Printing

We will help you, but please be aware that if we need to be involved in getting your artwork setup there may be a charge for our time. Please proof read your own documents. Please check if you require bleed.

Providing artwork for print

Please supply your files as A4 in single sheets - one page per single page - not as spreads nor setup as a booklet - no bleed, no need for crop marks (for pc or mac) if possible.

Please supply a screen shot of the artwork or a PDF. This is for our reference to make sure that nothing is missing or moved on the artwork when supplying.
PC operators – there is a button on the keyboard – "PRINT SCREEN".

Mac operators – apple, shift 4, high light the area you wish to copy, this then saves a png copy to your desktop.

PDF files are preferred, if in doubt save the page as an image (jpg, png, tiff) with a higher quality resolution. Name each page clearly, ie frontcover.jpg insidefrontcover.jpg page1.jpg etc…. please note that booklets are made up from folding a piece of A4 or A3 paper in half making 4 pages, or multiples of 4 – so your booklet will be spread across 4, 8, 12, 16 pages etc. To be on the safe side we recommend you insert page numbers in your document (especially booklets), we accept no reponsibility for the proper order of pages if there is no pagination. Please allow a blank 8mm border round printed areas.

If supplying PDF files don’t forget to either send the fonts, convert to curves or embed them in your pdf (we have a lot of fonts, but not all). If you send an image editing is difficult. PDFs can be edited depending on versions and how the document was setup.

Please note that when printing from Microsoft created files sometimes the finished document doesn’t print as you may have intended, ie Excel file margins may change. Please PDF these documents, or use pack and go as described below.

Depending on how you save your file, sometimes there are instances where we need fonts to be supplied separately ***. If you are sending files, especially pdf's please attach the font/s you need. It may also be a good idea to supply images and logos separately.

When saving files please provide 300dpi files. If saving as a pdf check the compression rates (how it downsamples the images), if you are sending a pdf in a web ready mode it may save as a very low resolution, 72dpi. This makes images "blocky". If you are using Publisher we suggest you check the help files regarding producing pdfs and how to use "pack and go".

Layout of copy often looks better if you switch off "auto hyphenation" and use a tab key instead of inserting spaces to line up text. If you have any query give us a call.

*** Its important that you always include all the fonts that were used in the creation of your document. There can be several versions of the font you used on the market (and to confuse matters, they can also be given different names). If we do not have the exact version, it is likely your layout may change. Even Times has more than one version.

Missing fonts in Publisher files- it may be helpful to check these links:-
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/publisher-help/embed-fonts-in-a-publication-to-ensure-their-availability-HP010015097.aspx

Fonts that are included with Office 2010 Pro are these :-
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2121313

Please either pack and go embedded fonts, create a high quality pdf or send the fonts separately.
Publisher will not create a pdf, try an online service or something like Cute pdf is free.
http://www.cutepdf.com/products/cutepdf/writer.asp
If the file size is under 1mb in size click here:- http://convert.neevia.com/pdfconvert/.

CorelDraw: When exporting PDF files from CorelDRAW, please convert all fonts to curves and reduce all transparencies.

Colour: Colour needs to be set as CMYK not RGB (RGB artwork will be converted to CMYK this could effect your colours when printed). We print CMYK but RGB files are acceptable.

If your image has a large amount of flat black please make sure the image is Key not CMYK. If you set a Pantone colour in your document please note that there may be instances when an exact match is not possible.

Brochures
When folding brochures with a high number of pages, the middle pages can be pushed outward resulting in a cascaded appearance. To prevent that objects near the edge such as page numbers, lines and other elements are cut off or are positioned too closely to the edge of the page, you should allow for the creep when creating print data. Please check with us if your booklet has more than 15 or 20 sheets of paper.

We use PC’s and Macs.

PC Fonts
On most Windows systems, you can view your loaded and usable fonts in the Windows Control Panel. Click on the Start button, then on Control Panel. Somewhere in there will be a folder with your fonts. Before copying your fonts, create a folder on your desktop into which you can copy the fonts. Then, locate the fonts you need within that Control Panel fonts folder. Select each font you want to copy. (Be sure to select all versions of the fonts you used. For example, also send Times Bold, Times Italic, and Times BoldItalic when sending Times Roman.) Next, right-click (and hold) on one of the selected fonts and drag onto the folder you created on the desktop. When you release the right button, a menu will appear. Click Copy to Folder (NOT Move to Folder). If you need to, compress that folder using WinZip and e-mail it to us as an attachment.

Mac Fonts
Fonts can now be located in any number of places on your computer. Using a font management program compounds this problem (but, if you're using a font management program, it is likely that you already know how to copy fonts). Use the Finder's find command to search for the fonts you need. (Sometimes, it is helpful to search for part of the name. For example, look for Casl when searching for Caslon224-Bold.) Go ahead and send us any font you think necessary. If you're looking for Times and you find Times and Times Roman and Times MT, send all three. (Be sure to select all versions of the fonts you used. For example, also send B Times Bold, I Times Italic, and BI Times BoldItalic when sending Times.) Create a folder on your desktop into which you can copy the fonts. From the results window of your search, copy each font (hold down the Option key as you drag so you don't move the files) into the folder you created on the desktop. After you have copied all of the fonts, compress that folder using Stuffit or OS X's Create Archive command and e-mail it to us as an attachment.

*** Ensure you copy the fonts, not move them *** best to go back in to check your fonts are still there.

Installing PDF Reader under Windows XP
Shut down all applications you are running. Click on the start button bottom left of your screen, click on control panel, Click on add remove programs, click on all copies you have of Adobe Reader and click on the remove button to remove them.

Once they are removed then:
Click onto this page
http://get.adobe.com/uk/reader/
click on the yellow download button, you may see a yellow bar appear just below your menu bar on your browser asking if its ok to download, click to allow the download.

Click on button to Download

You will see a green bar showing the progress of the download in the "download and installation progress" bar.
It may take a minute or two. Once install is complete click on the orange "close download manager" button

You will get a window pop up asking if you want to install. Click install.

Alternatively:
You may get a button asking if you want to install or run. choose run.

Click on your start button, programs, and look for the adobe file... it shows as Adobe Reader 9. Restart your PC.