There is no better way to assure that your job
will reach it’s ultimate publishing potential, not to mention
save everyone time, money, and headaches, than for the job to
arrive correctly in the first place.
A
few of the easiest to remember, and helpful rules of thumb are
to never use embedded art and images in your
publications, do not use Microsoft Word Art if you can avoid
it, and limit your publication to 4 or fewer fonts.
Our guidelines (click on a topic below for
further description):
Common publication sizes
• Tabloid Sizes:
11.25” x 17”
11.25” x 15”
11.25" x 13.5" • Signature: 8.125” x
10.625”
We can do other sizes, so please contact a
customer service representative
for more information.
These sizes represent the finished, trimmed
page. The “live” (printable) area for tabloids is roughly 1”
smaller, with preferably .5” margins around all sides, or at
the absolute least .4375” margins. If the image goes beyond
this margin it may be cut off.
Tabloid publications must contain multiples
of 4 pages; signatures should be multiples of 8. The number of
pages your publication contains will determine which pages can
be full and spot color. The general rule of thumb is usually
front, back, and center can contain process color. However,
there are many options so please check with an MPI printing
representative before assuming which pages will be color.
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Supplying electronic files
MPI accepts Zip Disks, 3.5” floppy disks,
CD-R, Jaz disks and can also receive files by FTP (mullenpublications.net)
or by email:
epp@mullenpublications.com. Please ensure that
your transfer disk is not corrupted and virus free before you
send it to MPI. The best way to do this is to open the file
from the disk. NEVER send your only copy of a job.
We are Mac-Based, but also have PC
capabilities.
File formats
We are equipped to receive digital files in
these formats:
Quark XPress
Adobe PageMaker
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Acrobat
Macromedia FreeHand up to 8.0
Microsoft Word (for copy transfer only)
ASCII Text
Others (contact a representative)
Laser prints of the most updated version of
your document should be sent along with your disk. Otherwise,
we are not responsible for discrepancies between what is
provided and what goes to film. (You may send reduced-size
lasers if your printer will not accommodate your page size.)
Also double check your dates and page number
orders and spellcheck before transferring your job. If we see
discrepancies we will change them or contact the customer.
However, we are not responsible for these mistakes.
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Include linked files and fonts
Whatever program you use, please ensure that
all linked graphic files are copied onto the disk. This
includes clip art, especially color clip art. We recommend and
sell Markzware FlightCheck Designer. Use FlightCheck to ensure
your images are high resolution and to collect all the files
into one folder.
Click here to obtain your FREE
trial copy.
In Quark XPress, Choose File >
Collect For Output. This will allow you to create a folder on
your transfer disk. This does not include fonts. You must
collect your fonts separately.
In PageMaker 6.5, Choose File > Save
As and then select Save All Linked Files. This also does not
include fonts.
It is very helpful to us to include all of
your images in one folder. This makes it much easier to relink
the files.
It is imperative to provide all fonts with
your job to avoid acquiring additional costs for our time to
fix them. There are three main types of fonts, Post Script,
True Type and OpenType. Post Script fonts are most preferable.
They also can be contained in Suitcases that contain several
members of the same font family (like the bold and italic
versions). These fonts also require that you include the
corresponding “printer fonts”. These are usually noted by and
have names that are abbreviated versions of the font. True
Type fonts do not require a printer font, but are more likely
to cause inconsistencies. For instance, beware of using “font
attributes” (like bold, italic or outline) built into page
layout programs. Often these will not print properly. OpenType
fonts are the most reliable and can be used on Windows
machines as well as Macs.
You can determine the fonts that you use in
Quark under Window: Usage and in Pagemaker under Plug-Ins: Pub
Info (If you have the plug-in).
It’s best to put all your fonts in one
folder.
Do not put completely different fonts in the
same suitcase.
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Submitting text and layout information
• Save text in ASCII format
or Text Only format.
• For hard copy text to be
scanned, do not fax it to us and do not write on, or make
corrections on the original.
• For publications which we
are to create, a mock-up or dummy of the finished publication
indicating rough placement of articles, graphics and
advertising will reduce layout time and avoid confusion.
Supplying camera ready
• 600 dpi (or greater)
black-and-white laser output of text and line art is
acceptable. Inkjet printouts do not produce desirable results
in most cases.
• Sizes and margins should
be the same as specified previously.
• All images should be
scaled and clearly marked as to their placement position.
