Before you rush off to the printers with that critical report or informative brochure, take a few minutes to make sure it’s prepared properly for Print to avoid any hassles. Here’s a basic guide to make sure your documents are put together correctly for the printers:
- Get your trim line, bleed area and crop lines right: Make sure the trim line is in the right place, the bleed area is big enough to make up for any printing mishaps, and the crop lines (if necessary) are included on the page. Get these points right and you’ll save yourself from having half a sentence running off the page!
- Consider your colours: Full colour documents will more often than not have to be in CMYK format as opposed to RGB (Red, Green and Blue). CMYK means Cyan Magenta Yellow and Black and is used in the four colour printing process. Run it by your designer before sending the document off to the printers.
- Communicate with your printer: Find out if your local printing shop will deliver the printed documents and how much delivery will cost. In that case, provide them with a delivery address and a suitable delivery time and date. Also find out when they can have your printed documents ready by. Inform them of the size of the prints, finishes such as gloss or matte, or the type of paper you would like used.
- Supply your file in the right format: Most printers will require that your file be in the PDF format. It’s also a good idea to supply the printers with your fonts, especially if they’re custom fonts or not particularly common. If you can, have your designer outline your fonts before converting the file to a PDF, that way the font will be picked up as an image rather than a font itself.
These are just some of the things to remember when preparing your documents for Print. For great quality and reliable service, contact Minuteman Press in Hyde Park for all your printing needs.
Get a Free Quote for Print