About your digital files...
Thank you for considering Concord Printing Services for your next printing project. We hope the following information is helpful in planning your job from the very beginning stages to the final product. It is always our policy to assist our customers at all stages of the printing process.
We have found the following specifications will easily progress through our workflow. With technology constantly on the move, we adapt to these changes on a regular basis. Please call us about applications not listed in this section. We will try to accommodate to fit your needs.
SUPPORTED APPLICATIONS
MAC OS X (Classic also supported)
Adobe Creative Suite 3 & 2
InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator
Quark XPress
Pagemaker
Acrobat (We can preflight & edit some pdf files with minor problems)
Word* (press-quality pdf file preferred)
Excel
Power Point
PC
Adobe Creative Suites 2
Publisher 2003** (press-quality pdf file preferred)
Office XP*
* Documents created in Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Publisher should be exported as Press-Quality PDFs . If we encounter any problems, i.e. color separations, trapping, etc., we may need to recreate your file and would need your native file sent to us with all original images, fonts if possible, and a color hard copy that we can use to match your file as closely as possible.
**Use the Commercial Print Settings when preparing your Publisher 2003 files. Please call if you need assistance
COREL FILES: We do not support native Corel files. These files need to be saved as an .eps file with fonts outlined and images linked - include all linked images. All color needs to be correct CMYK or spots, bleeds included, etc. We can accept Press-Quality PDF files. Since we cannot edit these files, if there are changes or problems they will need to be corrected by the customer and resubmitted.
Page topPDF FOR PRINT
The Press Quality setting ensures that your file is exported as high resolution, is in CMYK format, fonts are embedded, etc. Please follow these guidelines when creating a PDF file or call Concord if you need assistance. We have pdf presets that we can create for you for specific software. Please call to discuss the preset that you would need for your particular job.
CHECK ITEMS BELOW BEFORE MAKING PDF
1. Check colors - no RGB. This includes all placed images. Delete all unused colors.
2. All links updated
3. 1/8" bleed if applicable (For Web books - 1/4" bleed)
ACROBAT PDF SETTINGS:
If you do not have Acrobat distiller, you can go to http://createpdf.adobe.com/ to create your pdfs from Adobe's site. There is a charge for this service.
1. Set for PRESS QUALITY or use the pdf/X-1a standard setting.
2. Embed fonts
3. Do not include crops marks but do include bleeds
4. Output - Color Conversion - select "No color conversion" OR "Leave color unchanged"
5. No preseparated pdfs, please
6. No spreads if publication is more than 8 pages.
7. We can fix some print production problems and do limited editing of your PDF file. Any extensive problems or changes will need to be made by the customer and a new PDF file resubmitted.
Page topDISK READY FILES
Sometimes we prefer having your native files - meaning the InDesign, Illustrator, or Quark files and all their elements, i.e. fonts, photos, logos, etc. This is necessary if we will be editing or reformatting your document. Please refer to the list below to be sure you have a clean working file.
1. Check color palette. Only colors used should be in palette. Delete others.
2. No RGB including all imported images (should be CMYK).
3. SPOT colors should be selected from the Pantone Swatch Library within the application. A CMYK process color should not be used for a specified spot color in most cases.
4. Hi-res photos and bitmap images @ 300 dpi. Digital cameras should be set to highest resolution when taking pictures.
5. Update all links
6. BLEEDS: 1/8"
7. Trapping is a specialized task. If you are unfamiliar with trapping, it is best that we do the trapping for you. Black is overprinted in most cases. Please let us know if you have trapped your file.
Package original FILE, ALL FONTS USED, PHOTOS, LOGOS, IMAGES IN ONE FOLDER. Use "Package", "Collect for Output", "Save for Service Provider" within the application to gather all necessary elements.
THINGS WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FILE:
1. MAC or PC
2. Application used - i.e., InDesign CS3, Quark 7, Pagemaker 7.0. The VERSION number is important.
3. Process Color, Spot Color or b/w
4. Size, number of pages, special post-press i.e. punching, spiral or perfect bound, die cuts, etc.
Page topPREFLIGHT
Concord will preflight all disk ready and pdf files as soon as possible to check for potential problems. You will be notified of any problems. At that time, you have the choice of making the needed changes or having Concord make the changes for you, if possible. We will be happy to quote you a price to make these changes. Please call if you need further assistance. We want your job to proceed as smoothly and accurately as possible.
Page topSUBMITTING FILES
The following options are available for submitting your digital files - Upload to our FTP site, burn to CD/DVD, Email of smaller files. Please see "file transfer specifications" or call for specific information.
DIGITAL PHOTOS AND BITMAP GRAPHICS
All digital photos and bitmap graphics should be High Resolution for commercial printing - Pics: 300 dpi, Line Art: 600 dpi These images must be at least 100% size. Scaling up bitmap art may result in poor quality.
CMYK color mode for 4 color process - No RGB. If a RGB image is to be converted by Concord, we are not responsible for color shifts.
tif: Grayscale and bitmap images.
eps: Do not use in most cases. In the past this was the preferred file format for photos. Due to changes in software and our worklow, the preferred file format is .psd or .tif
jpg: A compressed file format - use if needing to send smaller file sizes. This is a lossy compression method, meaning everytime this image is opened, there is loss of information, resulting in diminished quality.
psd: CMYK - This native file format can be placed in Adobe CS documents - whereas older versions of Adobe products preferred .eps files. If using the .eps file, we also would like to have the layered .psd file if there are any adjustments we have to make.
Page topBLEEDS
At least 1/8" all sides. A bleed is needed if there is a border or picture that is at the edge of the trimmed page. Extending the border or picture 1/8" beyond the trim area compensates for a slight shift when cutting the paper. For InDesign or Quark files, do not include this bleed area as part of the document size (do include the bleed in the image size for Photoshop files or the document size for Illustrator files*). Extend 1/8" past the document guides. If making a press quality pdf, include bleeds.
*NOTE: When placing an Illustrator CS3 or CS2 file into another application, the bleed will not import if it is outside the document setup size.
Page topPlease call if you have any questions
about preparing your digital files.
573.334.7100
Thank You for Your Business