Ordering a high-volume printing job means producing thousands of units from a single document, so a single mistake can turn into the thousands as well. This is why you should check these 8 things before sending a file to the printer.
- Convert images to CMYK. Here’s the difference between RGB and CMYK color profiles. If you are working with digital photos or using RGB color in your design, make sure that you convert your images to CMYK. Otherwise your colors will look very different on print.
- Include an adequate bleed. The bleed is artwork space that extends outside the document borders. Since guillotines are not 100% accurate, you must add a 1/8″ of space to make sure your content doesn’t get trimmed.
- Set a safe area by adding quiet borders. No logos or text should be located beyond the quiet borders. These borders should be at least 1/4″ from the edge of the document. The quiet border minimun-widths are: 5mm for business cards; 8mm for CD sleeves; 12mm for flyers; 25mm for posters. Larger prints require wider quiet borders.
- Check for spelling mistakes. You don’t need to be a printing expert to avoid this costly mistake. After you have run the spell checker on your computer, re-read the whole copy text and/or have someone proof-read it for you. Remember that a typo can result in a correctly spelled but erroneously placed word.
- Convert to outlines or embed fonts. Convert all the text to outlines or curves in Adobe Illustrator or InDesign before exporting to PDF to avoid unexpected changes in the font style. If the font type you used is not installed on your printer’s computer, your material will print with a different typeface and you won’t notice until it’s too late. You can also embed the font when exporting to PDF or ultimately send the font to your printer.
- Use a high image resolution. 300 dpi (dots per inch) is the minimum resolution needed for print jobs. Lower resolutions such as 72 dpi will simply look terrible on print. Also, enlarging a low resolution image will not solve the problem.
- Print a sample for proofing. Print a rough version of the material so you can have it on your hands and check the spelling, margins and image quality. You can also make annotations for further revisions.
- Use the right file formats. .tiff .pdf and high-quality .jpeg files are recommended. DO NOT send .gif or .png images to print, since they were developed to handle 72 ppi (points per inch). Ask your printer first to be sure you are sending the right file type.
Sources: Andrew Kelsall Design | BCW | BonFX | Smashing Magazine