Print ready help

Question time

2012-02-03T01:12:00.000-08:00

If you are having any issues with creating files, outputing files, fonts, or general reprographics, post a comment with your question and I will get back to you with an answer as soon as possible. Many Thanks Luke

Resolution

2011-01-13T04:38:00.001-08:00

Why is resolution important?

Resolution also known as DPI (Dots Per Inch) can be described as the number of dots that fit horizontally and vertically into a one-inch space. Generally, the more dots per inch, the more detail captured and the sharper the resulting image. For an image to print properly, the image must be at least 300 dots per inch (dpi) at the final output size. If your file is not 300 dpi, you can not simply increase the dpi from a low resolution to a higher one by increasing the DPI in your imaging program. Need more information about resolution? Post a comment

What are bleeds?

2010-01-12T13:01:00.000-08:00

Bleeds are required when images or colours run to the edge or edges of a page, these images or colours need to over lap the edge of the page so there is something to trim into. If you do not have bleed on your document you will get uneven or white edges when it is trimmed around.

One illustration overlaps the crop marks, that is with bleed and the other is without (see my illustration below).

When setting up your document make sure you set it up as the right size (do not set documents in the middle of an A4 page e.g. a business card). If you are looking to save time and money by laying out the document yourself, check the requirements with the printers you will be using, otherwise you maybe wasting your time and they may need to charge you for resetting the document, any images will need to be CMYK (About CMYK is on my blog).

When you submit your document to a printers they will need to impose it (multiples on a sheet) which is another reason why you need to have bleed for objects running to the edge of the page.

Tip: Check what size your document will need to be with your printers, Some documents are a specific size for a reason, for example business cards are 85x55mm the reason for this is it makes it the same size as a credit card so it fits nicely in a wallet or card holder.

Brightening and enhancing images

2010-01-11T14:46:00.000-08:00

Open your image in photoshop, first we will be adjusting the saturation of the image to bring out the colours, to do this go to the image menu at the top of the screen, go down to adjustment where another side menu will appear (see image below) then you will need to select the Hue/Saturation option.

At the Hue/Saturation window that pops up there will be three slides (see image below) we will be using the saturation slider, I want to really bring out the colours of the beach hut doors so I have dragged the saturation slider to the right, you don't want to slide it too far over, depending on the image as it may look over saturated, now I am happy with my adjustments I will click ok.

Tip: In the Hue/Saturation window make sure the preview option is ticked.

Now that is done I want to brighten up the dull looking sky, for this we will be using the Pen tool and the Gradient tool.

Tip: On the layers window, make sure fill is set to 0% when using the pen tool.

Select the pen tool from the tool bar on the left and start clicking around the edges of the sky, you may need to zoom in for detailed bits, to make curves around object with the pen tool click hold and drag, once you are happy with the curve you will need to alt+click on the anchor point to carry on (see image below)

once you have clipped around the sky and connected the path back to the beginning, go to the window menu at the top of the screen and select paths, in the path window you will see a path, you need to click on it and go to the arrow on the right of the path window (see image below) on the path window menu you need to click make selection this will give you a make selection window, in the make selection window under feather radius make it .5 pixels and tick the anti aliased option, operation should be new selection, now click ok.

Select the gradient tool from the tool bar on the left and click the gradient bar at the top of the window to edit the gradient, you will get a gradient window pop up, go down to the gradient and click on the left bottom colour stop on the gradient, this will give you a colour picker window with a vertical slider, pull the slider to a sky blue and click in the colour window on the left of the slider to select the blue you want, now click on ok on the colour picker window, and then you should have a blue to white gradient, click ok on the gradinet editor window, now click hold and drag form top to bottom of your marqued selection on your image, If you dont get it looking right the first time just click and drag over it again until you get the right result, now you have your nice blue sky (see image below). Don't forget to save.

Tip 1. Hover over tools with your cursor and their names will pop up.

Tip 2. Tools on the toolbar with arrows in their bottom right corner have diffrent tools grouped with them, to select these tools click and hold on the tool and a drop down menu will appear allowing you to select alternative tool options.

Tip 3. Always save as your file and keep the original, just incase you need to revert back to it later on.

Retouching images and how to

2010-01-10T09:11:00.000-08:00

To do this we will be using Photoshop which is a very useful image editing package. With the use of the Healing Brush Tool and you can remove patches,

scratches and creases from an image, In this tutorial I will show you techniques for cleaning up, correcting and enhancing your image.

First Open your file in photoshop.

Then using the Polygonal lasso tool which is located on the tool bar on the left (as illustrated below) this is to select the area that we want to work on, I have used this tool because by using it, it keeps any editing within the area you have selected.

