VDIS10019 - 2D & 3D Graphic Design - BASIC DIGITAL PRE-PRESS SKILLS & CHECKLIST

VIRTU DESIGN INSTITUTE

Written by Rachel Hawkins

2D & 3D GRAPHIC DESIGN VDIS10019

BASIC DIGITAL PRE-PRESS SKILLS & CHECKLIST

VIRTU DESIGN INSTITUTE: 2D & 3D GRAPHIC DESIGN - VDIS10019 2

When you design artwork for print, standard practice is to send a PDF to your printer once it has been approved by your client. There are several steps that lead to this point and things you need to do to ensure that the end result is exactly what you and your client are after. Sending files to your printer has lost a lot of its complexity, the universal adoption of PDF, improved software applications and automated checks have made life in pre-press a whole lot easier. There are still some errors, though, that persist even in PDFs, and that could ruin your print job.

SOME QUESTIONS TO ASK ARE: Are you confident the size is correct? Have the colours been set to print standards or client brand guidelines? What about font usage? Does the printer have the font? Will the printer know what to do with my file?

So many things can go wrong, costing you and your client money. Below are 12 Pre-press Tips that cover the major aspects for correction in your artwork. Follow the steps below to make sure your file will be in excellent shape for sending to print.

1. File names, filing of the job and version tracking.Every designer needs a clear tracking system for their files ensuring information about the client, job and document version number are precise. You should be systematic with how you file work for clients and always keep back up of that work. It is a good idea to include a job description, document dimensions, date and version number in the file name for easy identification. For example; JAdams_BusCard_90x55mm_Feb14_v3.indd

2. You are responsible for the designBefore you start designing, make sure you have a clear purposeful design brief. What is the main purpose of the design? How will the finished product be used. What are the clients motivations? Who will source the printer and send the job to print? Understanding all these points will assist you in setting up the design file properly from the beginning.

3. Proofread & have artwork approved as finalThe odd thing is that clients can be calm about minor errors in the design, like lines not being of same thickness or such. But errors in text are fatal. Use a good proofreader, it could be a family member, partner or colleague but you need someone with fresh eyes and good grammar. Once proofread and the artwork is

GOOD DESIGN PRACTICE12 PRE-PRESS TIPS

signed off, get approval in writing from the client. An email is great confirmation. Unfortunately, even if artwork is signed off and there is an error, changes and re-print will be made generally as a shared cost. You must make sure your client is happy in the end for future and referred business. Get in writing (preferably email) final client approval of the artwork before the job is sent to the printer. Verbal communication cannot be relied upon if something goes wrong.

4. Make sure the artwork is the correct size.Does the design brief specify the size? Have you checked Document Setup again? Or the outmost frame in Illustrator? Double check the orientation! Is it 210×297mm (DL) as Width by Height? Is it portrait or landscape? Did the client say an A4 because it looks like an A4 or is it 220×286? For ads, contact the publication by phone, email or web. Check with the printers which is the most economical size and how many fit to a print sheet. Always double check if you aren’t sure.

5. Define bleed and trim marks in the fileBleed is the distance the artwork needs to extend beyond the final size of the artwork and it can vary. 3mm on each side is most common. In some cases it may not be needed at all, nor the trim marks, usually if there is no colour or image over the edge. Clarify with the printer before you create your PDF, and open the PDF afterward to check inclusion.

6. Typefaces/FontsEnsure the typeface(s) used correlates to the clients corporate identity manual. Are you using the correct typeface for your client? Are there any unnecessary fonts that shouldn’t be included the file? In Illustrator


check Document Info or Find Font… and in InDesign Find Font… under Type in the menu. When delivering artwork as a PDF for print there is normally no reason to outline the fonts. For advertising however best practice is to outline the fonts.

7. Logo usageUsing client logos is really important for brand recognition so it is really important the it prints correctly. Make sure the logo file is properly embedded or linked for clarity. Ensure the logo usage correlates to the corporate identity guidelines & style guide. Make sure it is in perfect proportion. Keep the colour of the logo in the right format for the media used. For print, use the logo in vector format if possible (ai. eps. pdf.). Logos sent to you inside Word documents are no good as they will be low resolution. For print, the format should be CMYK, not Pantone unless the work is going to be printed with spot colours.

8. Colour - this is a big oneKeep the colour of the artwork in accordance with the media used.There are two types of colour used for print. CMYK and Pantone Colours (PMS). For most digital or offset printing you will use CMYK printing. Therefore all images should be in CMYK. Photos will most often be in CMYK while logos may be printed in PMS. No colour profiles should be attached to the pictures. Your pictures should be jpg, tiff or psd format. Avoid eps. The reason: If you are using transparency in your artwork, like drop shadows or transparent type or colours, your PDF will most likely have torn the photos into strips. This can be avoided by using the pictures as native PSD.

