a guide to preparing files for print

8/13/2019 A Guide to Preparing Files for Print

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M AY 2 6 2 0 1 0 2 8 C O M M E N T S

B Y C I A R A PA N A C C H I A

With this guide, we are going to examine ways to prepare files for print,

covering applications in the Adobe Creative Suite. The examples used

are for InDesign, but can apply to Photoshop and Illustrator. This is a

basic guide aimed to help people just starting out in the print design

business or are looking to learn more about preparing files better to send

to press.

Author: Ciara Panacchia

Ciara Panacchia is a graphic artist transplanted from Carlow, Ireland to Illinois to work for the B2B

agency MarketSense . Inspired by her daughter and her heritage, she began illustrating a series of

bilingual books to help teach her daughter the Irish language. She recently started the site

eliesbooks.com in the hopes of someday self-publishing the series. Follow Ciara on Twitter

@ ciarasworld and see her work on Flickr or her website .

A Guide to Preparing Files for Print

Understand the Basics

With most print jobs, you should have specifications to adhere to. These specs work for preparing advertisements,

brochures, business cards, and other printed mediums.

C Y M K v s R G B

A lot of the colors you create in RGB mode are not achievable using standard four-color process printing. It is always

best to create your document from the start in CMYK color mode to ensure that you have a better idea of how your

colors are going to print.

Some exceptions are tradeshow signs or large format prints, but the best way to know for sure is to check with the

printer.

F o u r o v e r F o u r ( o r 4 / 4 )

If youre printing a flyer, you might be printing 4/4, which essentially means you are printing four color on the front and

four color on the back. If nothings on the back, then it would be 4/0.

For postcards , you might print 4/1: four color on the front and 1 spot color on the back.

For business cards , you might print 2/2: 2 spot colors on the front and back.

P r i n t L a y o u t

Here is a diagram of a typical document for print designs.

Articles

Digital Art

Drawing & Illustration

Freebies

Graphic Design

C A T E G O R I E SC A T E G O R I E S

Icon & Logo Design

Print Design

Text Effects

Tools & Basics

Web Design

W R I T E F O R U S W R I T E F O R U S

If you're interested in writing

a tutorial, check out the

writing guidelines for more

info.


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Trim Line: This is the finished size of the piece.

Live Area: The area that is considered safe to keep any important information within. For example, if an ads trim size is

8.25 in 10.25 in, the live area might be 7.75 in 9.75 in. This takes into consideration the binding if the ad is placed on

the left or right of a spread and you dont want copy to be unreadable if it is too close to the spine.

Bleed Area: The more bleed you can offer, the better.The minimum bleed you need for a printed piece is 0.125 in (1/8

in) but some specs require more than that. So if you are working with an image in Photoshop and youre placing it in

InDesign for print preparation, keep in mind the area you might need to use for the bleed.

Crop Marks: Indicates where to cut the paper.

Deciding to Use Black or Rich/Packed Black When printing with black color, there are two types of black you can use.

Black 100 K: can be used for body copy and barcodes

Rich Black 40 C 40 M 40 Y 100 K: should be used when using blocks of black

Note: Rich/Packed black specifications may differ from printer to printer, so you should ask your printer what they

recommend.

R i c h B l a c k v s B l a c k ( 1 0 0 K )

Below, you will see the difference between rich black and black.

It may be hard to tell the difference when preparing files on your monitor screen depending on your monitor type and

monitor calibration since PC screens show richer colors in RGB. Therefore, it is wise to get a press proof when printing

blocks of black.

Here is a sample of a flyer using the 2 blacks. The live area is denoted in green and the dashed, pink line is the trim

area.


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Download the InDesign template for the flyer above.

Preparing a File with UV Varnish/CoatingIf you decide to use a UV varnish/UV coating on your printed piece, all you need to do is select the image or text you

want the varnish on.

To keep your work organized, Id suggest creating a layer and a spot color named "varnish/spot" and then make sure this

spot color you create is not already used in the file.

Here is a piece without a UV varnish layer.


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First, create your spot color in your Swatch Panel.

Then select the image/s and text block/s you want to apply the UV coating on.

Add a new layer, duplicate the elements (Ctrl/Cmd + J), and then apply the spot color to the elements on that new layer.


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Extending Design Elements into the Bleed AreaIf you haves a design that has type thats flush with the trim, one suggestion is to rasterize the type and pull the paths

out beyond the bleed.

Here is some text thats flush to the bleed line on the left.

