1. proofreed, proofread, proofread
Nothing can detract more from the impact of printed collateral than a typo. It may seem obvious, but it is surprising how often typos slip through because proofreading has been overlooked.
While it can be tempting to rely on spellcheckers, they should never be considered an adequate substitute for proofreading. A spellchecker will not pick up on missing words or keyboard slips, such as “fro” for “for” or “form” for “from”.
It’s not only spelling and grammar that needs checking in your artwork. Make sure any contact details – telephone numbers, web and email addresses, etc. – are correct. We always supply press-checked PDFs, and sometimes printed proofs for approval before we print, and recommend that these are always thoroughly checked.
2. image resolution for printing
A common issue with artwork files is that they contain low-quality, low-resolution images. These often appear fine on screen but won't print well. We recommend 300dpi (or 300ppi as it may appear in on-screen applications) as the minimum resolution for images at the actual size they are being reproduced.
Images below 300dpi, and especially below 100dpi, will appear blurry and pixelated and detract from the overall aesthetic of the printed product. We do not recommend resampling images upwards, although Photoshop now does a pretty good job of this. Photoshop can be used to improve image quality from say 200 to 300dpi, but less successfully from 100 to 300dpi.
An exception to this rule applies to images for large-format printing. As these are designed to be viewed at a distance, image quality is not as critical and we advise a minimum resolution of 150dpi.
3. convert colours from RGB to CMYK
If you are not specifying a Pantone colour (often used on letterheads, etc) artwork for colour printing should be converted from RGB to CMYK.
Generally, printing uses a 4-colour process where four distinct ink colours – Cyan (C), Magenta (M), Yellow (Y) and Black (K) – are overlaid to produce a range of other colours. RGB colour is for screen use only.
Digital photographs (taken with cameras and phones) will be RGB and many designers now design in RGB. However, RGB has a wider colour gamut than CMYK and some colours (particularly more vibrant reds and pinks, and electric blues) cannot be accurately matched using CMYK. Our 'using colour in print and screen' blog post provides more information on this topic.
Individual images can be easily converted from RGB to CMYK in photo editing software such as Photoshop. Alternatively, if you are using InDesign to create your artwork, you can use the Holywell CMYK PDF joboptions file to universally convert the colour mode in your files.
We always recommend reviewing your PDF after conversion to assess the changes moving from one colour mode to another will have. Colour shifts can usually be compensated for.
4. include a bleed
Where a design includes an image or colour that extends to the edge of the page, your artwork should include a bleed (ie extend the graphical element beyond the page trim).
Bleed is important because it provides tolerance in the trimming process and avoids unwanted white edges on the page. We require a 3mm bleed to be included on artwork, so all images and solid blocks of colour should extend 3mm beyond the trim size. We also suggest that any important text does not feature within 3mm from the trim edges, and remains in what is often termed the safe area.
Bleed should be included when exporting to PDF, see our tip on supplying PDFs below.
5. supply artwork in pdf
We use a PDF-based workflow and prefer artwork to be supplied in PDF format. This means you can be confident that what we print is unchanged from the files you supply (provided, of course, that you created your PDFs to our specifications).
If you create artwork in MS Word, remember to select the option to 'optimize for print' when you save your PDF file.
If using InDesign, you can download and apply the settings in the Holywell CMYK PDF joboptions file. Alternatively, if you are happy making the settings yourself, this is what we need:
general settings
Standard: None
Compatibility: Acrobat 5 (PDF 1.4)
Pages: All (Export as Pages)
image compression
Colour/Greyscale images: DO NOT Downsample. Compression Automatic (JPEG), Image Quality: Maximum.
Monochrome images: DO NOT Downsample; Compression CCITT Group 4.
Do not compress Text and Line Art.
marks and bleeds
Include Crop Marks and Page Information only. Set the weight of crop marks as 0.25pt and Offset by 3mm (so they don’t eat into the bleed).
Bleed: 3mm all round.
output
If your file contains RGB images you should convert them here to the Coated FOGRA39 profile to convert them to CMYK for printing. Review your PDF in this case before sending it to check for any colour shifts.
advanced
Make sure all fonts are embedded.
security
Do not include any security that prevents printing/opening the PDF and making changes. If your PDF contains sensitive information and you need security, then don’t forget to send us the passwords used securely.
We hope you've found this guide helpful. It's one of a series that aims to boost your knowledge and understanding of the design and printing processes, including:
There are many aspects of artworking and designing for print not covered here, so please call 01865 242098 or contact us using the button below if you have any questions about artwork file preparation. Better still why not get Holywell's design studio to create your artwork for you? We offer competitive rates and have intimate knowledge of materials, print finishes, different types of binding, and how to get the best from our presses.