• Supply electronic art rather than mechanicals or film negatives.
• Build the artwork in a page layout program with placed photographs & EPS graphics
• Include all fonts (printer & screen) or if type is in EPS graphics files, convert it to outlines.
• Avoid placing type & line art directly into Photoshop files.
• Supply a customer approved proof to match for color.
• Supply a composite proof, b&w or color, so we have a hard copy of what the final layout should look like.
• Match PMS colors to the stock that the final product will be printed on (coated or uncoated)
• Convert RGB images to CMYK and proof them before including in artwork.
• Do not use rich blacks, our inks are very rich & dense.
• When creating clipping paths, do not use the "magic wand" tool.
• Build artwork to suggested mechanical sizes and resolution.
• Do not trap your artwork, we will apply the appropriate trap.

Supply art in Electronic form rather than as film

Through each step of the printing process, from enlarging the image to exposing the screen to actually printing on the substrate, the image and dots are subject to "gain" and "loss". Gain is the process by which the dots of ink grow larger than they should be and loss is when the printed dots become smaller. Through extensive testing and years of experience, we know how much gain & loss to expect when an image is printed on our presses. By adjusting the image before we make our films, we can account for the changes that occur during printing. If you supply film negatives, we cannot make the necessary adjustments to ensure the closest possible match to your proof.

Build the artwork in a page layout program

The preferred platform and method of building artwork is in Mac based QuarkXpress. The mechanical should be built to the appropriate size with placed Photoshop TIF or EPS photo files and placed Illustrator or Freehand EPS artwork files. The type can be set in either Quark or as an EPS artwork file.

If you prefer to build the artwork completely in Adobe Illustrator or Macromedia Freehand, that's fine too. Just build it to the same size as listed on our spec sheet. Whenyou save the final file, do not embed the photographic files in the final file, just have them linked. That way, we can easily make the required adjustments to the image to account for press gain & loss.

If you build the file in CorelDraw, there is no way to just link the image, so be sure to send along a separate copy of the image file.

Include all Fonts

When you gather the files to send to us, be sure to include printer and screen font files for all of the fonts used in your artwork. Though we have thousands of fonts on file ourselves, if we don't have your exact version, the spacing or kerning or some other aspect of the artwork could change. If you have built all of your type elements in Illustrator or Freehand, you can simply convert them to outlines or curves before saving the EPS files. If you do that, we won't need your font files. Bus remember, if the artwork is built in a page layout program like Quark or Pagemaker, we must have all of the fonts.

Do not place type & line art in photographic files

Type and line art are in computer terms "vector artwork" - this means that the computer sees them as a series of straight lines. Photographic files are pixels or rasterized artwork - this means that the computer thinks of them as a series of dots. When an art layout that contains both photographs and line art is printed to a film imagesetter, the imagesetter takes care of rasterizing the line art with such small dots that the art remains clean and crisp. When you place type or line art into a Photoshop file, your computer rasterizes the line art (converts it to pixels) at a much lower resolution than does the imagesetter. This results in type and art that is "jagged" or bumpy. Though the jagged edges may not be noticeable at a small size, when the artwork is enlarged 6, 8 or 14 times, it can become very noticeable. That is why it is best not to place type and line art in photographic files.

There may be times when the only way that you can add a special effect is by placing the type in Photoshop. When doing so, please try to work with the highest resolution files possible.

Supply a Customer Approved proof

There are numerous proofing systems in use today. We regularly receive proofs made with Imation/3M Matchprint®, Kodak®, Fuji®, Agfa®, Iris®, Rainbow®, and Dupont® systems to name just a few. Internally, we use Iris digital proofs as well as Imation/3M Matchprint and Colorkey. Each proofing system yields proofs of the same image that look different. The only way that we can know what you are expecting is if you send us a proof that you have approved. Even if you don't have a color correct composited proof of the final artwork, you can send us a "random" or "loose" color proof. This is a proof of the photographic image that you have approved for color. With your proof in hand and using our internal proofing systems, we can adjust the artwork so that the final printed piece will look as close as possible to what you are expecting to see.

Supply a Composite proof for layout approval

In addition to an approved color proof for any photographic images in your artwork, we also need a composite mechanical proof to check the layout. When dealing with electronic files, it is very easy for objects to move, type to become mis-aligned, etc. To be sure that nothing has moved when we open your file, please supply a composite proof, even if it is only a black and white laser print. If the approved color proof that you supply is complete with all of the type and other elements, we do not need an additional mechanical proof.

Match PMS colors to the stock used

Depending upon the color, there can be drastic differences in color between coated and uncoated PMS colors. When picking or specifying PMS colors, be sure to use the appropriate PMS book for the stock that will be used. Most billboard posters are printed on uncoated 70# wet strength paper, so when choosing colors for a billboard, choose the "U" or uncoated colors. Bus side posters are printed with UV inks on vinyl, which has the properties of a coated stock, so the "C" or coated colors should be used. To find out which colors to choose from, check the spec sheet for the product in question. Below the name of the stock, either "coated" or "uncoated" will be shown in parenthesis.

Convert all RGB images to CMYK

RGB images are shown with the Red, Green and Blue pixels of your computer monitor. Printing is done with Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black inks. Because the same image can be made with different colors, it won't always look the same when in RGB mode as when in CMYK mode. With some colors, bright fuchias and purples for instances, the change can be drastic. For that reason, it is very important that you convert any RGB images to CMYK in Photoshop and then view and proof them before including them in your final artwork. If you send us an RGB image and we then convert it to CMYK for printing, the end result might be different than you are expecting. If you need help with this conversion, please call our graphics department for assistance.

No need for rich blacks

Though offset printing puts down a very thin layer of ink and requires the use of "rich" blacks to achieve a dense black color, our inks go down thick and look rich by themselves. When building your file, black type should be specified as 100% black with no other color and black backgrounds should be built the same way.

Create clipping paths with the Pen Tool, not the Magic Wand

When creating clipping paths in Photoshop, it is often tempting to use the Magic Wand tool. Though a quicker method than using the Pen tool or Selection tool, the results are not good. The Magic Wand tool typically creates a clipping path with so many nodes that most imagesetter RIPs will not properly process the file. To be sure that the clipping path is done the way you want it and that the file can be processed, use either the Pen tool or the Selection tool. If you need help with any of these tools, feel free to call our graphics department.

Build artwork to the proper mechanical size & resolution

Though we can easily resize your artwork if it is the wrong size or proportion, this introduces one more place for a problem to arise. It is also important to give us the proper resolution for any photographic files. The proper resolution required is listed on each spec sheet. Files with a lower resolution than listed can result in a lower quality final product. No need to go too high with the resolution either - a higher resolution than needed will not improve the look of the final product and will only slow down your computer system and take up more space.

Do not trap your artwork

As part of our pre-press workflow, we automatically check all elements for trap and apply the appropriate size trap for the product being printed and our printing process. Therefore, any time that you spend trapping your document will be time that could have been spent on another project.