Basic Checklist For Your Printing Project

By Author: Brent Durell
Total Articles: 172
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You have finalized your design for your brochure or catalog and now it needs to be submitted to the business printing service provider. Regardless of how experienced or knowledgeable you are in print design, can you be sure that the design or layout you see on the screen of your computer monitor would come out exactly like that at the print shop? What you see on the monitor screen is not what always emerges from the printer. To achieve best results, here are several of the important things you need to check before sending your design file to the business printing company of your choice.

- The image resolution should be 300dpi (dots per inch) at the minimum and, if possible, save the file as tiff files.

- If you are opting for color printing, make sure to double check that the files are in Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black or CMYK format because other color systems can be confusing and come out differently as they looked on the screen.

- Ensure that all the images in your file are updated. Don’t forget to include on screen fonts and linked images with your layout file.

- Include a mock-up with the digital ...
... files to help the printer identify the folds, spreads, and pagination. This will avoid any mistake and improve the chances of the final output looking exactly how the layout appeared on the screen.

- Try to stay away from small text, particularly thin or intricate fonts. If you really need to use small text from some pages, then print them in black for improved readability.

- Be careful on the stock you choose. Uncoated stock, for example, is very absorbent, so ink will surely run. Consider discussing this issue with the business printing service provider and determine your best option to make sure that the results will not look messy.

- Proofread. Misspellings and typos are the most common mistake in printing. They can easily mess up an otherwise excellent publication and cause your business to loss a considerable amount of money. Most business printing companies do some checking although ultimately, it is your responsibility to make sure that the copy is error-free and won’t be a cause of embarrassment for you.

Remember these useful tips the next time you design your publication. Keep in mind that prepress planning and appropriate file preparation can contribute to a successful printing project. These steps can make the final printed output match your expectations and that everything goes smoothly and the project stays on schedule. It pays to have a smooth printing process so you can avoid any costly mistakes, redundant reprints or simply ending up with a product in your hands that you are not satisfied with. If you are letting an El Paso business printing company handle your print job, you can be sure that they can resolve any printing problems. But if you take these simple tips into consideration, you have a better chance of producing a great publication without any hassle.