us as PDFs. All work should be presented to us in this format. If files other than PDFs are supplied there mayl be a supplimentary invoice raised for £20 plus vat if appicable.
Your PDF should be prepared at press quality with artwork centred on pages.
Please ensure that you carefully check your PDF before sending it. Whilst software is usually reliable there is still a real possibility that something changes in the conversion from native file format to PDF.
2. Bleed and 'Quiet Border'
Understanding the need for Bleed and a Quiet Border is vital. We require Bleed to allow for the tolerance of our guillotines (the machine used for cutting your job after printing). Even with our state of the art equipment there is a margin of error with the operation.
If your image finishes exactly at the edge of your required finished size then these small deviations may produce unsightly white flashes at the edge of your print. By extending your background colour or image beyond the edge of your finished job the effects of the same deviations are not noticeable.
We recommend that elements intended to go to the very edge of your finished job should extend 3mm beyond the edge.
A Quiet Border is the distance you should allow from the edge of your finished page size for text, diagrams or images not going to bleed. The reason for the border is again the tolerance in cutting. If you have a design where the text runs to the very edge then any cutting deviation will result in some of your text being cut off!!
With a very small Quiet Border even the smallest cutting deviation could result in the finished job looking uneven. We recommend a Quiet Border where there is no text etc. of at least 5mm (3mm is the minimum recommended) around the edges of your job.
3. Artwork central and backing up correctly
It is important that artwork is positioned centrally on the layout. Our pre-press system works from the centre of the page in aligning jobs for print.
At pre-press the correct size aperture for the job to be printed is filled with the image on the page running out from the page centre. If a job is off centred then potentially only a portion of the job will appear in the aperture and be printed! (fig.1)
It is also important that jobs back up correctly with the orientation of each page being the same. We strongly recommend printing proofs from the PDF you have created to your own printer prior to submission. (fig.2)
If the sheet holding the reverse image must be rotated to back up correctly with the front then the file should be altered! Making a physical mock up will highlight potential errors which are not easy to see on screen. (fig.3)
4. Fonts
When creating your PDF it is important to specify that fonts used should be embedded. This is normally a tick box in the PDF export area of the programme or an option in an external PDF creator. If fonts are not embedded this can lead to unwanted fonts substitutions and reject print.
5. Colour Matching
Throughout your design the colours used must be CMYK colours. There are a large number of variables which can affect the colour produced during Full Colour Printing. Simply looking at the appearance of colours on a monitor, especially if no monitor calibration has been carried out, is unlikely to accurately represent printed colour results.
In just the same way an un-calibrated desktop printer, such as a laser or inkjet may well produce very different colours to those produced on a professional printing press.
Rather than leaving colour matching to chance and ‘keeping your fingers crossed’ we strongly recommend that colours are chosen from our Hard Copy Pantone Colour Charts.
6. Photographs and Graphics
Photographs should be scanned at the size required in your artwork at 300dpi and saved as CMYK images.
Please note: It is important that images are originated at this high quality. Re-sampling an image of a lower resolution (say 72dpi from the internet) to 300dpi does not improve its quality or make it suitable for high quality print.
Monitor calibration is a big consideration when scanning and colour balancing. If your monitor is not calibrated the image you see on screen may differ from the image on the final print.
Where designs are built up using a number of layers and transparencies it is important that these are ‘flattened’ before creating the PDF. Un-flattened transparencies are notorious for causing print problems. Flattening your work will ensure that the finished print is as expected without compromising the creative intent.
7. PDF Creation
If you do not have any PDF creation software, we recommend docudesk as an affordable option.
Free trial versions of excellent compression programmes are available, visit www.pkware.com for PKzip which is designed for PC, and visit www.stuffit.com/mac/deluxe for Stuffit which is designed for Mac.
8. Alternative file formats for artwork supplied
We can accept files in flattened Tif (Tiff) or Jpg (Jpeg) format. The files should be at the correct size for print. The disadvantage of sending files in this format is that all text and graphics will be Bitmap rather than Vector quality. If the file is sent at 300dpi resolution then in our experience the results are generally considered acceptable.
We are also pleased to accept virtually every other file format there is. We list here the most common formats which we receive. The list is not exhaustive. If your application is not listed please check with us.
Adobe Creative Suite - all versions Mac, PC up to CS4
Corel Draw - Mac, PC up to version 11
Macromedia Freehand - Mac up to MX
Microsoft Office & Publisher - PC up to 2003
Quark Express - Mac up to version 7
PLEASE NOTE: We make a nominal charge of £20.00 + VAT to work with files which are not supplied as a PDF.
9. In preparing your artwork - summary
Bleed 3mm
Text not within 3/5mm from edge of file
Colour scheme: CMYK
PDF Pre-requisites
300dpi resolution image files
Transparencies need to be flattened
'Overprint' needs to be turned off when originating files
Artwork centred on page
All pages in one document
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