Tips To Make Your Files Print Ready
Picture this scenario: after hours of photoshop and design work, you finally have a finished product and you eagerly take it to your local printer — only to find out that the printer has made several changes to your work. Your blood boils and it only adds to the frustration.
At Kopytek, we are in the business of efficiency and productivity and that means ensuring our customers stay efficient and productive. We make sure that each one of our customers knows that printing large-scale products can’t be done with a snap of the finger, so here are some tips to make sure your project meets its milestones.
– Time is Money — Each new project we receive at Kopytek gets the full-service treatment, no matter how large or small. This means that each one of our team members will work with you to create project milestones to stay on turnaround time schedule. Also, make sure to allow yourself time for us to run your prints twice, in case there are unexpected delays. This planning safeguards your peace of mind that tends to slip through the cracks during deadlines.
– Embed Your Fonts — For the sake of design integrity, make sure you embed your fonts directly onto the document you are printing. This will prevent font substitutions if the printer you’re working with doesn’t recognize the font.
– (Print) Size Does Matter — Be sure that you create your document the same size that you want it printed. Designing at actual scale reduces the margin for error with graphics, fonts and layout.
– Image is Everything — Your images should fit properly into the document and be sure the resolution is high enough (at least 300 DPI).
– Color Your World — Make sure your document is converted from RGB to CMYK to avoid costly color corrections.
– Proof Positive — Bring in a printed proof to share with us before the process starts so we can get an idea of the quality, colors and finishing options you want for your project. We love it when customers bring in proofs. It helps us understand their expectations which we only plan on meeting and exceeding.
– Let it Bleed — We tell our customers to ensure 3mm when a document is printed to the edges of the paper. This allows for any variations to the project.
– Software, Hard work — Kopytek’s account staff will sit down with you to make sure your project is converted into files that are native to our printers. Having this knowledge and familiarity with our software will only streamline the print process when the time comes. Other shops will spend hours on converting files to meet their printer’s native software.
For more detailed information on best practices for creating print ready files, download our guide: Creating_Print_Ready_Files