If you are including Pantone (PMS) colours, make sure only those colours used are in the file. In InDesign and Illustrator, go to the Swatch panel and in the fly-out menu choose: Select all unused and delete those colours. If in doubt, contact your printer. They will help you and will most likely send you the correct settings for programs that fit the jobs going to his printer.

9. Pictures sizes are big enoughPay close attention to the resolution of the pictures used. Most common minimum resolution for print is 300dpi. You should try not to enlarge pictures by more than 20% of the original size. This is just a thumb rule. When you

change the size inside your document you will change the output resolution too. A 300dpi picture will be 600ppi if you minimise it by 50%. Way too high a resolution. Enlarging too much might get the resolution down resulting in pixelised/blurry images. You can adjust images sizes in photoshop to be exact. Properly managed image sizes will also keep your file size down.

10. Preflight the artworkPreflighting the artwork before sending to the print shop is a must. If you have done all the things mentioned above, you have manually preflighted a great deal of what is needed. InDesign has a preflight feature. Window > Output > Preflight. There you can see an overview of the document, check fonts, links etc. Also, you can see the red or green dots at the bottom of the window that indicates various errors you may have in your file.

11. Ensure the final PDF is high resolutionDid you send your client a low resolution PDF earlier in the day? Did you remember to switch over to a high resolution output? Are you using the built in PDF settings of InDesign or Illustrator? Ask your printer for PDF job settings. The built in settings are usually not what is used for professional PDF output. Or at least know which of the built in settings you are supposed to use. High Quality Print and Press Quality settings are tempting to use if you want quality (because of the names), but in most cases you will have to use PDF/X-1a:2001. Consult your printer here.

12. File sizeIt is really important that your final file size is not overwhelming otherwise it will make file handling difficult and time consuming. Files that are too big without reason can slow the printing process with more time needed for the technology to read your file. It will also make transporting your file difficult via email, or ftp sites. Generally speaking around 10MB is an acceptable file size. If the artwork contains several large images and is a large file then it may be bigger. It is just important to not have images that are really large for no reason.

VIRTU DESIGN INSTITUTE: 2D & 3D GRAPHIC DESIGN - VDIS10019

Finishing is a general term printers use for anything that happens to a job after it’s been printed. That means things like cutting, folding, binding, foiling, embossing, varnishes and so on are all finishing processes. Many printers can handle the most simple finishing processes in house. Other more complex finishes might need to be outsourced to specialist print finishing companies. There are endless types of varnishes and effects that can be achieved like Machine Sealing, Varnishing (Gloss or Matt), UV Varnish, Spot UV, Textured Varnishes, Sparkly varnishes with metallic flakes, Tinted varnishes as well as latex for scratch panels.

All these above mentioned finishes are required to be included in specific ways in your print file so they are clear to the printer. This is generally done by putting the effect on a different page or layer with nothing else with it.

Die lines - varnishes - other embellishments: They are the fun part, but they still need artwork to produce. They are often not set up correctly, often the knife line does not overprint (ie. leaves white line underneath); perforations are marked as dotted lines on the art, when there should really only be indicators instead of an actual printed line. Some of these can get a bit tricky, so the best thing might be to talk to your printer / pre-press person and ask them, how these finishes should be indicated on the artwork. The worst thing to do is to send

that urgent file away with none or unclear instructions and hope that “She’ll be right”.

Variable data:Items such as tickets personalised letters may have variable data printed on them. Wedding invites fit into this category also. It can be hard for printers to gather all the required information and documents. Be organised and supply the printers with an excel sheet or the database, packaging InDesign file or illustrator file and pdf. Give them example pdfs of what the finished product should look like.

Finishing/Folding/Prototyping:Prototypes are good, sometimes absolutely necessary. Once you have tried out, how many ways there are of folding an A4 to a DL you know why. For multi page publications you should do a digital printed prototype. For other jobs, especially those out of the ordinary, you really need to have a folded prototype to understand, how you expect things to look in the end. Otherwise, someone will be guessing. And if it’s that night shift operator, who wants to get the job done, chances are that his idea of which one should be the back panel in a brochure might not be the same as yours.

THE TRICKY BITS

FINISHING

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CHECK LIST: Check your file for the following

All artwork and images have been extended at least 3 mm bleed beyond the finished page size.

Logos or graphics created in vector programs such as Illustrator, have all type converted to paths or outlines.

The pasteboard surrounding all your design pages is empty. No overflowing text boxes or images.

All images are correctly positioned and linked.

Live type and vital images are at least 5 mm within the trimmed document edge.

All fonts are either included, embedded or outlined.

You have only used fonts that you intend to use for output.

Colours and images are converted from RGB to CMYK or special and Pantone colours are specified as spot colours.

All PMS colour swatches that will be printed in CMYK have been converted to CMYK values.

