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Printing / Prepress Checklists

BargainPrinting.com's Checklist for Graphic Designers
BargainPrinting.com recommends that you follow this checklist before sending your files for printing. Following this checklist will ensure that your files arrive to the printer in the best available format, maximizing the output quality:
If you are printing in full color: Make sure your files are in CMYK format only. Do not use RGB or any other color systems as they don’t give an accurate representation of what will print.
If you are using Spot Colors: Make sure to specify all Spot Colors. Choose colors from Pantone matching system. Files must be setup with appropriate colors in order to separate correctly.
Fonts - Make sure all fonts are either embedded or sent with the file.
Trim Area - All borders, text and important images are 1/4" away from edge of trim size.
Resolution - Make sure all images are 300dpi or 350dpi in order to produce the highest quality result. Although 72dpi may look acceptable on your monitor, it will result in poor image quality on printed products.
Bleeds - If you want any of your printed pieces to print to the edge of the paper (BLEED), make sure you provide a 1/8" of extra image all around.
Lines (Rule) - Keep lines (rules) more than .5 (1/2pt). If they are less than .5, they might not print.
Rich Black - (C-65 M-53 Y- 51 K-100) should be applied to large areas of black. Applying this code will ensure a consistent dense color when printed. Please be aware of the percentages of colors in that black color area. On your monitor blacks will look the same, but when printed it will show dramatically. Keep type only 100% Black (C-0 M-0 Y-0 K-100) especially font sizes under 28pt. for legibility.
Spell Check - Make sure you use spell check and grammar check throughout your piece before submitting the final copy. While most printing companies have their prep department review every file, they cannot guarantee all errors will be caught.
Finally, stuff or zip your file and send it!
© BargainPrinting.com. All rights reserved.

RobinDesign.com's Supplemental Prepress Checklist
In addition to following the above checklist provided by a printing company, we recommend that you also utilize Robins Design's checklist below. This is a list of some common things graphic designers may overlook. If a job has to be reprinted because of an error, it will cause delays and either you or your client (whoever is responsible for the error) will have to pay the costs. So when you think your files are perfect, that's when it's time to perform these tasks one more time:
Check that TIFFs are not in transparent object boxes, as the images may print pixelated. Apply white or other background color to the object boxes.
Check for consistency in punctuations, hyphenations, etc. Examples: Use en-dashes or em-dashes, not both. Correctly use smart/typesetter quotes vs. inch symbols, and apostrophes vs. foot marks.
Review everything at least at 100%. Reviewing pages and graphics at less than 100% may not reveal unintended "artifacts" and misalignments.
Correct any unintended widows and hard returns.
If you're not sure about how something will print, don't hesitate to ask the printing company.
Check that your bleeds are 1/8" to 1/4" outside the print area.
Output color separations to make sure everything prints as intended and nothing is a color that is not on your job's color palette.
Have at least one other staff member review everything.
Manually proofread everything, manually proofread everything, manually proofread everything! Spell check and grammar check do not catch all errors, and neither do some clients. Example of a mistake they won't alert you to: "Proofreading is not my job." versus "Proofreading is now my job." (I know...it's not your job to proofread. It would take a whole page to explain why this is an important task.)
Check street addresses, numbers, email addresses, URLs, titles, and spelling of names. If something doesn't look right to you, even if your client provided it that way, verify it with the client. (Okay...this isn't really partof your job either, but you can understand how a typo in contact information would be a huge problem.)
If possible, allow an extra day in the production schedule to give you time to review the file one last time when you're not tired or in a hurry.
Assemble a "dummy" (mock-up), folded as the final printed piece shoud be, for the printing company's reference. Attach any special notations and specifications, as well as reference them in red on pages of the dummy if appropriate.
© RobinsDesign.com. All rights reserved.
download a free PDF file of this graphic design prepress checklist (August 2004)

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