THE FIVE MOST COMMON ERRORS WITH SUPPLIED FILES FOR FULL COLOR PRINTING

What are the most common printing errors printers find with supplied files?

Far and away the number one problem is files missing bleed. If your artwork goes all the way to the edge of the page, you need to make sure that you have added bleed! What is bleed? If you want a background color or image to extend to the edge of the sheet so no white paper is showing you must extend the background or image past the trim edges of the layout. The part that extends past the trim edges is referred to as bleed. The best thing to do is extend the bleed edges 1/8 th or .125 past the trim. This allows for a small margin of error in the cutting tolerance and prevents a white thin edge showing around the paper.

The second most common printing problem with supplied files is fonts. You need to make sure to include all fonts used in your files, including and especially fonts that are used in linked graphics such as Illustrator files. If you are sending a high resolution PDF, make sure that the "Embed Fonts" option is chosen. Most printers prefer high resolution pdfs or eps files with embedded or outlined fonts. These files are much easier to handle and will likely speed up your turnaround.

The third most common problem with supplied files is image resolution. All of your images should be at least 300 dpi at the size used in your layout. All files for printing need to be scanned or drawn at 300 dpi. What looks great on screen at 72 dpi would look pretty bad when printed. Increasing the resolution from 72 to 300 dpi in a paint program (such as Photoshop , Paint Shop Pro, etc.) does not work as this just interpolates the image ( i.e. adds pixels to the image), which in turn can increase the image size but makes for a more 'blurry' effect.

The fourth most common file problem is incorrect color mode. Commercial printers print in CYMK, meaning there is a cyan (c) ink, a magenta (m) ink, a yellow (y) ink and a black (k) ink. Monitors, digital cameras, and other types of digital devices tend to work and display images in RGB. RGB refers to the primary colors of light, Red, Green and Blue. CYMK is used on the press in the "4-color process printing", commonly referred to as "full color printing". The combination of RGB light creates white, while the combination of CMYK inks creates black. Therefore, it is physically impossible for the printing press to exactly reproduce colors as we see them on our monitors. Many programs such as photoshop and illustrator have the capability to convert the layout/images from the RGB color space to the CMYK color space. It is best for you to convert your colors from RGB to CMYK if your tools allow you to. By doing it yourself, you have maximum control over the results. You may notice a shift in color when converting from RGB to CMYK. If you do not like the appearance in CMYK, then you should make adjustments while working in CMYK.

And lastly, the fifth most common error found in supplied files is the lack of crop marks. Crop marks are crossed lines placed at the corners of an image or a page to indicate where to trim it. These are very important if creating a "WOW" effect such as Spot UV. As the name suggests, a Spot UV is applied to chosen areas of a printed card. This has the affect of highlighting and drawing attention to that part of the design, but it also provides the additional visual stimulus of having varied textures on a single printed surface. The Spot UV technique is achieved by applying a UV gloss spot varnish on top of clay coated paper. This achieves maximum contrast between the highly reflective shiny UV coating and the more light-absorbing clay coated finish, which creates a striking first impression. An extra mask is required to produce Spot UV and proper placement of crop marks on both files allow the correct matching of position.