What types of images will work
for quality printing and color copying?
If you are scanning images it is best to save them as a
.tif
format. This image format will preserve the color and sharpness of your pictures.
File formats like gif or .jpg use compression and the pictures color and resolution
can be severely distorted.
JPG's and gif's are the most popular image formats on the web, it's a good idea
not to simply copy an image from a website and use it in your layout. The
quality will be very poor since the images are only 72 dpi.
You should scan your images using a
resolution of 300dpi at the final dimensions you intend to use them. Your colors
and sharpness will look vibrant and smooth. Don't scan an image at 300dpi and then
enlarge the picture by 300% in your layout program! Scan it to the actual size.
If you scan it at 300 dpi and then reduce it in you layout program you should
still get good results.
If you are using pictures from a digital camera they
should work ok if they are .jpgs. The quality of .jpg images from digital cameras are much better quality
than .jpgs from the web. You must do the math to make sure that it is high enough in
pixel resolution though. For example, if your camera puts out an image of 1280 x
960 pixels at 72dpi you get about 17" x 13" of image at 72dpi. You
would need to reduce the image to about 4" x 3" to get decent quality
on the printing press.
Do I need to send you
all of my fonts?
If you used just the fonts that came with MS Publisher,
Word or Excel then we have those fonts and you don't need to send them. If you used
some fonts from other sources then you do need to send them to us.
If you use our Desktop PDF printer
drivers you don't have to worry about fonts, images or links. All of the
fonts and linked images are
embedded in the file when it's generated and you will see an instant proof.
See "Desktop PDF Printing" on the left of the menu bar above.
Will the colors on my printed piece
match my computer monitor?
Not
exactly, there are some differences. Digital cameras create images using
combinations of three colors. Red, Green and Blue (called RGB). These are
the colors that computers use to display images on your monitor. Printing
presses print color pictures using cyan, magenta, yellow and black (called
CMYK). Your RGB image must be converted to CMYK in order to print it on a
press. This is easily done using an image editing program like PhotoShop,
PhotoDeluxe, or Corel PhotoPaint.
Caution: Please do the
RGB-to-CMYK Conversion of Your Images!
You will have total control over the appearance of your printed piece if
you convert the images from RGB to CMYK before sending them to us. When we
receive files with RGB images we do a standard conversion to CMYK.
We cannot be responsible for sub-par results if you furnish RGB images or
low-res images.
There are colors that can only be done in RGB that can not be reproduced
in CMYK. They are out of the CMYK color gamut. These colors are translated
as close as possible. If you have to have a certain color that needs
to match exactly you may have to use a special PMS match color. Your
order will run as a 5-color job, CMYK plus PMS. Call for information and
pricing on 5-color jobs. Please see our RGB - CMYK Information page for
important instructions on getting the best possible results.
RGB colors
what you may
see on screen
CMYK colors
how printing
inks may look
RGB colors
what you may
see on screen
CMYK colors
how printing
inks may look
You
shouldn't notice a color shift in a color photograph. It is more likely to happen if you pick a
deep or vibrant color for a background or some other element
in your design. It probably won't look bad, it just won't look exactly the
same as on screen. Many colors look almost exactly the same. In any event it will look
outstanding compared to a piece printed on
a color copier or inkjet printer.
Color photos don’t suffer much from CMYK translation
RGB
Picture
CMYK Picture
There is almost no visible difference between the
two!
Can I use colored
or reversed text?
(Below)
It’s best not to colorize or reverse out small text. What
will happen is that all presses have a little very slight amount of variance in the
registration from one printing unit to the next. This is called
mis-registration and even the top of the line Heidelberg presses
have this minute mis-registration. The black, cyan, magenta and yellow
portions of
the text characters don't line up perfectly. The result is little
colored halos around the type. The smaller the type the more noticeable
the effect. It's ok to use colored or reversed out text on large
type or smaller sizes down to about 11 point size. Any smaller
than that and you might notice it. The word register below is
enlarged to show what may happen to small text.
Can I print text over an image?
(Below)
If you put text on top of images it
can be very hard to read. The best thing to do is put type over
the light areas of an image. If you have to put text over a dark
area then use a reverse out with white ink. Be sure not to
use small text or you will have the problem with register as
above.
What are bleeds, and
how do I make them? (Above)
Bleed is the industry term for printing that goes right to the edge of the paper. Printing is
never printed off the edge of the paper on the press. We use
over sized paper and then trim the paper so that it appears that
the image was printed off the page. The best way to do this is to
make your document .125" bigger in all dimensions. For
example, if the final size is 5" x 9" then make your document
5.25" x 9.25". Draw guides on the layout that are .125" from
the edge all the way around. Create your document with the idea that the layout will be cut off
where those guides are. Be sure
that any photographs, images or backgrounds that you want to bleed go
past the guidelines. After we print your piece we will trim off that extra .125" all the way around
and you will end up with your 5" x 9" piece.
