Last updated: April, 2005
This web page is meant as a guide for files being sent to General Type for output.
Other file types, notably Acrobat PDF, and production techniques than those outlined here can produce successful finished products.
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Color Printing Production Tips |
General |
Produce art at full size (100%) on oversize pages that include trim marks and bleed in page area but outside trim area (i.e. draw in trim marks). If a page is too large to produce at 100%, produce it at 50% or 25% size (an even proportion) and we will print it at, for instance, 200% or 400% size.
Page layout should be in native program format (i.e. Quark Xpress, InDesign, PageMaker, FreeHand, etc) instead of .eps or postscript files. Color Matching is in the eye of the beholder. Photos or continuous tone art should, ideally, be in uncompressed Macintosh RGB TIF format for digital printing. Our printers support other formats, including Windows and CMYK formats. (This does not apply to photos headed for film and traditional printing presses. CMYK TIF format is best for four-color seperation.) Logos and line art will reproduce best if they are vector art, .eps format from programs like FreeHand and Illustrator. Type should be set in a page layout (like Quark Xpress or InDesign) or illustration program (like FreeHand or Illustrator) and not in a paint program (like Photoshop). This will ensure clear, defined edges regardless of the reproduction size. |
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Lambda |
Scanning at 150 dpi at full size is a good rule of thumb for this printer/imager.
Continuous tone data can be scanned as low as 50 dpi at full size and may not pixellate, but it depends on the nature of the image. For instance, images with straight lines in any direction tend to show pixellation at low resolutions. Vector art (line drawings) should be saved in .eps format. Paint images (photographs) can be saved as RGB tif or PhotoShop .eps files. |
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Inkjets |
Scanning at 150dpi at full size is a good rule of thumb for our printers.
Continuous tone data can be scanned as low as 72 dpi at full size and may not pixellate, but it depends on the nature of the image. For instance, images with straight lines in any direction tend to show pixellation at low resolutions. RGB formatted photos are recommended, but this system reproduces CMYK and PC formatted images accurately, too. |
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On-demand
color printing (Canon 1150) |
This is a 4-color (CMYK) printing system. Ideally, all artwork should be set up as CMYK and not RGB.
Scanning at 200 dpi at full size is a good rule of thumb for this printer. It is best not to oversample the scans (higher resolution images will "muddy" and darken during printing). Page layout should be done at full size without trim marks -- these are added during printing -- in reader's spreads. The maximum sheet size is 12 x 18 inches (this allows finished prints to be 11 x 17 with bleed). This system can print simplex (one-sided) or duplex (two-sided). It can also impose the pages and set up printing signatures automatically (for duplex book or phamplet printing). |
Large Format Color Printing | Pre-Press and Fine Art Color | Vinyl Cutting | 3-Dimensional Figures
High Resolution Film and Paper | Scanning | Typography | Desktop Publishing