For new project layouts, it’s always best to consult with us in the early stages of the design process to help ensure that your project is designed for the best print production efficiency and lowest mailing costs. Contact us for assistance with planning your project or if any assistance is needed preparing your files.
Electronic File Submission Guidelines
- Acceptable native file formats are InDesign (preferred), Illustrator (.ai or .eps), or Photoshop. If you have created artwork or a document in any other application, please output and upload a press-ready PDF file.
- If PDF files are supplied for output, they
must be “press-ready” files. Please ensure that all fonts are embedded. If there are bleeds, crop marks and bleeds need to be enabled, with .125” bleeds. Files should be saved at “press resolution”. Leave any color management options disabled. Ensure that if using any spot colors or spot coatings, embossing, etc, that you enable output for CMYK and spot color. We recommend sending your press-ready pdf to a color laser or ink jet printer if possible and checking carefully to be sure the pdf matches your intended output result prior to submitting to us. - When sending native files, all images and graphics placed or linked in the artwork must be sent. Color photos should always be saved as CMYK and at least 300 dpi at final size. Grayscale images should be at least 1200 dpi at final size. (Saving your files at a higher dpi than this will generally not improve print resolution and will only increase file size.) Native files should have all fonts and links (images) packaged to ensure that when we open the files we have all the resources available in the correct folders.
- The entire folder should then be stuffed or zipped prior to sending to ensure fonts and images are not corrupted and to provide an efficient file transfer.
- Multicolor artwork which uses any combination of PMS inks, spot varnishes, spot UV coatings, foil, or embossing must be built to output correctly as spot colors or in layers.
- We recommend supplying a hardcopy, paginated mock-up or a collating guide for multiple page documents to ensure we assemble the files and proofs in the correct order, especially if your pages are not printed with sequential page numbers, or when there are separate files for different sections such as covers, chapters, inserts, etc. If you prefer, you may submit a low resolution compiled pdf of the finished book, but please be certain that any blanks, inserts, covers, etc are in the correct position of the file, starting with the front cover.
- Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other non-standard file types are not supported, as they do not provide proper color and font management for commercial quality printing applications. If you have to provide files created in one of these applications, we recommend you output and supply a press-ready pdf file from the computer they were created on for the best results.
- When you are ready to send your files if under 20mb, you can email to [email protected]. If over 20 mb use your favorite file sharing service such as DropBox, ShareFile, Egnyte, Hightail, etc. to send a link to [email protected]