If you have a question about artwork preparation or our printing process, this page should answer your questions. Just in case it doesn’t, please contact us and we will be happy to give you the answers you seek.
Why do you need my native working files (Adobe InDesign, QuarkXPress, Adobe Illustrator) along with supporting pictures and fonts when producing my job?
In the event we need to modify or adjust the artwork (trims, bleeds, folds, color corrections), it is best if we have your native files on hand. Whenever possible, include layered Adobe Photoshop files, PDFs, and all related documents and fonts.
What is the difference between a JPEG file and a TIFF file and which file format is better for print?
JPEG is a commonly used lossy compression format that tosses out little bits of data each time the file is edited and saved. This is not ideal when high quality reproduction is desired. JPEGs are widely used for displaying images on the World Wide Web. Although JPEG is the format digital cameras save the images as, they need to be converted to TIFFs (or another lossless format) before editing.
How do I send my files over to you?
The best way to send us your files is to utilize our FTP site to upload your artwork. However, you can also burn a disk with all the files, images and fonts. If the files are small enough (under 10MB) they can be compressed (using DropStuff for Mac or 7-Zip for Windows) and sent to us via e-mail.
What is the difference between spot and process colors?
A spot color is a specially mixed ink used in printing. Spot color inks come in a rainbow of colors, including some specialty inks such as metallic and fluorescent. Unlike process colors (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) which creates colors by laying down layers of just 4 specific inks, spot colors are pre-mixed and you use one ink for each color in the publication.