useful information

Helpful Hints

• Involve your printer in the beginning of the project -- your printer can offer a lot of insight and help find the most cost effective methods to work with. Additionally, they can help you consolidate the process, saving time and money.
• If the printed piece is a direct mailer, mock-up a sample from the paper stock you've chosen to be sure it will mail at a reasonable rate.
• If specialty paper is to be used, order it early, while the piece is being designed to avoid delays.
• Make sure to choose a paper that is suitable for your end product. Think about how the colours you've chosen will look on the paper you picked. The colour and appearance of ink can actually change depending on the colour, texture, coating and weight of the paper you're using. If you are not sure, just ask your printer and they'll be able to guide you on the best paper choices.
• Ask your printer what their house stock is. This is usually bought in bulk so the price is always right!
• Make sure that the piece is designed to come out of a standard size stock to eliminate waste. Odd sized pieces do stand out, but be prepared to pay more for this uniqueness.
• Account for time involved with your project -- from start to finish: -- design time (including revision time and plate output) -- print time - make sure you take the printer's schedule into account before committing to a deadline --bindery time (if the piece needs to be folded, die cut, stitched, etc.) --mail time (the mail house or your staff will need proper time to stuff, sort and code if doing a bulk mail-out)
• Varnish heavy ink coverage items to prevent ink rub-off and finger printing. When using process (CMYK) and PMS inks together on the same project, try to convert the PMS inks to CMYK. This will save on extra plate and run charges. But keep in mind that some PMS inks cannot be reproduced exactly in process inks (i.e., Reflex Blue).
• Proofread all copy several times. Let three or four people also read over it. More people checking a piece can mean fewer mistakes are missed. Changes are least expensive at the first proofing.
• Stay away from design options like foil stamping and embossing. The price of the piece will be drastically higher if these processes are used. Instead, ask your designer or printer for ways to add something special to the piece with metallic inks or special varnishes.
• Make sure you aren't violating any copyright laws like copyrights to text, graphics, photographs, stock photographs, drawings, computer art and other content sources. You should be able to demonstrate that you have legally secured permission from copyright holders to reproduce their content for the purpose of the printed job.
• When working with several matching printed pieces, ask for a combination run price or submit the jobs at the same time. Most printers give a discount if more than one job can be run at the same time.
• If you have a project that changes copy frequently (like product sheets), consider printing up generic stock. They can be overprinted at a later date with updated information. This makes a product versatile and customizable.
• When submitting artwork on disk, remember these tips: --supply a complete proof (either laser or colour) of the final file provided for output -- submit only PDF, TIFF or EPS formats regardless of platform --convert colour graphic files from RGB to CMYK including any nested or embedded elements -- always list applications used, file names, directories and fonts used -- always send the fonts used in the project along with the disk and embed or outline them in the document.
• Always submit written detailed instructions with contact name including the business hours and phone numbers.

• Creep
  Creep occurs when the pages of a saddle stitched book becoming progressively shorter in width as you progress towards the centre of the book.
  It is more evident on saddle stitched books 32pp and over e.g. an 80pp book on 115gsm Art paper would have approximately 4mm creep.
• Bleed
  We recommend 5mm bleed on any job over 48pp, Quark default is 3mm.
• Critical Image
  This is an image that is critical to the job like type, folios, headings, etc. We recommend that the critical image is 3mm from trim on non-bound jobs & 5mm from trim on bound jobs.
• Dummy
  We recommend the supply of a dummy prior to the design to check for creep. Call Jade to arrange.
• Spine Width
  Check spine width with Jade on perfect bound, burst bound and section sewn drawn on cover books. Consider in the design the effect if the cover varies from calculated width.
• Drilling
  Allow 8mm for wire and punching.
• Wirobind
  Allow 8mm for wire
• Form Cutting Guide
  Supply outline as a layer with artwork file named ‘cutter guide’
• Spot UV
  Highlight areas requiring spot u/v varnish as a spot colour layer named ‘spot u/v’