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Artwork that is properly prepared and ready to be photographed for platemaking is camera ready. Traditional prepress consisted of boards or mats with all elements in place. Today, laser or inkjet printouts may serve as camera ready art.
What is the difference between CMYK and RBG? CMYK (also known as 4-color process) refers to the 4 ink colors used in 4-color process printing. C is cyan (blue), M is magenta (red), Y is yellow, and K is black, the key plate or keyline color. RGB is what monitors, scanners and digital cameras use for displaying color. R is red, G is green, and B is blue. When saving graphics for a web page, saving the image in RGB is best suited but when we are talking presswork, then you want to convert the image to CMYK. RGB images may look great on screen or printed on your inkjet printer but they usually don't print well to PostScript output devices. Convert your images to CMYK. While RGB has its place (on the Web, for example) it isn't suitable for most PostScript color printing. Save your original RGB file for later use or modifications. In your graphics application convert a copy of the RGB graphic to CMYK then place it in your page layout program. Send the CMYK version of your graphic to the printer.
What is a PANTONE or PMS Color? See our online PANTONE Color Chart. PMS stands for Pantone Matching System. This is a color system developed to help designers and printers get matching color results. For instance, often times a company's logo will have a specific blue such as PMS 280, which is a navy blue. Designers and printers will know what blue that is and what your corresponding design elements should look like, so your message is uniform in look and style. Just tell them your logo is PMS 280. Remember, that your computer monitor will not accurately display colors and should not be used to choose colors where matching is critical. A range of Pantone Books are available for purchase from most artist supply shops, and is an essential requirement for any form of printing, graphic or design work, we definitely recommend you purchase one.
We are not talking about the ex-boyfriend. Creep allowance is to make adjustments to inner spreads of saddle-stitched booklets to maintain a constant outer margin when the publication is trimmed and counteract creep.
Crossed lines placed at the corners of an image or a page to indicate where to trim it are known as crop marks. Crop Marks are automatically applied with most desktop publishing software programs.
A digital proof is a color prepress proofing method where a job is printed from the digital file to an inkjet, color laser, dye sublimation printer, or thermal wax printer to give a good approximation of what the final printed piece will look like. The digital proof is generally less expensive than other proofs that use the printing press and inks.
What is a Blueline (or Dylux)? Usually inexpensive, photographic proof from negatives but all colors are shown in blue (or another color) on white paper is called a blueline. Best used for spot color jobs, a blueline is used primarily to check accuracy and position before plates are made. Today, we use what we call "digital bluelines" which take the place of the older traditional Dylux bluelines. Their main purpose, while showing the images in color, is to show folding and trim.
FPO or "For Position Only" is the placement of a blank placeholder or a temporary low-resolution illustration in the required location and size on the camera ready artwork to indicate where an actual image is to be placed on the final film or plate. FPO images are commonly used when you've been supplied actual photographic prints or other type of artwork to be scanned or photographed for inclusion.
What is "DPI" and "PPI"? What should my "DPI" or "PPI" be set at? A measure of the resolution of a printer is called DPI or dots per inch. It properly refers to the dots of ink or toner used by an imagesetter, laser printer, or other printing device to print your text and graphics. In general, the more dots, the better and sharper the image. DPI is printer resolution. DPI is not image resolution although frequently used that way. PPI or "pixels per inch" is a measure of the number of pixels displayed in an image. A digital image is composed of samples that your screen displays in pixels. The PPI is the display resolution not the image resolution. (Adobe Photoshop uses PPI and Corel Photo-Paint uses DPI for image resolution so it's no wonder everyone is confused.) We recommends your scanned images be at a resolution of 300dpi (or ppi technically) at the size you want to use them. (If you are resizing a scanned image in a page layout application, that is OK but when you oversize an image beyond 110%-120%, you will be loosing resolution and detail.)
What is the difference between Perfect Binding and Saddle Stitched? Perfect Binding is a method of bookbinding where a flexible adhesive attaches a paper cover to the spine of the assembled signatures is called perfect binding. Paperback novels are one example of perfect binding. Variations of perfect binding are where the cover is glued only to the side of the spine and allow the book to lay-flat. Saddle-Stitched is a method of securing loose printed pages with staples down the middle of a folded sheaf of papers. Many booklets are saddled-stitched. Side-stitching is a similar method where the pages are stapled about 1/4" from the spine.
Varnish is a liquid shellac or plastic coating put on a printed piece to add a glossy, satin, or dull finish. Part of the printing or finishing process, it is applied like a final layer of ink after a piece is printed. It may be clear or tinted. Varnish can be used functionally to reduce glare or enhance readability or as a design element to smooth, highlight, add texture, or create added dimension.
Which software applications do you currently support? We support many graphics applications including just about anything from Adobe such as Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. QuarkXpress and Corel are also supported. We try to stay up-to-date with the major design applications. We also accept Microsoft Word and Publisher files though because these are considered "business applications" and not pre-press ready, they may take a little longer to work with and may be at an additional cost. If you have a question about which software we can use, please email us at artwork@e-printables.com or call us toll-free at 1-800-479-9815.
Do I need to send fonts along with my application file? How do I find all my fonts and send them to you? Even when you use common, classic typefaces you'll need to send the copies of the actual font files that your document contains. Fonts can vary from vendor to vendor and there are differences between the TrueType and Type 1 versions of fonts. If you don't supply your own fonts, e-Printables may substitute our own version. This might work. Or it might result in subtle or obvious differences in your document including text reflow.
Can I e-mail the files to you or do you prefer a disk? It depends. If you compress your artwork files down into a single file (such as a ZIP or Stuffit file) and the file size is over 4mb, it may get bounced back to you due to limitations of our mail server. If you want to try and send it via email, send it to artwork@e-printables.com. You may also want to try using our built-in FTP form online. You simply choose your file and click the "upload button". No FTP settings to remember or FTP software to fight with.
What format should I prepare and save my graphics? Can you offer any tips on graphics? There are dozens of graphics file formats but only two -- EPS and TIFF are the standards for commercial high resolution printing. Beyond file type other graphics issues that can jeopardize your printing project are color, compression, complexity, and completely missing images. When you send your document to us, we often can and do take the time to fix some of the common problems listed below. However, there may be instances in which we would have to charge for any additional time spent. Save time, money, and frustration with proper preparation and submission of your graphics for printing. Avoid these common problems when sending your graphics:
Should I set my file up using "printer spreads" or "reader spreads"? PLEASE do not set up your page layout using "printer spreads". It may help you when creating your own printed mockups but you are not helping us output your file any faster! In fact, doing so is confusing and in the long run may cost you money for the extra time and effort. Always set up your layout using "readers spreads" (ie. 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.).
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