Here, we extend the letter "D" to the bleed area so that we can ensure that the text is going to be printed right at the

edge when the piece is trimmed by the printer.

If we dont extend it into the bleed area, the text might have a gap at the edge of the printed material.

Download the InDesign template for the UV varnish/UV coating piece above.

Using Spot ColorIf you need more vibrant colors or exact color matching (e.g. for consistent company branding) than what CMYK inks

produce, spot colors/PMS colors is the way to go.

E x a m p l e o f a F l y e r w i t h 2 S p o t C o l o r s


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Here is a sample of using 2 spot colors in InDesign (the design is 2/2).

Download the InDesign template for the 2-spot color flyer above.

If you are doing spot colors in Photoshop, make sure all objects and type that are in the same color are merged on the

same layer and named with the spot color they should be printed in so it is clear to the printer.

Also, provide a layered PSD or TIFF file and rasterize your type and vector layers. This can also be applied to files set

up in Illustrator.

Additionally, remove any unused colors before packaging file.


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Collecting Files in InDesignIn CS4, collecting files is known as Packaging (in previous versions it was known as Preflight ).

To collect and package your files in InDesign, go to File > Package.

A summary screen will pop up. Here, you will see any spot colors used, RGB images, image sizes and fonts in the file.

On the image below, you will see that there is 1 font used, 2 linked images, no RGB images, 4 color process and 1 spot

color.


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For a more detailed overview of each component, click through the navigation menu on the left side of the Package

window. It is good practice to check these.

F o n t s

Check the font/s you used in the document in case you need to remove anything saved on the pasteboard.

L i n k s a n d I m a g e s

In the Links and Images section, you can see the file type is a TIFF with CMYK value at 300 ppi.

If you only want to see errors such as RBG linked files, check the Show Problems Only option. If everything looks good,

hit the Package button.

When collecting the native files for the packaged folder, make sure the links below are clicked on.


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28 Comments ( Add yours )

@hygorbudny

MAY 26 2010

REPLY TO COMMENT

Why you dont make this article before?! Impressive work, congratulations.

You make point about everything that we need to finalize an artwork. =)

Aur

MAY 26 2010

REPLY TO COMMENT

Really useful article.

Thanks :)

Your final packaged folder should resemble this:

Preparing Print Files in Adobe Creative Suite Applications: Summary

Photoshop InDesign Illustrator

Create the file in CYMK color

mode

Remember to include a bleed

Add Guides to show trim area

or crop marks

Rasterize type

Name layers clearly if using

spot colors and UV

varnish/coating

Rasterize vector layers

Provide a layered PSD file if

you have spots colors

Most printers will accept TIFF,

EPS, PSD, and PDF files

created in Photoshop

Create a file with a bleed

Remove unused colors

Name layers clearly if UV

varnish/coating

Package the file

Check colors, images and

image sizes

Save Packaged folder

Zip the file if you are

uploading to an online printer

Most printers will accept high

resolution PDFs and collective

native files from InDesign

Create the file in CYMK color

mode

Remember to include a bleed

Add Guides to show trim area

or crop marks

Rasterize type

Name layers clearly if using

spot colors and UV

varnish/coating

Link files and provide a folder

with linked files to the printer

Most printers will accept high

resolution PDFs, AI, and EPS

files from Illustrator

Tutorial Summary This tutorial outlined processes for preparing your artwork for traditional printing presses to ensure the best possible

results. Ive included the templates used as examples in this guide. We focused on InDesign, but the process is very

similar amongst other Adobe Creative Suite applications. You can see the similarities and overview of the process above

in the summary table with the heading "Preparing Print Files in Adobe Creative Suite Applications: Summary."

Download Tutorial Source Filesprepping_files_print_flyer_template (ZIP, 6.5 MB)

prepping_files_print_uv_coating_template (ZIP, 35.8 MB)

prepping_files_print_2_spot_color_flyer_template (ZIP, 1.2 MB)

Share 265


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Scott Corgan

MAY 26 2010

REPLY TO COMMENT

Dont know about you guys, but I remember my first print job.

Designed in RGB with no bleed lines. Well, you can figure out that I

had to redesign it and compensate for the lack of DUHHHH on that

project.

Glad to have articles to teach like this. Good for new designers!

Dayson

MAY 29 2010

Sadly, I had to learn it the hard way too while taking prints for

various designs over the past few years. A great article!

