1. Make sure your layout is clean.
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Page dimensions should
be the actual size of your finished piece.
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Clean up pasteboard
(document) of unneeded items (these slow production).
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Delete all unused
colors from color palette, and make sure all Pantone® colors are named the same
(different color names will print on different plates). If you are including a
fifth or sixth color (such as Pantone® colors, foil stamping colors or
varnishes) to be used in process printing, always define this as a spot color.
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Crop, scale, and
rotate all pictures in graphic applications before you import them into your
page layout program.
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If your job has
bleeds, make sure images or backgrounds extend 1/8" beyond document edge.
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Don't use electronic
"white out." Objects covered by white boxes must still be processed
by the Raster Image Processor (RIP), the machine which outputs electronic files
to film, and this slows it down. If you define rules as "hairline" or
less than .25, be sure that is what you want. Laser printers and inkjet
printers will make them look larger than what they are.
2. Make sure image file formats are correct.
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No LZW (Lempel-Ziv-Welch) compression turned on- slows down
imaging.
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Preferably use EPS images. TIFFs are acceptable. Don't use PICT,
WMF, GIF, JPG, or BMP.
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Make sure color photos are CMYK and not RGB. If using a duotone,
make sure screen angles are not the same as black (45 degrees).
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Update all image links and make sure the original images are
supplied along with the job.
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Make sure resolution is correct on all photos. Resolution should be
twice the final line screen (i.e. 175 LPI= 350 DPI).
3. Make sure all fonts used are supplied.
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Do not use the Control pallet to make fonts bold, italic, or bold
italic- use the actual font.
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Do not use the Control pallet to make drop shadows- they default to
an 85 line screen.
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Please supply all fonts used (printer font and screen fonts). We
have many different fonts though they may not be the same ones used in your
document. This could cause many typographic problems.
4. Collect files for output.
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Quark®, PageMaker®, and InDesign® along with several third party
companies, such as Markzware, have a feature to allow you to collect files for
output.
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FlightCheck® by Markzware, will also collect fonts used in your
job.
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Collecting for Output will automatically place all of the files
necessary to print your job in a specified folder. It will also give a report
on the job, such as colors used and fonts used. Save your files to transfer
media and be sure to properly label disk and container with the job title and
company name.
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