Problems

A Few Common Problems seen with digital files.

When setting text, please use tabs, rather than spaces.
Do not put files that are not needed for your job on transfer disk.
Please provide a list of files to be used.
(This is for you more than us since it will force you to make sure you have included all the files needed for output.)

FONTS

Make sure you send all the font files for your job.
Postscript fonts include a screen font as well as a printer font. Mac and PC use different fonts. Postscript fonts for a PC will not work on a Mac. We support both types.

In programs like Quark and PageMaker don't use the style bar to bold, underline, strikethrough, shadow or make ALL CAPPS ect...unless you know for sure that you have that version of the font on your system and you can provide it to your printer.
In most cases you can use one function off the bar but not two, however in most files that we have seen using the style when you don't have the font will cause the applied style to be dropped when setting the page to film.
Postscript Fonts are preferred. You may use true type fonts but they are not as reliable as Postscript.

Fonts in Graphics

• When you create a graphic that includes type make sure the font is sent with the graphic to the final user.
  

• If your program supports curves or paths then just simply convert the type to Curves or paths or outlines and this will eliminate the need for the font.

Spot Colors

Make sure that the spot colors you use are ...

1. Set to spot color in the program you are using
   

2. Make sure you use the exact same name for the color in all files that are placed in your document and on items in your document.
   
3. Make sure you assignee a screen angle for you spot colors in Duotones. Stay within the standard angles for process work Cyan, Yellow, Magenta, and Black.

   RGB's

• All of the output devices in our shop are 4 color process. Please convert all RGB images to CMYK before sending us the files.
  

• Any RGB images will most likely be translated to grayscale and will only be produced on the black film.
  
• RGB images work fine on inkjet and color laser printers, although less consistent from one machine to another.
  
• Do not use JPEG images. These will usually translate as RGB and typical will not image correctly. If you must send a JPEG for transfer purposes, please let us know that it needs to be converted.
  
• Printers file preferences are .EPS or .TIFF for graphics - PDF files have come a long way if you understand the settings please by all means send PDF files.

  We support many programs.
  Here is a list of some that we have.

QuarkXpress

Adobe PageMaker

Adobe PhotoShop

Adobe Acrobat

Adobe Illustrator

Freehand

Note: Photoshop, Freehand and Illustrator along with some other good graphic programs are meant for just that graphics not page layout.

Use these programs for what they were intended for then place your graphics in a good page layout program Quark or PageMarker, Indesign.

 

 We are able to accept files via the following options

Email	DVD R RW	CDR's
250 meg zip	Memory stick USB	CDRW

Some other options may be available upon request.

If you compress your files. Make them self-extracting if possible so that we don't spend valuable time searching for the version of WinZip or Stuffit that you used.