• Pasted up pages need to be
imposed in “printer spreads”, preferably at 100% of their
intended printed size. If you have any questions about the
proper configuration, contact us.
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Supplying film
• Film supplied to MPI must
be right reading, emulsion down. Halftones preferably should
be 100 linescreen. Other linescreens may be acceptable.
• Color separations should
be identified as to their ink color outside the image area.
• Please double check the
image area and page size specifications.
Image file formats
For photos, TIFF files (uncompressed) are
most preferable for optimal quality. Bitmaps (.BMP), PICTs, (.PIC)
or Windows Metafiles (.WMF) and others are strongly
discouraged, as they are more likely not to print properly.
Freehand, Illustrator or other vector
graphic program files should be saved as EPS files. Before
saving the file, you may avoid potential problems by selecting
any text in the illustration and converting it to paths. Try
to include all native images in the EPS files just in case as
well. Consider trapping color elements which touch or overlap
in these files or ask for help.
Clip Art images should preferably be opened
and converted to TIFF or EPS images if they are already not.
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Color usage
Spot colors: Use only one color swatch icon
in your page layout program for all of your spot color usage.
Similar colors or shades of a color that don’t have the exact
same name will not separate on the same plate. However, tints
of the same color swatch are fine. This is also true of
EPS/vector files and Channels in Photoshop files. Lastly, you
need to define your colors as spot. Creating spot color in
Photoshop can be a rather complicated procedure that we can
explain to you. However, it requires a solid knowledge of the
program.
Inform a Mullen representative of the spot
color you choose to use before submitting your job in case a
special order must be placed.
All full color images must be in CMYK, not
RGB, especially check color clip art. Otherwise they will not
separate properly.
Do not use “registration” color for blacks.
This causes the color to print on all plates, which
oversaturates and complicates registration.
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Scanner and image settings
Scan photos at 200 dpi or ppi (150-300 is
acceptable), or at line screen 133 (100-150 is acceptable).
Also the physical Image Size in Photoshop should be as close
to the size that it will appear printed as possible. The
greater the distortion in the Page Layout program the less
accurate the image.
Scan Line Art at 600 dpi and save as a 1 bit
tif.
Add a little more resolution for lower
quality scanners.
Our press has a dot gain of about 30%. This
means that images will darken on press. You can set this in
the Color Settings in your Photoshop preferences.
Use Levels or Curves to manipulate photos.
The brightest point in your image should be about 3%-5% (in
info palette). Any brighter will wash out. The darkest point
should be about 80-85% in the info palette. Any darker will
muddy on press. Visually change midtones.
• Rule of thumb: More yellow
than magenta in skin.
• If there is a neutral
area, use the mid-tone eyedropper to eliminate color cast.
• Eliminate over-saturation
of a color with Selective Color in the Adjust menu.
• Black created in Photoshop
defaults to being built. You should set your black area,
easpecially type, to overprint (100% black plus the color
underneath0. Check info palette to test results. Black type
over a color or photo can be set to overprint by selecting "Multipy"
in the Layers palette.
• Sharpen photo if
necessary. The Unsharp Mask filter allows you the best
control. The settings you use will vary depending on the image
and the quality of your scanner. It’s better to under-sharpen
than over-sharpen.
• EPS’s with clipping paths
should have a flatness of 3 or higher.
• PageMaker and Quark users
should remove all extra items from the pasteboard
(non-printing area).
• Our ECRM Scriptsetter
outputs at a 100 linescreen at 1270 dots per inch.
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Trapping
Trapping is a process of compensating for
the slight shift in registration which can occur from one
plate of color to the next.
If a publication uses spot or process color,
TRAPPING MUST BE USED. Some layout programs will trap
automatically, but only if you specify that they do so.
Usually default settings will be accurate.
However, if you have any question please contact a
representative.
Quark
Trapping Preferences
(under Edit > Preferences > Trapping... )
Auto Method: Absolute
Auto Amount: .01”
Indeterminate: .01”
Overprint Limit: 95%
X Ignore White
X Process Trap
PageMaker
Trapping Preferences
(under Utilities menu)
X Enable Trapping
X Traps over imported objects
Default: 0.003”
Auto Overprint: Text below 72 pts.
In closing …
While this is certainly not the entirety of
the complexities of preparing your job for press, following
these will steer you well on your way to assuring that you "Realize
Your Publishing Potential"!
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