How to prepare artwork for your Brochures and Booklets.Table of Contents
General informationFirst of all - DON'T PANIC. This is all pretty straightforward to follow and we're on hand to answer your questions. Why should you bother with all this? Getting a job commercially printed requires you to prepare your artwork in a specific way. Once you understand this, it's easy to do and you'll get the results that you want. If you don't follow these simple steps, then you may end up with a job that you're not happy with. We hope this guide is useful. If you need more help, or anything is not clear, just ask. The prices you see on the web site are from your print ready PDF. We don't include any design work in these prices, we don't add photographs or illustrations, we don't alter layout or correct text. The prices are purely for printing. We're very happy to do additional work for you, and if you need it then please call to the helpdesk on 01452 751900 to discuss. The "Top Ten" Most Important Bits!(1) Supply Your File as a PDF.You can create a PDF from any software you use and it won't cost you a penny. See the section below "What Electronic Format Should the Booklet be in" for more details on how to do this. Submitting your file as a PDF has many advantages, but the main benefit is that it's a "stable" format, which ensures that what you see on your screen is what is actually transmitted to us! If you can't supply your file as a PDF then call us to discuss before placing your order. We can usually help, but there may be a charge to get your file into a printable format. (2) One PDF, Seperate Pages.You would not believe the number of variations that people can come up with! The problem is that we have to keep inventing the wheel each time, so the process takes much longer and it's much easier for errors to creep in. So please stick to:
(3) Make sure you include bleeds.Unless every page has a clear white border (margin), each page should have a minimum of 2mm bleed all round. If you don't know what bleeds are, please read the seperate section. (4) Always embed fonts.When you create your PDF, make sure that you embed your fonts. This means that if you use a font which we don't have installed on our computers here, it will still print properly. We will always check this and tell you if the fonts are not embedded. Tip: if you are using cutepdf, this is generally enabled by default. (5) Make sure all images are 300dpi.300dpi is ideal for printing, 250dpi is OK and below 200dpi you may start to notice some deteriation in image quality. Don't panic if you only have - for example - 150dpi, it may be perfectly fine for your print job. Print it out on a desktop colour printer and if it looks OK to you there, it should look fine in the finished article. We will automatically fail pre-flight on any images below 250dpi, so that you are aware that there is a potential issue, but you can still approve your job. (6) Flatten transparencies and layers.Before a printing machine can print your artwork, the PDF needs to be converted into the native language that drives the print engine. This is done by a dedicated computer running specialised software called a RIP (Raster Image Processor). Transparencies and layers need to be decoded by the RIP and in an ideal world there would be no two ways to interpret them and all software would be bug free. Back in the real world, it's much more sensible to avoid the whole problem altogether. Transparency and layers are completely useless in print-ready files and can introduce errors. So, just flatten them! (7) If designing in CMYK colours, use FOGRA39.If these terms are unfamiliar, we recommend that you stick to RGB. On our digital presses, we emulate FOGRA39 on coated and uncoated paper. (8) if designing in RGB colours remember that they will be converted to CMYK.If your artwork is designed in RGB colours, we will automagically convert it to CMYK in the proof we send back to you. We do this because CMYK colours are what are used for printing and the colours achievable in CMYK are not the same as RGB. What you see in your proof will be much closer to the finished item (depending on your monitor's colour accuracy). Always check your proof carefully. (9) Make sure you use a safe copy area.Put simply, this boils down to: don't put text or images too close to the edge of the page. It looks amateur and you run the risk of bits being trimmed off. The exception is background images that you specifically want bled off of the edge of the page. There is more about the safe copy area later in this guide, including some templates that you can use if you wish. (10) Make sure that you understand the effects of creep.Creep is something that affects THICK booklets. If you are submitting a IF YOU WANT US TO ADJUST FOR CREEP, ASK - WE DON'T DO IT AUTOMATICALLY. What electronic format should the booklet or brochure be in?Unless you have made special arrangements, you should supply us with one PDF files. Make sure you read Point 2 in the "Top Ten" list! PDFs are best, you will get better and more consistent results by supplying PDFs. If you don't have a PDF creator, you can download a free one from called CutePDF from the nice folks at Acro Software Inc. Many of our customers use this and we even use it ourselves on PCs without an Acrobat licence. There are clear instructions on their web site, please follow them! Here is the link to web site for CutePDF:- http://www.cutepdf.comClicking on the link above will take you away from inkylittlefingers.co.uk so if you want to open the link in a new window click on the following link http://www.cutepdf.com 
A few tips to remember:-
TIFFs or JPEGThese formats are not accepted for booklets or brochures. If this is all you've got, don't despair, have a chat with the helpdesk before placing your order and we'll see what we can do to help. PublisherPlease create a PDF and send this to us. A few tips to remember:-
InDesignPlease create a press ready PDF and send this to us. Remember to read all of the "Top Ten Most Important Bits"! If you want us to print directly from your InDesign files then we can do this, but there will be an extra charge. Please contact the helpdesk to discuss this if you cannot supply your artwork as a PDF. If you send us InDesign files, we strongly recommend that you convert the text to outlines (use "create outlines") and you embed the graphics (links > embed file). Microsoft WordPlease create a PDF and send this to us. If you don't have PDF creation software, please read the note above regarding cutepdf. If you want us to print from your Word files then we can do this, but there will be an extra charge, and you will need to send us the fonts that you use. Please contact the helpdesk to discuss this if you cannot supply your artwork as a PDF. Make sure that you set the correct page size!. Everything Else#1, convert it to a PDF! If you have your file in a different format and you cannot create a PDF, then please call the Help Desk for advice on how to proceed, we can help in nearly all cases. Do I need do anything extra for AUTOPROOFING?Basically, no. If you've read this guide, you should be fine. Autoproofing will ask you about your page order, so make sure that you've read that paragraph in the The "Top Ten" Most Important Bits! It's a good idea to watch the autoproofing tutorial and don't forget to READ YOUR EMAIL. As well as being cheaper, 100% consistent, unlimited free re-proofs and lightning quick, Autoproofing also gives you a professional quality report BY EMAIL. This will help you fix nearly any problem. What are bleeds and how do I apply them?One of the topics that we get asked about most frequently is "bleeds". A bleed is an "extra bit" of artwork that extends past the edge of your design and is usually expressed in millimetres, i.e. "2mm bleed". The bleed area normally contains part of the background images and colour. In the example below, the crop marks (small black lines at right angles to each other) show where the trim line will be and the pink transparent border shows the bleed area. 