Geeee

MAY 26 2010

REPLY TO COMMENT

Hey thanks a lot for this great article its really helpful .. Shared it with my

friends .. keep it up :)

ciara

MAY 26 2010

Contributor

REPLY TO COMMENT

Thank you hygorbudny, Aur, Scott and Geeee I am so glad you liked this. I

remember leaving college thinking I knew what to do but was just clueless

to getting files press ready. That was a time when Quark was fashionable.

Jess

MAY 27 2010

REPLY TO COMMENT

Muchas gracias por la informacin. Excelente gua, sencilla sin dejar de ser

bastante prctica y con ejemplos especficos.

Randy

Sizemore

MAY 28 2010

REPLY TO COMMENT

Im impressed! I have over 18 years experience in design and production on

the computer and this well written article that covers a lot of the pitfalls that

designers often make.

ciara

MAY 28 2010Contributor REPLY TO COMMENT

Thanks Randy. Im glad you liked it

Jacob Gube

MAY 29 2010Editorial Team

I was curious and clicked through Randys portfolio. I have to

say @ciara , thats quite a compliment coming from an

accomplished graphic designer such as Randy.

sidney

davenportJUN 02 2010

REPLY TO COMMENT

This is such a good article so clear and accurate. Could use a paragraph

on foil printing, or is that too advanced. I just learned that if the foil is to beprinted over ink (an image), the image should extend all the way under the

foil plus bleed so that the foil is pressed evenly. Also, my printer wanted

vector art for all the foil areas (and that means no Photoshop Effects).

Jacob Gube

JUN 02 2010Editorial Team

REPLY TO COMMENT

That could be an interesting follow-up tutorial. I think somewhere

along the lines of a tutorial focusing on more specialized printing like

using foil, letterpress print work, etc.

ciara

JUN 02 2010Contributor

Excellent suggestion @jacob and thanks for adding that input

@sidney


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Rebecca

JUN 03 2010

REPLY TO COMMENT

Foil printing or specialised would be a good article. i have to do some

artwork for a blister pack (for vitamins) and really Im completely winging it!

Theirs never enough articles on print design (well more would be better)

Dave Obersby

JUN 08 2010REPLY TO COMMENT

Thanks for the article. Clear and concise.

Bas van der

Horst

JUN 08 2010

REPLY TO COMMENT

Whatever you want foil printed, uv spot layered or whatever: just make a

copy of the original page and make all pieces a specific color (for example:

100% K, or a Pantone color) you want the special layer applied to. Enclose

it in your indesign document, or as a separate PDF file. Done.

sidney

davenport

JUN 08 2010

REPLY TO COMMENT

Just make sure to find out from the printer if they require vector for

that job.

Joo Carlos de

Pinho

JUN 08 2010

REPLY TO COMMENT

Very nice and useful article.

I just want to add that InDesign allows the control of rich black display: its in

the Appearance of Black tab of the Preferences panel. The default

setting for onscreen viewing is Display All Blacks as Rich Black, but the

user can (and should) switch it to Display All Blacks Accurately.

ciara

JUN 08 2010Contributor REPLY TO COMMENT

Very useful tip, thank you @Joo Carlos de Pinho

Jacob Gube

JUN 08 2010Editorial Team REPLY TO COMMENT

Great tip Joo, thanks for sharing that!

Juliana Galati

JUN 08 2010

REPLY TO COMMENT

Great article! Pretty nice and useful tips =)

Unfortunately here in Brazil almost all printers still use Corel Draw, and I

only use Adobe softwares So its a real pain to prepare files for them,

almost every time the colors come out wrong or they cant open a eps files

(saved for Illustrator 8). Most of them cant even print a pdf =(

SunSeven

AUG 04 2010

REPLY TO COMMENT

In CS4, collecting files is known as Packaging (in previous versions it was

known as Preflight). This is wrong. Preflight is different from Package.

And in previous versions also it was termed as Package too. It is an

equivalent of Collect for output in Quark. Preflight actually check the

document for errors with predefined parameters.

Best Regards

ciara

AUG 04 2010Contributor

Hi SunSeven,

When I started this piece I was actually working in CS3 and when

you went to File> Package all you got was to collect files and aSummary. When you went to File> Preflight you got what is shown


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Alessandro

AUG 04 2010REPLY TO COMMENT

FANTASTIC! Thank you!

alejandra

SEP 01 2010REPLY TO COMMENT

excelente!!! muchas gracias!!!

Dede Sonntag

SEP 23 2010REPLY TO COMMENT

This is amazingly helpful for beginners. Great tutorial!

Townend

NOV 10 2010REPLY TO COMMENT

Very useful, confirmed what I thought I knew. Thanks!

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