All issues with duplicate Pantone colour swatches are resolved (eg. PMS 185C, 185U, 185CV) (Coated (C) vs Uncoated (U))

All unused PMS colour swatches should be deleted.

All black text is 100% Black, not CMYK Black (Registration).

Large black solids and backgrounds have been specified as a Rich Black mix.

Varnishing and special treatment areas identified as SPOT colours.

Total ink density is appropriate for the stock type: 300% coated, 280% uncoated, 250% newsprint

The document dimensions are the right size for printing, folding and trimming.

Trim, fold and registration marks are included.

Overprint settings have been checked.

All pages are supplied as single pages – not spreads!

Finished artwork as a press-ready PDF with correct pagination.

All documents have been thoroughly proof-read and double-checked before submission.


File Setup - File > New. Remember to ensure you know accurate dimensions, orientation and bleed requirements when you set up your file. Also label your file with an appropriate file name that has version tracking and the date.

InDesign Illustrator


Missing Fonts - Type > Find Font. Frequently you may receive a file from someone else and not have the font they have used installed on your computer. The software will alert you to this fact and you need to source and install the font to make sure the appearance of the artwork is in tact. The software usually uses a default font in place of the missing font.



Outline Fonts - Type > Create Outlines. Select the type or type box and then go to ‘Type’ in the top menu bar and ‘Create Outlines’. Creating outlines means that the text becomes a shape and holds its integrity should the font be separated from the file.



Colour - CMYK vs Pantone Spot Colours (PMS) Most printing is basic CMYK however in some instances you may choose to print with a spot Pantone colour to ensure colour consistency across several items of collateral. Spot colours are premixed flat colours and ensure colour accuracy. CMYK may have slight variations from print run to print run depending on the machine and it’s maintenance. Photos and images are always printed in CMYK as they have gradients and variations in the colour.


Spot colours have a different icon to RGB and CMYK colours as an indicator in the swatches tab. If you double click on the swatch you can edit it as above.

Spot colours appear differently to RGB and CMYK colours as an indicator in the swatches tab. If you double click on the swatch you can edit it.


Resolution- Image size and DPI (dots per inch) Image sizes and DPI (dots per inch) can be edited in Photoshop. DPI is used to describe the resolution, number of dots per inch in a digital print and the printing resolution of a hard copy print. Up to a point, printers with higher DPI produce clearer and more detailed output. As a general guide: 72dpi = screen resolution (low), 300dpi = high resolution print.Photoshop


Links - Making sure image links are intact Most printing is basic CMYK however in some instances you may choose to print with a spot Pantone colour to ensure colour consistency across several items of collateral. Spot colours are premixed flat colours and ensure colour accuracy. CMYK may have slight variations from print run to print run depending on the machine and it’s maintenance. Photos and images are always printed in CMYK as they have gradients and variations in the colour.


Red question mark or yellow exclamation mark indicate that the link is missing or the source file has been edited. It needs to be relinked. The link info gives great information on the file name and where it was originally linked from to help you find it. The link info also tells you what scale the image is eg. 50% or 170% (enlarged). This can help you to manage if the DPI of the image has changed due to enlargement.

Red cross or yellow exclamation mark indicate that the link is missing or the source file has been edited. It needs to be relinked.

In both InDesign and Illustrator their is the option to ‘Embed’ links. This will save you looking for the link if it gets lost. It is also often required when providing illustrator files to print if they have images, most often with product packaging. It will however increase your file size dramatically.


Preflight - Check and double check your file InDesign has a preflight capability to check your file for errors. When you send a file to print, the printers will run an advanced preflight to check your file before print. They will either correct your file (and charge you for it) or they will ask you to re-supply the artwork. Doing a preflight yourself can save you the back and forth. You can do this by checking all aspects listed in the checklist at the beginning of this lecture.

InDesign


Marks & Bleeds - Exporting your file for print To export your file to print with the correct marks and bleeds is heavily dependent on your file setup being correct. If the file setup is accurate then the software will do all the work for you. In InDesign you go File > Export. The Export window has several basic options for Low Res, High Res and Press settings. Are common advanced setting used for press advertising and printing is PDF/X-1A:2001. You can then manage your crop and trim marks on the ‘Marks and Bleed’ tab.

InDesign


Marks & Bleeds - Exporting your file for print cont. In Illustrator you go to File > Save As. In the ‘Save As’ window there is a drop down menu that allows you to choose the file type, ai. pdf. etc. Illustrator has the same Low Res, High Res and Press settings as well as PDF/X-1A:2001 for selection. You can then manage your image compression, crop and trim marks in the same way as InDesign.

Illustrator

VDIS10019 - 2D & 3D Graphic Design - BASIC DIGITAL PRE-PRESS SKILLS & CHECKLIST

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