We pride ourselves on being technology experts, but we also know how frustrating technology can be. Some would say that, the closer they get to a pressing deadline, the more likely it is that their machines will give them problems.

If you've ever experienced this first hand, you know what we're talking about. Fortunately, we've compiled a comprehensive list of Tips & Tricks for overcoming these technology-induced obstacles.

You'll also find interesting articles that can help you determine how our products and services can help you achieve your goals.

Below is a list of 10 tips that we consider to be some of the most important when it comes to preparinng a file for printing. If you ever have any questions regarding these or other problems feel free to give us a call we'd love to help you.

• 1.) Using Pantone Colors In Illustrator.

  Select a PANTONE color by typing in the number in Adobe Illustrator® 7.0 or higher. Choose - Window > Swatch Libraries and choose PANTONE Coated *(CVC) or Uncoated (CVU). A new pallet window will open on your desktop. Press Control + Alt (Windows) or Command + Alt (Mac) and click inside the swatch library pallet window. Then type the PANTONE number that you want to select and click on it. If you would like the PANTONE swatch library to open automaticly everytime you start Illustrator: Choose >presistent for the color pallet's pop-up menu. The library will now open each time you open Illustrator.
  *Also see CVC vs. CVU below!

• 10.) Don't Forget To Include Your Graphics!

  When sending your page layout document to us it is important that you include the graphic/support files with it. If you modifiy any of your support files, update them in the document layout aswell, Check to make sure they have not changed position.

• 2.) What is "Rich Black" and how do I make it correctly?

  "Rich Black" is the name of the color made up from Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black ink. It is a very dark black for four color printing. A Rich Black is used to match the black created in a CMYK image from Adobe Photoshop® and for very large solid areas of black. We recommend the following mixture: 30% Cyan, 30% Magenta, 30% Yellow and 100% Black. Rich Black is not recommended for text as it can be difficult for press registration.

• 3.) Don't Compress Your Photoshop Files!

  When saving a file in Adobe Photoshop®, do not compress them! Saving a file as a JPEG will compress the file by discarding some of the data thus reducing the resolution and quality of the printed piece. When a JPEG is opened it decompresses and if saved again, more data is discarded. Please use TIFF or EPS with no compression.

• 4.) CVC vs. CVU

  When you import or a place a graphic that uses spot colors, be sure that it is also the correct color name. Color names must be exactly the same if the graphic is to print correctly. For example, PANTONE 286 CVC is different than PANTONE 286 CVU. The last letter in the color name stands for Coated or Uncoated stock. If a graphic using the color 286 CVU, is placed into a desktop publishing program, using 286 CVC the result will be two seperations not the intend single seperation.

• 

  5.) Is It 4-Color Printing or Not?

  We sometimes get files that have 4-color graphics (built CMYK) that are used in either one or two color jobs. These graphics will not image correctly when it comes time to make plates. In Adobe Photoshop®, go to the IMAGE menu, then click on MODE. There are four different options that you should choose from. BITMAP and GRAYSCALE (saved as a tiff, the graphic can be colored in your layout program). DUOTONE gives you 4 different settings to choose from: MONOTONE consists of one PANTONE color; DUOTONE - two PANTONE colors; etc. CMYK Color is for the 4-color process jobs that are printed in Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black. Please do not send us Indexed, RGB, Lab or Multichannel colored files!

• 6.) Delete All Your Unused Colors!

  Whether you're working with Adobe Pagemaker®, Adobe Illustrator®, QuarkXpress™ or Adobe Indesign® this is a problem that often plagues us. Many files we receive have "unused" (or unwanted colors) which turn out to be problematic. Sometimes, you may think that the colors are unused but the reality they can still show up or cause problems when we need to make seperations. We then have to troubleshoot the file to find where the unused colors are, and make sure that they are infact unwanted and change them to the correct colors. This can lead to errors and time lossed. The best time to take care of these colors is when the file is first being made or as soon after as posssible. In Pagemaker 6.5 or Higher you just go to the Color Pallet and choose REMOVE UNUSED COLORS. from the side menu. In Pagemaker 6.0 or Lower you can go under the ELEMENT menu, down to DEFINE COLORS, then REMOVE UNUSED. In Adobe Illustrator® you go to the Swatch Pallet side menu, choose Select ALL UNUSED, then DELETE SWATCH. You may have to repeat the proceedure to delete all the unused colors. In QuarkXpress™ go to the EDIT menu, go down to COLORS, then to SHOW COLORS NOT USED, then click on each color you want deleted, and click DELETE.
  NOTE: if you are doing 4-color work, make sure you don't delete the CYAN, MAGENTA, or YELLOW colors!

• 7.) CMYK vs. RGB

  When working with photos or graphics for 4-color printing it is important that you verify whether or not they are RGB or CMYK. If they are RGB they will need to be converted to CMYK inorder to be made print ready. RGB color format is strickly for Video and Website display.

• 8.) Does Your Document Bleed?

  If your design has objects or images that extend to the edge of the page, you will need to create what is called a bleed. This means that you must extend the image 1/8" beyond the edge of the sheet anywhere that this occures. This also means that we will need to print your project on a larger sheet in order to accomidate for the bleed. Bleeds are necessary in order to avoid leaving a margin of unprinted paper at the edge of the sheet. This occures because it is nearly impossible for a cutter to cut exactly at the paper edge without making the sheet size smaller then what was intended. It is also impossible for a press operator to print right to the edge of the sheet, with out creating any number of problems.

• 9.) Convert Your Text!

  Fonts that are used in EPS graphics need to be included with your job. Some layout programs might not list these fonts as missing, therefore your job won't print correctly. Certain graphics programs like Illustrator or Freehand have a work around method to help with this issue. If you use Illustrator you can convert your text to OUTLINES. If you are using freehand you can select the type and covert it to PATHS. This essential is changing your text into a graphic.

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