1. Make sure your layout is clean.
-
Page dimensions should
be the actual size of your finished piece.
-
Clean up pasteboard
(document) of unneeded items (these slow production).
-
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.
-
Crop, scale, and
rotate all pictures in graphic applications before you import them into your
page layout program.
-
If your job has
bleeds, make sure images or backgrounds extend 1/8" beyond document edge.
-
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.
-
No LZW (Lempel-Ziv-Welch) compression turned on- slows down
imaging.
-
Preferably use EPS images. TIFFs are acceptable. Don't use PICT,
WMF, GIF, JPG, or BMP.
-
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).
-
Update all image links and make sure the original images are
supplied along with the job.
-
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.
-
Do not use the Control pallet to make fonts bold, italic, or bold
italic- use the actual font.
-
Do not use the Control pallet to make drop shadows- they default to
an 85 line screen.
-
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. Make sure trapping is specified in document.
-
Be sure to inform us if we need to trap your graphics.
-
Vector drawn illustrations should have trapping specified in
drawing program before they are imported into your page layout program. Take
into account any enlargements or reductions in your layout program that will
affect your trap width.
-
Trapping default should be set to .144 points in Quark and
PageMaker programs.
5. Print and mark up laser proofs.
-
Print laser composite proofs.
-
Print separated lasers (reduce, if necessary, to show crop marks,
bleeds, and page information), then check each one to make sure they are
correct.
-
Remember each laser sheet will represent one piece of film or
plate. If paper is not correct, film will be incorrect and have to be
re-output. Double checking the paper proofs will avoid unnecessary costs to
you.
6. Collect files for output.
-
Quark®, PageMaker®, and InDesign® along with several third party
companies, such as Markzware, have a feature to allow you to collect files for
output.
-
FlightCheck® by Markzware, will also collect fonts used in your
job.
-
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.
|
