Do you have to prepare documents for printing? If so, here are some tips/suggestions so you don’t get your files back from your printer. Over the years I have been amazed at people who have graduated from graphics school but don’t know how to save files so they print correctly. If you want a good quality printed product, proper preparation of your document is one of the most important aspects of the printing process. Everyone, including the printer, wants you to have a good quality print.

Below is a table to show you how to save your files to send to the printer.

Photoshop: TIF, PSD, CMYK colors.

Set all fonts to outlines and make sure your work is saved as CMYK. RGB colors are not for printing. Flatten your file before saving it.

InDesign: EPS, AI, .pdf sets all fonts to outlines and embeds all links.

Corel Draw: CDR, EPS, AI, or .pdf sets all fonts to curves.

Illustrator: EPS, AI, or .pdf sets all fonts to outlines and embeds all links.

NOTE: Save your outline files with a new file name. You can’t undo and edit if you need to if you save your original file with outlines.

PRINTING GUIDELINES

Photoshop: Color mode should be CMYK or Pantone depending on what you are printing; do not use RGB. (CMYK mode uses cyan, magenta, yellow, and black ink colors to mix colors.) If you are printing your file digitally, convert Pantone and other non-CMYK spot colors to CMYK before submitting files for printing.

Microsoft Publisher or Word: If you use Publisher or Word, save your files as PDF. Sometimes they lose their formatting if you send them as a Publisher or Word file. Make sure your colors are not RGB.

InDesign: Convert all fonts to outlines/curves/paths. You must convert fonts to outlines before creating an .eps, .ai. Or .pdf file. Be sure to save your file with fonts converted to outlines under a new file name.

CorelDRAW: Save as .cdr or export to .eps, .ai or publish to .pdf export all text as curves.

Illustrator: Convert all fonts to outlines/curves/paths. You must convert fonts to outlines before creating an .eps, .ai. or .pdf file. Be sure to save your file with fonts converted to outlines under a new file name.

Again, be sure to save PMS colors for spot color printing or CMYK for digital printing.

Quark, InDesign, Illustrator, and CorelDRAW can all be set to convert everything to CMYK during PDF creation. Be sure to watch your dpi and make sure it is a minimum of 300.

Bleed: If your job has a “bleed” (where your graphics print to the edge of the page), when you create the PDF, specify the bleed with a minimum of 125″. A bleed ensures that nothing important is cut off and you not have a thin white line around the edges.

Document Size: When selecting your document size, please allow at least 1/8″ of your background art/graphics around the edges for “bleed” if your document has art that runs to the edge of the page ; or all around the bleed-through area of ​​the page. This ensures that all art and text will be visible once the document is cut to size and will not have a thin white line anywhere. DO NOT place any text to less than 1/8″ from your document’s edge.

Spot Colors – Spot colors are used many times in printing and can be used in .cdr, .eps, .ai, or .PDF files. They are typically used for 2- or 3-color jobs or jobs that are not printed digitally. If you need very accurate coloring according to swatches in a PMS (Pantone Matching System) book, you probably want spot colors. PMS colors should not be used in CMYK jobs, since the conversion to CMYK by the output program is not always completely accurate for all PMS colors. Your spot color PDF must be created in a CMYK mode, whether or not any of the CMYK colors are used, if you are going to use both digital and spot color printing. Many people think that you can choose colors by looking at a PMS color on your monitor or phone, but that is not the case. Monitors and phones vary and you may be very disappointed if you choose colors this way. Always use a PMS book to make an accurate color choice.

NOTE: Photoshop, .JPEG, some TIFF, and bitmap files are not acceptable formats for printing. The resolution must be at least 300 dpi; save up to 100% print size. Make sure your final file has CMYK or PMS colors depending on which printing method you want. RGB colors are for web use – do not print. Always check with your printer to see what format you prefer it to save your files in.

Here’s a good YouTube video I found: To create a proper PDF file, check out this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2_X-1rsjDA, it provides several helpful tips.