Prepress Checklist
In order to expedite the prepress process, adhere closely to the criteria below.
If you have any questions during this process, contact Customer Service at 863-2258.
Spelling
- Always do a final spell check
Color
- Supply only colors in the file to be printed
- Define colors as spot colors and process colors to separate as 4-color
process.
- Define PMS colors identically throughout all imported graphics files
- Imported images must be built in the correct color space to be separated as required
Bleed
- Build a minimum 1/8" bleed into the document.
Images
- Assure all imported images are the proper resolution for print (300 dpi or higher).
- Imported images must have the correct corresponding colors to be printed.
- Build imported images in the correct color space for separations, e.g. CMYK vs. RGB, spot vs. process.
- Assure all imported images are in an appropriate format for printing, e.g. tiff or eps vs. gif or jpeg.
- Low-resolution FPO images must replaced with their high-resolution counterpart.
Fonts/Typography
- Fonts should not be in your imported images. Fonts have been rasterized in Photoshop or converted to outlines in Illustrator.
- Fonts are defined in document using actual fonts, not QuarkXpress’ or Pagemaker's faux bold or italic.
- Have both printer and screen fonts available for all typefaces used.
Collect for Output
- Do a collect your file for output and all images. Fonts and graphics should be nice and neat, in a folder.
- Provide a composite laser (color if possible) print at 100% unless otherwise noted.
- Provide a printed and assembled mockup.
- Mark composite laser prints with notes for the printer.
- Print a disk directory and highlight file(s) to be output.