Electronic Prepress:
Creating Pages
Regardless of the platform or application you are using, there are a few general rules to follow when creating pages for electronic imaging.
File Size
We have the capability of handling large application files, and prefer to receive one large file for your entire text. If this is not possible, please minimize the number of files created. Additional charges may be applied for handling excessive amounts of files. Please link (do not store or embed) all graphics to the document as necessary, and then include the original graphic files along with the composite file. In order to send larger files on disk, it may be necessary to compress them. For Macintosh platform, we accept either DropStuff or MacZip.
For Windows platform, we accept WinZip.
Trim Size
Text files
For an accurate representation, always set up the document page size to be the same as your finished trim size. Do not, for example, place two 5.5” x 8.5” pages as a “spread”, or center a 6” x 9” page on an 8.5” x 11” letter-size document.
Cover files
Covers and jackets require information specific to your project in order to calculate the spine bulk, wrap, etc. You may either reference our cover information sheets to calculate these dimensions, or contact your account representative and they will help you. Covers are best constructed as one page which includes front, spine, back and flaps (if applicable).
Trim Marks
Text files
Use the automatic crop (trim) marks feature from your page layout application when printing lasers to a larger sheet size. For example, please include these marks if you are printing a 6” x 9” page on letter-size paper. Do not include trim marks in postscript
or PDF files.
Cover files
Cover and jacket files often require hand-drawn fold guides for the spine and flaps. These should be drawn at a weight of .25” and set to the color “registration” in your page layout file so they will be repeated consistently on each color plate.
Other Standards
Two-Color Text
We recommend that you set up two-color text as a
process color and black. The designated PMS color will
be printed at Press. Please use Cyan or Magenta in all
applications and images. This helps reduce the risk of
complications with our layout software.
Rules
All lines or rules in text or covers must be .25 pt
or larger ( no hairlines). Anything below this may not
hold when on press.
Bleeds
Whenever a printing item such as a rule, tab, or photo, runs off the edge of the page it is said to “bleed”. To make sure it trims neatly, an extra amount of art must be supplied running off the page in the file. We require a minimum of 1/8” extra art.
Links
Graphic elements created outside the page program (like halftone scans or EPS drawings) are represented on the screen and in the page program by low-resolution “placeholders”. The data needed to image at the high resolution of an imagesetter remains in the original graphic. The graphic is said to be “linked” to the page file and it is very important that this link remain intact. To keep from breaking the link, do not rename or move the graphics to another location after they have been placed. It is also important to make sure all these support files are sent along with the page files.
Master Pages
One of the best ways to save time and reduce problems is to set up files using master pages. Master pages are designed to make placement of key objects that appear on each page uniform in style and position. Often a running head, running foot, or folio is used as a guideline for laying your pages up on our press sheets. For this reason, it is especially important that these items are placed on master pages.
In Quark, the master page options can be found under the “View” menu, “Show Document Layout”. The master pages appear at the top of the Document Layout pop-up menu, and the first one is usually titled “A-Master A”. New master pages can be created for each section by dragging the “Blank Single Page” icon down into the master page area. It is then possible to set individual running heads for each section, as well as different left and right master pages. You can tell which master page is being used throughout the document by noting the letter that appears in the center of the page icons in the Document Layout menu. To change to a different master page, simply drag the appropriate icon for that master page onto the page to be changed. The letter in the center of that page should then show the new letter of the correct master being used. In order to get automatic page numbers on each page, simply go to the master page, draw a text box, and type “command” and “3” at the same time. The character <#> will appear, and the font, size, and position can be adjusted as desired.
For PageMaker 6.5, the actual master page of any section can be created by clicking on the “L” and “R” page icons in the lower left corner. To create new master pages or assign different master pages to individual spreads or sections, go to “Window”, “Show Master Pages”. To create automatic page numbers type “option”, “command” and “p” at the same time while on one of the master pages, and either “LM” or “RM” will appear. As with Quark, the font or position of these automatic numbers can be changed as needed.
For more information regarding the use of master pages, please contact your preflight specialist.
Corrections
We encourage our customers to have their files set up appropriately and are happy to assist with any questions before the job comes to us. However, there are occasions when technical assistance is needed while the job is in the preflight stage. When problems such as correcting halftone densities, fixing hairlines, and creating or adjusting master pages arise, the preflight specialist or account representative will contact you. You will then be given the option of fixing the errors and sending us new files, or having our preflight specialist fix the errors at an hourly rate. We do offer the service of simple type corrections at the proof stage for a fee. Corrections should be clearly marked on the returned proof as well as written in a letter. Please contact your Account Representative for specific cost information.
Naming files
To avoid confusion and potential problems, it is important to keep files organized and named in a way that will be easily understood by those not familiar with your project. The hierarchy of a well-organized directory might look something like (italics indicate a folder or directory):
MyBook
000i-xiv
001-100
101-256
MyBook Art
p12map.eps
p42photo.tif
Keep file names as short as possible while still communicating the content, and use a suffix such as .eps to indicate the type of art file (some programs do this automatically). Avoid using apostrophes, bullets, and other special characters typically reserved by operating systems such as the backslash or colon.
