Good Practices for Delivering Print Files
I have compiled a list of good practices and basic guidelines to ensure that your jobs are delivered efficiently. This is, of course, assuming that you are using InDesign as your final delivery vehicle (which I recommend) regardless of which application you used to design the piece.
1. Ensure The Document Size is The Size of The Document
If you are designing a 5” x 5” card, don’t design it on an 8.5” x 11” document. Make your document size 5” x 5”. There is the case where some agencies require that the artwork have file info on it, in which case you can use the bleed and slug area in InDesign. This is a perfect area to place any relevant ad or file information, that will not print in the final version of the piece. A big advantage of setting up your files this way is that, if a third party is going to be using this file (publication, printer, etc.) once they place the file, they will not have any issues with repositioning or alignment, since the document size will always be constant.
2. Convert All Images to CMYK
This one is a matter or much debate, which I have argued with people even at Adobe. The common practice is to work on your images in RGB. Why RGB?
Well think about it – cameras take pictures in RGB; your computer screen is RGB; scanners create RGB images – does it make sense to design in CMYK? not so much. This statement came up in a conversation I had with an Adobe engineer (specifically Acrobat and the PDF Technology) and to me it makes total sense. The CMYK color space should not come into play until the very last moment of production, right before the file gets to final delivery. Now, one little thing I left out about this conversation with the Adobe person was that he said that one should not even convert the file to CMYK at delivery, that one should leave the color conversion to the printers RIP profiles, which have more specific color profiles, catered exactly for the printer, and, to quote them directly, “and if they don’t have the technology, then find a new printer.”
Now we all know, especially those of us who have worked in production, that building a relationship with a printer that delivers, is really hard to let go sometimes. The bottom line is that you find the best system that works for you, as long as you and the printer are in agreement as to how to deliver those images. One thing that I have done in the past is to talk to the pre-press person handling your job (NEVER THE SALES GUY< THEY ARE CLUELESS), and ask them for their ICC profiles, which you can then in turn assign to those images. They will be more than happy to give it up, especially if it is going to make their jobs easier.
3. Never Paste Images Into Indesign
This is a common mistake I have encountered numerous times, which can become an extreme clock drainer and hassle to try and remedy. The InDesign folks had the good sense of allowing designers to paste images directly into an InDesign page, thereby embedding these images into the file, as opposed to the more traditional way of linking them. Although this was a very noble “feature”, if there is any issue with that image, there is no real way to fix it, outside of copying it, pasting it to a new Photoshop document, and re-pasting once the image has been adjusted. Never ever ever paste your images into InDesign. Stop being lazy. Save the image file and then link it. Embedding images also significantly increases the size of your InDesign file, which can cause more delays if there are any revisions to the InDesign file itself.
4. Always Add Bleed – Usually an 1/8th of an Inch (0.125”)
I know most of you are like “DUH!”, but you would be surprised how many times I’ve seen files, from some big agencies, be delivered without bleed. Add to that the numerous people I have supervised throughout the years that don’t account for a bleed in their design from the get. Create the bleed when you create the file. Make sure as you design your piece, you make sure your graphics or images are bleeding if they are meant to. Again, don’t be lazy. It takes a second to add it in the beginning, but it can take hours to add it prior to delivery.
5. Deliver Your Fonts With Your Files
This one is pretty self-explanatory. I will add that I have seen cases in which jobs have been delayed a day or two due to a missing font.
6. Never Color Body Copy in Four-Color Black
When coloring your body copy, which in my book is anything that is basically under 18 point (depending on the font) never do it in a 4 color black. This is a nightmare for pressmen to register, and there is sometimes no way to fix it, but to get a new file. A 4 color black is a black made up of all four colors, CMYK. This rule, of course, has an exception, which takes me to the next rule.
7. Always Bump Your Blacks
What this means is that, when doing large areas of black (boxes or type), make sure the black has been bumped, or supplemented, with the other four colors. A good formula that has worked for me throughout the years, across both offset and digital printing, is C:50 M:40 Y:30 K:100. Of course, I always suggest that you talk with your printer to get a black bump that works great on their presses, especially since each press has it’s own personality.
8. Always Include A Proof (Digital or Physical)
Traditionally, I like to include a Press Ready PDF with all my jobs, just in case all else fails, and as a means for the printer to go back to something final that they can use as a reference once they run the file through their RIP.
Content in part by: fontografist.com
