Page Size:
Maximum sheet size is 12.6 x 19.2 inches. Maximum image area for our digital press is 12.4 x 18.9 inches including crop marks. This allows for full bleed on all 11 x 17 documents. We have a little leeway on our offset presses and can print an 11 x 17 sheet with bleeds on all four sides.
Remember to make your document the exact size as your printed piece. You will avoid lots of output problems if you make your 11" x 17" poster from an 11" x 17" file. You don't need to make it larger and add manual crop marks, we'll arrange all that for you.
Brochures / Catalogs & Text based Material:
For a brochure, catalog or other text based material, use a page layout program such as Quark Xpress or Adobe InDesign. Try to avoid creating text pages in Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia Freehand, or any other drawing or photimaging application. Avoid using Microsoft Word or Publisher, as these programs have many output problems, such as not printing CMYK separations and low resolution output of some placed images.
Supported Fonts:
The entire Adobe font library for Macintosh and Windows is supported. Other postscript Type 1 fonts, Open Type fonts (OTF) and TrueType fonts must be supplied with the job. Adobe Type 1 fonts are recommended with all variable data jobs.
Do not apply style commands, such as "bold" or "italic" to a typeface. Instead. choose the bold or italic version of the font directly from the font menu. When you stylize your fonts in the font pallett, they may print correctly on a laser printer, but sometimes they will not output correctly to a high end imagesetter.
Pre-Flighting:
Pre-flighting is included with all of our jobs. During this process we verify that all non-supported fonts are supplied before proceeding with the job. We also verify that al imported graphics and images are supplied and are in the proper format, resolution, and mode.
What to Include:
It is imperative that you provide us with any fonts that you have used. While we have over 5000 fonts in house, it will save a lot of time if you provide us with those used in the file in the event that we don't have yours. Also, please be sure to convert all type to outlines. This will prevent any font substitution at the system level.
Wherever possible, we would like you to include your original Illustrator or InDesign document also, just in case we have any bleed, layout, or font issues. This way we can fix them without wasting time and get your job printed as soon as possible.
Finally, don't forget to include any linked graphics, including ones that are placed in Illustrator or InDesign.
Image File Format:
Imported graphics and images should be in CMYK and provided in TIFF, EPS or hi-res JPG format. Please do not pre-separate or set screen angles when saving files. When printing on our digital press, duotones created with PMS colours should be converted to CMYK and saved as a TIFF or EPS. Image formats like BMP or GIF do not work well on digital presses and should be avoided where possible.
Image Resolution / File Size:
With line screens available from 106 lpi to 200 lpi it is important that all images are saved at a minimum of 300 dpi. We can sample down images to the appropriate resolution if necessary. Lineart images should be scanned at a minimum of 800 dpi for best results.
CMYK & Pantone Colours:
Please remember to convert all RGB colours to CMYK, especially in photographic images. Failure to do so can cause unexpected results to the final colour. Also, when printing on our offset presses, be sure that your Pantone colour is correctly specified as a process colour or spot colour in your page layout program.
Our digital press uses the CMYK colour model. While we can reproduce any Pantone colour on our offset presses, when printing on our digital press all data that you submit should be converted to CMYK. Pantone colours will automatically convert to CMYK process when printed.
Background Colours:
In general, small areas of solid color reproduce better than large areas.
Large areas of flat background color are currently not recommended since they may appear mottled. Cyan and black are also susceptible to mottling in the 40% to 80% tint range. To avoid this mottled effect, create a TIFF image in Photoshop using the Add Noise filter. Set a value between 5 and 15, and check Monochromatic to avoid introducing randomly colored pixels.
Screen Tints and Highlight Areas:
As in all printing processes, reproduction of light screen tint values and highlight areas is process-critical. Screen values for highlight areas should not be below 6% for cyan, and 5% for magenta, yellow or black.
Blends and Gradients:
Subtle blends and gradients tend to show some banding. To avoid this effect create the blend or gradient in Photoshop using the Add Noise filter and save as a TIFF or EPS file. Set a value between 5 and 15, and check Monochromatic to avoid introducing randomly colored pixels. Optimal results are achieved shorter blends and gradients with a tonal value change of 50% or less.
Bleeds and Cropmarks:
Bleeds should always be .125 inch. Sometimes our digital press will image single pages or items multiple-up. While we will confirm your file before printing, you can place crop marks for ganged items such as individual business cards within the document manually to avoid cutting errors. When ganging items that have a bleed, extend the image 1⁄8 inch beyond the crop marks and allow a gutter of at least 1⁄4 inch between all items that bleed.
Duplex (2 sided) Printing:
With a press operator with over 25 years experience, we have no concerns about the image positioning of your 2 sided job when run on the offset press. However, as our digital press is a machine, please allow for a .063 inch variation of image positioning from front to back when printing digitally.
Trapping and Registration:
As always, our pressman will take care of everything when printing on the offset presses but, when printing digitally, please take the following into account. Because the sheet remains stationary on a rotating drum while each color is transferred, our digital press has near-perfect image registration. Consequently, the need for trapping is almost non-existent. Files are processed as composite Postscript only. Composite Postscript does not consider separate colors as independent, and therefore disregards information used to create traps. Automatic trapping in programs such as PageMaker, QuarkXPress and Illustrator will be ignored by our digital press. To obtain a denser black when using 100% black that overlays an image or underlying color, use the following formula to create a rich black color: 40% cyan, 40% magenta, 30% yellow and 100% black.
And don't forget.....
We're not just a print shop. Superior Printing Centre aims to be a complete, media solution and, as such, we are proud to offer several other digital media services to separate your business from the pack.
Need a marketing video edited? We can do that. Put on DVD? That too. What about personalizing the DVD or CD Labels? That’s available here. Want to transfer VHS to DVD or CD? We can do that too! Digital media is rapidly finding it’s place within our industry and we are not sitting back watching. Please call us any time to discuss your media production needs.
