Digital Directions - Columns

Pre-Press Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
submitted by Dean Pearson

Use this handy checklist when you are preparing your files for output at a service bureau. Much time and money can be saved by getting it right the first time and you don't want to miss your deadline!
1. Fonts not included with job.
Don't assume that your service bureau or printer will have your fonts. Always send every font you used in your document. Make sure to include fonts used in any placed EPS graphics as well. Even if you only used Times and Helvetica, make sure to send them along. When sending Type 1 fonts, make sure to send both the screen and printer font files.
Even the most experienced designers can forget to include their fonts, so always remember to double check.
2. Placed graphics not included with job.
Always include every graphic placed in a page layout program with your job. Missing graphics will either print as low-resolution bitmaps or not at all. The easiest way to be sure you include all linked files is to keep them all in the same location as you work. If you use a logo from an earlier job, don't just place it from its previous location-copy it to the new job's location first, then place it from there.
If you wish your service bureau or printer to set the color trapping in your file, you should remember to always send the original graphic file, as well as the EPS. For example, if you have designed a logo in Freehand and then exported it as an EPS in order to place it in QuarkXpress, send both the EPS and the native Freehand file with your job. Generally speaking, EPS files are not editable and any trapping required within or because of them cannot be done unless the native files are present too.
3. Graphics too complex.
Many elements and techniques commonly used in computer-based graphic designs are very complicated, as far as an imagesetter is concerned. Some common over-uses, guaranteed to increase the time required to image your job, or to potentially prevent it from imaging at all, are:

A. Too many graduated fills on a single page.
In order to print a graduated fill, an imagesetter must calculate vast amounts of information. While the use of a few graduated fills on a page usually doesn't cause a problem, covering a page with them does. If order to avoid Postscript errors and costly, long imaging times, replace the graduated fills in your design with blends. Make sure to set the target DPI for your document to match the DPI of the final output device (i.e., the device the service bureau or printer will use to generate your film) before creating your blends. This will allow your program to generate blends with an appropriate number of steps and therefore to reduce banding.
B. Paths too complex.
Generally speaking, a path created in a drawing program should contain no more than a few hundred points. Overly complex paths are frequently generated by scanned-image tracing programs like Adobe Streamline. When using such a program, always make sure to clean up the resulting draw-type graphic in your drawing program.
You should be particularly careful to avoid overly complex paths if they are going to subsequently be used as clipping paths. (Freehand's Paste Inside feature is an example of a technique which generates a clipping path.)
C. Resolution of scanned image too high.
When scanning an image which is going to be reproduced as a halftone, you should use a DPI setting twice the amount of the final print job's LPI. For example, an photo which is going to be printed at a 150 line screen ruling (150 LPI) should be scanned in at no more than 300 DPI. Any resolution above that results in unneeded overhead. A 1200 DPI scan will print the same as a 300 DPI scan when printed at 150 LPI, so it makes no sense to waste the disk space or imaging time on the larger scan.
Also, it is better to size images in the scanning or image manipulation software (such as Photoshop or Ofoto) than to resize scans after they have been placed in a page layout program. Resizing them after they have been placed requires more imaging time.
4. Banding.
When designing a project using graduated fills or blends, always set the resolution in the page or document setup dialog box to match the resolution of the final output device (e.g. 2540 DPI for an image setter). When you create a blend or use a graduated fill, the drawing program uses the current DPI setting to calculate the appropriate number of steps to use. If you leave the DPI setting at 300, the program will generate significantly fewer steps and will produce more obvious banding.
Generally speaking, try to keep objects containing graduated fills to less than seven inches in length, and also try to keep the range of the colors in the fill to a minimum. (A fill running from 50% of a color to 80% will generate less banding than one running from 100% down to 0%.) If you are unsure about how your design will print, send a test file containing similar blends or fills to your service bureau or printer. The small investment of time and money will help to prevent many future headaches.
5. Inadequate information and inaccessibility.
Don't drop off a complex job at your service bureau or printer at 4:30 on Friday expecting it back on Monday morning and then take a weekend trip to Fiji. The service bureau or printer may need to contact you about your job in order to ask you questions about it or for some clarification. Always leave a number and name where you may be reached.
Also, if your service bureau or printer has an output information sheet, fill it out. No, really, fill it out completely. If you are unsure about any of the information, call and ask for help. A completely and accurately filled-out output sheet will prevent the most common delays-those caused by lack of information.