Nationwide Printing Service: 800-903-4579
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File Preparation

What file formats and types do you accept?
We accept native files from the most common desktop publishing programs (QuarkXPress, InDesign and PageMaker). We also accept files in Photoshop, Illustrator and PDF format. Other formats may be acceptable, please call for more information.

Bleed
If you have color, type or images extending to the edge of your document, please be sure to extend it 1/8″ beyond the edge.

300 DPI Resolution
To achieve sharp, bright colors on images, we require them to be 300 DPI at 100%. Most images taken from the internet are only 72 DPI, which will result in poor quality if printed.

RGB vs. CMYK Color Space

  • RGB (Red, Green, Blue) is a color space used by monitors, digital cameras, scanners and some desktop printers.
  • CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) is the color space used by printing presses.

Issues in commercial printing projects arise from the fact that the RGB color space does not correspond exactly to the CMYK color space. It is therefore possible for you to see colors on you monitor that cannot be reproduced on the press. Converting to CMYK will allow you to see exactly what colors will be printed.

Preparation Checklist for Print Ready Files

  • Be sure that all files have been converted to CMYK. We can do a conversion for you, however, the results may not be what you are visualizing and may be at additional cost.
  • Be sure all images are 300 DPI
  • Text should be at least 1/4″ inside the cut lines
  • Please provide 1/8″ for bleed.
  • When gathering files, make sure you include the native document, photos, images and fonts.
  • When Making PDFs, please use the Press Quality setting, embed all fonts and include bleed.