To select the tool click and hold the lasso tool and you will get a drop down menu, then select the Polygonal lasso tool option. With this tool you will select around the area you wish to retouch, you can do this by clicking around the area with the tool, If you make a mistake just press the del button on your keyboard which will undo your last click.

Once you have selected around your area you will get a marque around it.

Now we will be using the Healing brush which is located on the tool bar on the left (as illustrated below) with this tool we will need to select a sample colour, this can be selected outside the marqued area, but will need to be a similar colour or shade, to do this we will need to press and hold ALT on the keyboard whilst clicking with the mouse on the sample colour.

Now you can start retouching your image by going over the area you selected inside the marque, notice than when you are using the brush it will bring up a cross on the image aswell (see image), this is where you are sampling from, for best results make sure the cross is always on a similar colour that you are retouching, if it isnt go back to the step earlier and reselect your sample colour with ALT+mouse click.

To get rid of the marqued area once you have finished select the Rectangular marque tool and single mouse click any where on your image, now save you image.

Tip 1. Hover over tools with your cursor and their names will pop up.

Tip 2. Tools on the toolbar with arrows in their bottom right corner have diffrent tools grouped with them, to select these tools click and hold on the tool and a drop down menu will appear allowing you to select alternative tool options.

Tip 3. Always save as your file and keep the original, just incase you need to revert back to it later on.

My artwork contains gradients

2009-12-16T03:34:00.000-08:00

Q. What if my artwork contains gradients?
A. Gradients are commonly used in printing and in most instances produce good results. Gradients can be represented in a file as a mathematical equation (Vector) or rendered by the application into a series of pixels (Raster).
Need more information about this? Post a comment.

My artwork has borders?

2009-12-16T03:33:00.000-08:00

Q. Does your artwork have borders?
A. If your artwork contains borders, you must make sure all borders are 3mm wide on each side of your artwork. In addition, you need to add a 3mm bleed on each side of your artwork. This approach will ensure proper cutting and help the finished product maintain a symetrical appearance. If your border is not at least 3mm of an inch wide on each side, you risk creating a border that looks uneven.
Need more information about this? Post a comment.

Text to outlines?

2009-12-16T03:19:00.000-08:00

Q. Why would I convert text to outlines?
A. Converting text to outlines will eliminate the need for fonts and prevent any issues. "Font issues occur because there are lots of diffrent variations of any one font, take times for example it may look the same but if you go to another computer the name or data is slightly different". Take note that alterations can not be made to text once it has been turned to outlines so always save an original copy.
Need more information about this? Post a comment.

Fonts

2009-12-15T05:48:00.001-08:00

Q. What if my file is missing fonts?
A. It is important that you supply all fonts used in your layout. If you do not supply fonts in your artwork file, we will request that you resubmit your files with fonts included.

If you have vector artwork and your file is missing fonts, you can open your file in Illustrator, select "Create Outlines", save your fonts, re-save your artwork file, and then upload it.

If you have artwork that is rasterized, you can open your file in Photoshop and select "Flatten the Layers", re-save your artwork file, and then upload it.

Please do not submit your fonts seperately from your file because it is critical that your print-ready file is received with fonts included to avoid any printing issues.

Need more information about Fonts? Post a comment.

Can you help me prepare

2009-12-15T05:32:00.000-08:00

Q. Can you help me prepare my files?
A. For file help and preparation email me at: printreadyhelp@googlemail.com with the subject as "help me prepare - print ready help".

File formats

2009-12-15T05:31:00.000-08:00

Q. Do printers accept any file format?
A. Yes some do, but If you are meant to be supplying print-ready files then they will need to be in any of the following formats: .pdf(x1a),.eps, .jpg, .ps, .psd, .tif.
Need more informationn about file formats? Post a comment.

CMYK

2009-12-15T05:30:00.000-08:00

Q. Do I need to use CMYK color mode?
A. Yes. If your files are submitted using any other color standard, such as RGB or Pantone, they will be converted to CMYK during preflighting. Conversion from one color standard to another may cause colors to shift. Before submitting your digital artwork files.
RGB is the digital colour gamma wich is Red, Green and Blue.
CMYK is the four main printing process colours and they are Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black.

Bleeds

2009-12-15T05:27:00.001-08:00

Q. Does my artwork have 3mm bleeds?
A. Printers require a 3mm bleed around the perimeter of your artwork to ensure accurate cutting (e.g., artwork for a 148mm x 105mm postcard should extend to 154mm x 111mm). If your image has a white border on all four sides, bleeds are recommended but not required. If your image is not white on all four sides, you must include bleeds in print-ready files. Before submitting your artwork files.
Need more information about bleeds? see what are bleeds on my blog.