Imposition and Crop Marks

Okay friends,

Here is the definition of Imposition: Arrangement of pages on mechanicals or flats so they will appear in proper sequence after press sheets are folded and bound.

The reason I gave the definition is to let you know what it is that we do with your single page files. Clinton Press prefers single page layouts because we have to save and rip individual pages to Rampage, then Kathy my prepress expert imposes the pages to fit the way we print and fold and or stitch the job.

I have files sent in all the time in printer spreads and reader spreads. Also I get high resolution pdfs with crop marks, color bars, etc.

When you send in a file make sure it is set up in single pages in the document, also when you send in a pdf you will save time and money by including the bleed (1/8th of an inch .125") but please leave the crop marks and other stuff off.

I have to manually remove those before I rip it in rampage and give it to Kathy the Imposition and Proofing Specialist.

Hope this helps with the meaning of Imposition and why we ask for files in Single pages.

Thanks and Have a Great Weekend!

Bleed, Bleed, Bleed and more Bleed

Good Morning!

I would like to talk about bleed and how much bleed a standard for printing is. Our standard for bleed is 1/8th (0.125") of an inch at Clinton Press. We don't need 1/4 of an inch, sometimes we can get away with 1/16th (0.062) if there is no other way around it.

Some photos may be placed at the edge of your document and the placement may only allow for 1/16th of an inch bleed, but if possible make it bleed off the page at least 1/8th of an inch.

What happens when we do not have bleed on a page or document is when the files are imposed (placed together in a spread to print on a sheet) it make leave a white line where the two pages without bleed line up in the imposition.

Usually if a customer sends a file without bleed, I will request a file with bleed. But if the file has a solid background I can usually fake the bleed myself by adding it to the outer edges in Indesign.

Please always check and plan your design. If you plan on using photos that run off the page or to the edge allow placement to bleed at least 1/8th of an inch. In Indesign you can set your document up to add 1/8th bleed around the page and you will have a guide of the placement of your elements so that they will bleed off the page.

Thanks Have a Great Day!

Importing Graphics in Indesign CS4 Problems

Happy Wednesday!

I have noticed since working with Indesign CS4 that when I go to import a link into a graphics box that I draw in Indesign, the size of the imported graphics changes percentages.

It is crazy, thank goodness I caught it before sending a job to proofing. I checked it out and it is a new feature that automatically fits the image inside the graphics box. If you go to the Windows tab at the top: select Object styles: there should be 3 different ones inside the Object Styles Panel.

Make sure to select none, then draw your box. This way when you go to import the links it will not resize. If you don't select that, Indesign will automatically resize either up or down and scale the image you try to place in the Indesign document.

I am not really sure I like the new automated feature. It actually creates more work on my part when I try to import a link in. Let me know what you think of this new feature and also any other weird problems you may be having with the new Indesign CS4.

Have a great week!

New Illustrator CS4 saves 2 version of EPS...Why?

Hi Everyone!

Are you sick of the winter weather and snow yet?

I am ready for spring!

Since we have been getting files from CS4 Illustrator, I have noticed

customers sending duplicates of the same file. I wasn't sure what was

going on until I saved my own illustrator file, here is what I end up:

two of the same resulting .eps files, one with the name I saved

it to, and the other with "the name-01".

So I went online to find out why that happens, I went to the Adobe

website to get the answer:

Uncheck the "Use Artboard" option in the save as EPS dialog. When

it's check, and the "All" ratio is check this will give you one EPS

containing everything in your document AND one for each artboard.

That why even if you have only one artboard in your situation you

get two eps.

The guy on Adobe goes to explain this:

One advantage or enabling the "Use Artboard" in this dialog even if

you only have one artboard is that Illustrator will create a clipping of

your art to the size of the Artboard itself, so you won't have to worry

about the objects that are outside the artboard. In this scenario, what

you need to do, is enable "Use Artboard" but uncheck the "all" ratio

and enter 1 in the Range field.

This is great information for you if you want to save 1 file only.

Hope this helps to explain the new weird function Adobe Illustrator

CS4 does.

Digital Printing Problems

Happy Monday Y'all!

Remember a couple of months ago when we had problems with the client's PDFs dropping out images and having problems with printing after it is processed through the rip on our Xerox Digital Printer?

Well I have run into the same problem several times since then. It seems that the PDFs look great on the screen and when printed to a laser printer. So the opening of the PDF in photoshop to flatten the transparencies does not work all the time.

What I have to do after I open in photoshop is flatten it then save as an eps, then I have to create a document in Indesign. Next import images that have been flattened in photoshop and re-do another pdf of the entire document. This almost always works. I believe the problem is the complex objects and shadows.

Also I think the complexity of the transparencies and shadows on top of each other in Indesign is causing a problem inside the rip. But if I get the original Indesign files, my pdfs I create from the original file usually work.

Since there are so many different settings in Indesign to create a high resolution PDF, it would be best to send the native Indesign file along with the High Res PDF to your printer. This will cut down on the cost and time in prepress trying to fix a PDF that is fine before it goes to a rip for a digital press, or plates.

Contact your printer and talk about the settings to create the high resolution Pdf before you release it to the printers.

Thanks and Have a Great Week!

Nikki

CS4 UP and Running

Hello,

Finally we have CS4 up and running at Clinton Press. I wanted to thank everyone for being so patient. Also for taking the time to save the Indesign files as INX files. I know it can sometimes be a pain. We really appreciate it though!

We have had CS4 for awhile now but it would not run on my system. We have upgraded memory, etc. Now we are able to get those CS4 files with no trouble. If anyone has any problems with crashing or fonts, could you let me know? Just curious if there are any kinks I should know about ahead of time.

Thanks again to everyone, send those CS4 files! YAY! No more INX files required! Have a great week!

Nikki

How to set up Digital Printing Jobs for Clinton Press

Today I will explain the best way to send files for Digital Printing. If you send files for the digital press this will be the most cost effective way.

All digital press files should be sent in high resolution PDF format. When saving the high resolution Pdf, make sure to include 1/8th of an inch bleed (0.125"). That of course is if your document has bleed or photos and art that runs off the edge of the page.

You should NOT include registration marks, bleed marks, color bars or page information. If the high res pdf has any of these items, the prepress department has to remove the items from the pdf and then crop it to the edge before sending to the Digital press. This can be time consuming and add more cost to the job.

Make sure to send the lasers also so that the prepress has something to compare to. Believe it or not, all pdfs are not created equally. Some pdfs can become corrupt in the file transfer process (email, ftp, etc).

If you ever have any questions about the type of files to send, please contact your printer, they can tell you the best way and most cost effective type files to send.

Have a great week! Its cold outside, bundle up and stay warm!