File Prep

File Preparation Tips:
Industry standards for quality work dictate that files for printing be cmyk and 300 dpi resolution. What does this mean to you? It means that this is the type of file we want to print! You give us the best, we give you what you expect–THE BEST!

THE BEST WAY FOR US TO RECEIVE A FILE IS A CMYK PDF WITH ALL FONTS EMBEDDED OR CONVERTED TO OUTLINE. You can only upload one file at a time , so if you are sending multiple files or folders, put them all into ONE folder named with your name, Zip it or Stuff it, and that will make for an easier, faster file transfer.

Quark, Indesign, Photoshop, Illustrator and Pagemaker all have options for exporting to PDF files. If sending PDFs made from these programs make sure all original images, links and art used in your document are CMYK, 300 dpi, .eps or .tif files ONLY, no lzw or jpg compression. Make sure all colors in the document are converted to CMYK and all fonts are embedded in the pdf.

We will also accept native Quark, Indesign, Photoshop, Illustrator and Pagemaker files. Be sure to include ALL used art, images, photos and fonts. Put all the element in ONE folder and ZIP or stuff the folder before uploading.

We will accept Microsoft Publisher, MS Word, Corel, MS Excel and Powerpoint files. Each of these programs can also create PDF files. HOWEVER, FILES CREATED IN THESE PROGRAMS ARE USUALLY NOT PRINTING PRESS READY AND USUALLY REQUIRE FILE ADJUSTMENTS, WHICH MAY INCUR EXTRA COST.

Other Tips:
• Make sure all photos, images and art are CMYK.
• JPG, GIF, LZW all compress files and could result in image loss. Don’t use them.
• When saving .eps files, make sure the preview is set to macintosh or tiff, 8-bits/pixel and encoding to
binary. If there is a clipping path, make sure to check include transfer function.
• Images should be 300 dpi at the final size in the layout.
• Use .tif or .eps file format to achieve best color quality and sharpness of image. Images taken from a
digital camera are usually jpg and need to be converted to .tif or .eps. Do not use images from the
internet. They are only 72 dpi (lo-res) and would appear weak and blurry in print.
• If creating a page with full bleed, set your art to extend 1/8"past the trim. This will allow plenty of room for
trimming to final size and eliminate any paper showing at the edge of your final printed piece.
• If you don’t want bleed art, keep art at least .25" (one quarter inch) inside the trim edge
• When using large areas of black background, for a nice, crisp black, add a 40% cyan kicker to the 100%
black background only. 100% of all four colors is too heavy ink coverage to print.
• Black type should be 100% black ONLY and set to overprint. Adding kicker colors to type DECREASES
text sharpness.

Not sure if your file will print?
We check every file we receive to make sure it will print!