FILE HANDLING
DO I NEED TO SUPPLY FONTS WITH MY FILES?
Yes, if you supply a file in a layout program such as Adobe InDesign, Quark Xpress, Microsoft Publisher. Include Postscript or open type printer and screen fonts.
WHAT IS BLEED AND HOW DO I SET IT UP?
Bleed is a term that refers to printing that goes beyond the edge of the sheet after trimming. The image should be extended 1/8” outside of the print area to ensure no white is visible when trimmed. When saving a PDF file bleeds and trim marks must be added.
HOW FAR SHOULD I LAYOUT MY ARTWORK FROM THE TRIM EDGE?
Anything since you don’t want it trimmed off. Text should be inset at least 1/8” from the trim edge.
HOW SHOULD I IMPOSE MY ARTWORK?
Always supply single page (1-up) files.
HOW SHOULD I SET UP MY FILE(S)?
All files supplied should be on the correct page size required. Please DO NOT impose your files in any way, this applies especially to business cards. If your artwork requires ‘bleed’ see notes above.
WHAT RESOLUTION SHOULD MY FILE(S) BE?
Images for press or digital print should be at 300dpi at final size. Wide format prints (posters, signs etc) can be min 100dpi at final size.
WHAT PDF EXPORT PRESET IS BEST SUITABLE FOR PRINT?
- Set “High Quality Print” as your preset.
- If your document has bleeds (artwork that extends off the edge of the page), be sure to turn them on in the “Marks and Bleed” section of the Export dialog box.
- Set the bleed amount to at least 0.125” on all 4 sides.
- Turn on “Crop Marks”. Offset (crop mark distance from page) should be at least 6pt. (0.0833”, the default). Do NOT set the Offset to zero.
I WANT TO SEND NATIVE LAYOUT FILES. WHAT DO I NEED TO INCLUDE? HOW?
Adobe InDesign:
Choose “Package…” from the File menu. Turn on the check boxes to include linked images and fonts. This will save a copy of your layout and supporting files in a new folder (you specify). If you’re uploading the files to us via the internet, please compress the resulting folder into a single ZIP file.
Quark XPress:
Choose “Collect for Output…” from the File menu. Turn on the checkboxes to include linked images and fonts. This will save a copy of your layout and supporting files in a new folder (you specify). If you’re uploading the files to us via the internet, please compress the resulting folder into a single ZIP file.
Microsoft Publisher:
Choose “Pack and Go > Take to a Commercial Printing Service…” from the File menu. The Wizard will walk you through the process of gathering and compressing your files, which you’ll then send to us.
SHOULD I SEND MY FILES AS SPREADS, OR OTHERWISE IMPOSE OR "STEP UP" MY PAGES TO BE PRINTED?
In most cases, No. We prefer that you send your documents as single pages (1up). We have software that automates the imposition process and it gives us the flexibility to change page setups for varying press conditions. It’s faster for us to do the imposing, and it’s one less thing for you to worry about so you can focus on the design.
HOW DO I SAVE MY IMAGES IN ORDER TO GET A TRANSPARENT BACKGROUND?
Save the image as a PNG file. PNG supports transparency, whereas JPEG does not.
THE RESULTS
WHAT ABOUT IMAGES CREATED WITH PHOTO EDITING SOFTWARE?
Please provide images created at at least 300 pixels per inch or 300dpi. If you have incorporated any text we suggest 400-600dpi. Images pulled from the internet are often low resolution, typically 72 dpi or 96 dpi. Avoid these images, as they will appear pixelated and blocky when printed.
WILL I GET A PMS COLOUR MATCH ON A DIGITAL PRINTER?
No. The digital printing software will convert your PMS colour to CMYK and try to match it as close as possible.
HOW ACCURATELY WILL MY ARTWORK MATCH MY OWN PRINTOUT?
We cannot guarantee that your printed graphics will match the colour from our own printers. This is due to widely variable elements such as monitors, inkjet, laser, thermal, etc.
WHY DOES MY PICTURE LOOK AWFUL WHEN I PRINT IT? IT LOOKS OKAY ON MY SCREEN?
Short Answer: Never trust your computer screen!
Long Answer: Your computer screen shows 72 dots per inch. Printers print at 600 dots per inch. If you reduce your images to anything around 72 dots per inch they will look fine on your computer screen. They will, however, look awful when printed. Scan your photos at 150 – 300 dpi.
WILL THE PRINT COLOURS BE LIKE WHAT I SEE ON MY COMPUTER SCREEN?
N0. What you see on your screen and what you can print are totally different things. Your monitor is showing colours in the form of light, and print is showing colours in the form of physical ink on paper. Monitors use the RGB (red, green, blue) colour model, which usually supports a wider spectrum of colours. Printers use the CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) colour model, which can reproduce most, but not all, of the colours in the RGB colour model.
SENDING FILES
WHAT’S THE MAXIMUM FILE SIZE THAT CAN BE UPLOADED VIA THE WEBSITE?
There is no set size limit. There is, however, a TIME limit of 3 hours. After 1 hour of uploading, the system will send you (and us) a warning message that your file hasn’t finished transferring. You can ignore this message if your file is still sending and you’re sure it will finish before the 3 hour limit expires. Connection speeds vary widely.
We’ve had customers with extremely fast internet connections send hundreds of megabytes in mere minutes. A conservative estimate for most cable or DSL connections is 100MB upload per hour. Thus, the web-upload method should be fine for files up to 300MB or so. If you need to upload larger files, we also have an FTP site. Please contact us for login information.
WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO SEND MANY LARGE FILES THAT ARE TO BIG TO EMAIL?
Step 1: Gather the files you need to send into a single compressed archive (.zip) file. Recent versions of Mac OS X and Windows can do this for you. Select the files/folders you want to ZIP, right click and choose “Send to compressed (zipped) folder” (Windows) or “Create archive of [file names]” (Mac OS X).
(The wording of the “compress” commands may vary depending on your version of Windows or Mac OS X.)
Step 2: Go to our website (www.allegra.ca) and click the File Transfer button.
Step 3: Fill out the form as required, then click the “Choose File” button near the end of the page. Select the ZIP file you created in Step 1.
Step 4: Click the green “Send” button. A progress bar should appear so you can monitor the upload progress. (If a progress bar does NOT appear, you may need to turn off your web browser’s pop-up blocker, but this is VERY rare.) Once the upload is finished, the system will send you (and us) a confirmation email. If necessary you can send us either CD ROM, DVD, USB drives or upload the files to our ftp site.
WHAT FILE FORMATS DO YOU ACCEPT?
Press-ready PDFs, InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Quark Xpress, Microsoft Office – Word, Excel & Publisher. PC and MAC platforms. Links and fonts must also be provided.