Five Tips For Creating Successful Design Documents

Graphic design packages (inDesign, Quark, Illustrator) give users unprecedented control over page layout, graphics and photos. The programs have become so popular that many clients design their own work and send it to Print Tech for printing only.

However, there are times when, by inexperience or mistake, we receive files that are not correctly set up for print. Here are the top five mistakes to avoid:

1. Don’t Get Your Graphics Off the Web
Many inexperienced designers will pull a logo or graphic off the web and place it into their document. This creates two problems: first, the resolution is too low and secondly, the web graphic is RGB (Red,Green,Blue) instead of CYMK (Cyan, Yellow, Magenta, Black).

2. Don't Use Low Resolution
The resolution is measured in DPI (dots per inch). A web graphic is considered low resolution because it is usually at 72 dpi. A printed piece is usually considered high resolution because it is created at 300 dpi. This means that the print graphic is roughly four times the size of the web graphic.

Web Graphic 4 inches @ 72 DPI = 288 pixels

Print Graphic 4 inches @ 300 DPI = 1200 pixels

Pasting the small web graphic into a printed piece would give you a pixilated, fuzzy result. On the other hand, if you placed a high resolution print graphic into a web site, what you thought was going to be a small insert would actually stretch across the entire computer screen.

3. Don't Use RGB Graphics and Photos
Our TV's, cameras and computer screens all use the RGB color space. It is known as an additive color and it works by visually mixing the primary colors. When red, green and blue are added equally at their highest intensity, we get the color white on our screens.

The printing process uses CMYK and is known as a subtractive color space. This works by the printer laying down inks, from light to dark, on a substrate. As more colors overlay each other they get denser.

Simply put, the difference is that with RGB, white is the presence of all color and with CMYK, white is the absence of all color.

For more information on color and printing, visit our blog posts from May of 2010.

4. Supply All Fonts and Graphics
When sending a file to a printer, you should always supply the fonts and graphics that you have used in your document. Without doing this you may end up missing graphics in the final print or the printer's graphic program may substitute a font, giving you something you didn’t expect or want.

5. Create a Great PDF
The most important steps in creating a successful PDF are:

1. Make sure the fonts are embedded


2. Graphics and photos are in the CMYK color space


3. The resolution is 300 dpi


4. Choose “High Quality” PDF when saving

Print Tech examines every file that comes in for printing. If you need help or tips on how to better prepare your artwork, call our pre-press department, they will be happy to assist you.