You don't always need bleeds! If your artwork has a clear white border all the way around, you don't need to worry about bleeds. Why are bleeds necessary? We print on large sheets of paper with multiple sets of artwork “imposed” on each sheet. These then need to be cut up on a large guillotine and may go on for further finishing. Very slight variations in the positioning of your job on a sheet may creep in during the printing and finishing processes. For instance, we might get paper “stretch” on a litho print or paper shrinkage on a digital job. Now imagine a leaflet with a solid blue colour all the way around the edge. Without bleeds, your eye would be drawn to a white line on one or two edges. Your eye will pick up even fractions of a millimetre! With bleeds you get blue solid colour all the way around. How much bleed? Please supply artwork to us with 2mm bleed all the way around. How do I create bleeds? This depends on which application you are using to create the artwork. If the application "understands" about bleeds, then there will be a write up in the manual or or a section of the help facility. If you are using an application that was not designed to print from (like any Microsoft product) then you will need to "cheat"! Here's a couple of most common tricks:-
Do I have to supply my file in CMYK?No, if you supply your file in RGB we will convert it to CMYK as part of the proofing process. The bluffer's guide to CMYK vs RGB colour spaceRGB (Red, Green, Blue) are the basic components of the colours emitted by your monitor. All the colours that you can see on your monitor are made up from RGB in different proportions. CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and blacK) are the ink pigments used to reflect light back to you from the printed sheet. The full colour images that you see on a printed sheet are actually made up from complex patterns of CMYK. RGB colours must be converted to CMYK so that they can be printed. This conversion is usually hidden from you when you are using a desk top printer. Because RGB has a wider gamut (range of possible colours) compared to CMYK, not all RGB colours can be printed accurately in CMYK. For this reason, professional designers will usually design their artwork in CMYK and preview it on screen in simulated CMYK. Colour ManagementThis sounds like a harmless little bunny of a topic, doesn't it? If you're not a fully paid up colour management expert, this is in fact the most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered rodent you ever set eyes on. Run away! Design your artwork in RGB and the nice people at Inky will convert to CMYK for you. Still here? Then you must be an expert. Inky uses FOGRA29 for uncoated paper and FOGRA39 for coated paper for all job preparation, including work for our digital presses. Whatever you do, don't turn colour management on and leave the default profiles in place. You'll most likely end up with U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2, which really isn't that close. If your job is colour critical, always get a hard copy proof. Laying Out Your Pages.(1) Page TemplatesYour specific page size may not be included here. If you can't see what you want here, contact the helpdesk for more assistance.
Use these templates to help you lay out your artwork. Remember that they are not there to be printed, so don't include them with the artwork you send us! Information contained in the templates:-
Why are do we have all these pesky guidelines? Take a look at the diagram below. The top row shows artwork with a correct bleed and the safe copy area used, "before" and "after" trimming. Even though the trimming is slightly out on the finished item, it still looks great. The bottom row shows what can happen with no bleeds and no safe copy area. There is a fraction of a millimeter of white space showing, plus part of the "T" is trimmed off. Of course, we've exaggerated a little to make the point!
(2) Page Numbering
(3) Jeepers Creepers!
Creep is a straightforward concept, but understanding it before you plan your artwork can save a lot of hassle. Creep is simply the distance that the paper’s bulk pushes the sheet edges out in a saddle stitched booklet. There is an (exaggerated) diagram to help understand this. A saddle stitched booklet is a booklet that has been stapled in the middle and folded. The operator of our stitch, fold and trim line would probably not agree that he is just using a very big stapler, but that’s the bottom line. Each sheet in a booklet has a thickness and when assembled, this progressively pushes each sheet out a little farther from the spine of the book. The result is very noticeable on books with many pages and not noticeable at all on books with only a few pages. This is why we always trim off the “creep” to create a neat result. Creep can cause all kinds of problems for the unprepared. One example is where pages are designed with content close to the edge. Unless this is adjusted, the edge of the content will simply get cut off. We can adjust for creep for you, but you must request that we do this. As long as the file has been supplied as a print ready PDF (one file, separate pages, NO imposition, NO printer’s marks, 2mm bleed all round each page!) then we make no extra charge. We don’t do this by default as it can cause other problems, so it is important that you fully understand the process. We have some clever software that (warning, gross simplification ahead) shifts and trims pages in a PDF in incrementally larger amounts, i.e. the inner pages are shifted IN the most and the cover not at all. This is great news if you have designed your booklet with this in mind. It is less welcome news if you have designed each page with intricate graphical designs that interlock from one page to another or photographs that span two pages (oh how we chuckle when we see these designs come in). The problem is that up to a couple of millimetres of this design will disappear from the middle of a thick booklet if we adjust for creep. -V1- |
