Bleeds
Bleeds are those areas of ink coverage that run off the edge of the paper. In order to achieve this effect, be sure to extend the bleed area 1/8" beyond the edge of the page on each side that the bleed occurs.

Brochure Panels
If each panel in a 3-column letter-fold brochure is the exact same width, the innermost panel will buckle when folded; therefore, the innermost panel should be about 1/16" narrower than the other two panels. This adjustment is especially important to consider when the third panel requires perforation. In a letter size page with landscape orientation, the panel dimensions for the inside of the brochure are 3 11/16", for both left and center panels, and 3 5/8" for the rightmost panel.

Color
Make sure that no graphic is in RGB mode. Sometimes, scanned images are saved inadvertently as RGB which is suitable for viewing on monitors and web pages, however; these images are not suitable for printing. Open the file in Photoshop, Select Image>Mode. If there is a checkmark next to RGB, do one of the following:

If image is B&W, select Grayscale and save.

If image is to be printed in color, select CMYK and save.

Remember that the colors you see on your monitor cannot always be matched by the printing process especially shades of greens and blues. To test this, open an RGB image in Photoshop Select View>Gamut Warning. Any colors that are changed to gray will not accurately match monitor display when printed.

It is very important to print out color separations to confirm the number of color plates. It is not uncommon for a 2-color job to output as 3 or more pieces of film, thus adding unnecessary expense and time to the project. This error can occur if one of the following actions has been taken:

A particular color in a 2-color job is defined as CMYK instead of spot. In such instances, the error could cause up to 8 pieces of film to be generated, when only 2 are required. To avoid this costly error, when you create a spot color, be sure to define its color type/mode as Spot rather than Process or CMYK.
The color palette contains 2 very similar colors and the designer mistakes one for the other in the palette window. For example, when using Black for some objects and Registration for others, both appear identical on screen but output as separate pieces of film.
The color in an imported/placed logo or graphic is not taken into account. Its color may not even appear in the color palette.
Coated vs. uncoated: The use of both Pantone Blue 072 U (for uncoated paper) and Pantone Blue 072 CVC (coated) in the same file will cause 2 pieces of film to be created when only one is expected. This error can happen when an illustration is created in one application using the coated version of a Pantone color and then brought into an application like Quark or PageMaker or InDesign where the uncoated version of that same spot color is already being used elsewhere in the document.

Photoshop Note: To ensure consistency among applications with regard to color naming, it is necessary to go into Photoshop's Preferences and under the General option make sure that Short Pantone Names are unchecked.

Don'ts
Don't use hairline rules since they are too fine to be reproduced successfully. Use .5 point rules instead for thinnest lines.

Avoid leaving elements on the pasteboard. They could increase printing time and cost and give misleading information about required fonts and graphics.

Avoid resizing or rotating TIFF files in your page layout program. Doing so will increase the time and cost to output the film. It is recommended that these be sized and rotated in Photoshop before saving the file.

Fonts
Include ALL fonts used in document including fonts used in .eps graphic files. MISSING FONTS AND GRAPHICS ARE THE MOST COMMON PROBLEMS WITH SUBMITTED FILES.

Although we may have the same fonts as those you used in your document, our versions may be different which may change text spacing and cause lines of text to reshuffle. When you send us the fonts you use, you are protecting the job from unwanted surprises.

When sending Postscript fonts be sure to include both printer and screen fonts for Mac files, or .pfm and .pfb fonts for PC files.

.eps files may contain a graphic using a font that is not used elsewhere in the document. Example: If the text in an .eps file uses Garamond but the logo uses Arial, be sure to include both Garamond and Arial fonts, otherwise the logo will not print out correctly. Do not depend on a "Collect for Output" feature to collect fonts used in an .eps graphic.

If your layout program allows you to convert text to outlines, you can choose that option for all text thus eliminating the need to send us fonts; however; we would not be able to make last minute phone changes to the document without the fonts

If using PageMaker, use the Save for Service Provider option to collect all fonts and graphics used in the document. This option is in Plug-ins in the Utilities menu. Click on the Preflight button to start the process. Once the program has located the fonts and graphics used in the document, two green checkmarks will appear in the corresponding boxes. Next, check the Package button in the lower left corner and be sure to check the Copy Fonts box. Finally, name a new folder from within the dialog box and save the file.

If using Quark 5.0 - 6.5 or InDesign, take advantage of the "Collect for Output" or "Package" features of these programs to collect the necessary fonts and graphics.

When using Postscript or Type 1 fonts, avoid using the control panel's B or I buttons to bold or italicize. Although it's tempting to use those buttons, this local formatting can cause problems when the file is output for film. Choose the appropriate font name in the font menu. Example: Garamond Bold, instead of Garamond + the B button. When using True Type fonts, local formatting is not an issue.

Graphics
Quark, InDesign, PageMaker, Freehand will collect graphics used in the document.

In Quark, use (Utilities>Usage) to confirm graphics and fonts used in the document or select Collect for Output under File menu.

In InDesign use the Package feature under the File Menu

In PageMaker, use Save for Service Provider option under Utilities>Plugins.

In Freehand, select File>Collect for Output to collect all fonts and graphics.

All photos should be scanned at a resolution of 300 dpi and saved in either TIF or EPS format. (To check the resolution of an image in Photoshop, select Image> Image Size). When scanning black and white images such as logos or clip art, scan at 1,000 dpi.and save as Bitmap. This high resolution will ensure a crisp image.

Do not save a Photoshop graphic in RGB Mode. (RGB stands for red, green, blue, and is appropriate only for displaying color on monitors.) Save it as CMYK if it is a color image or Grayscale if it is a black and white image.

Avoid embedding graphics in the PageMaker documents. Link graphics and include them with submission. Linking files allows us to quickly correct any errors in graphics such as incorrect resolution or RGB vs. CMYK issues. (See more under PageMaker.)

Avoid using web graphics for print because they are created at a lower resolution (72-75 dpi) and will result in poor printing detail. Supply the same image at 300 dpi which is the required resolution for printing.

Set linescreen in your page layout program rather than in Photoshop.

Pagemaker
Avoid embedding graphics in PageMaker documents. Link graphics and include them on your disk. Linking files allows the service bureau to quickly correct any errors in graphics such as incorrect resolution or RGB vs. CMYK issues. If graphics are already linked, go into File>Links Manager> Options and uncheck the box "Store copy in publication."

Prior to sending us your final version of a PageMaker file, do a Save As on the file. In this way, the file will be optimized for film output.

Always use Save For Service Provider (under Utilities>Plugins) to assemble all components of your file. If you don't see the plugin there, you may have to import it from the application disk.

Page Size
Page size should match print size. As an example; when creating a single business card, avoid the default letter size page (8.5 x 11). Instead, define the page dimensions at 3.5 x 2. Doing so allows the application to create accurate crop marks.

Proofs
Always include a sample printout of the file. This printout is necessary to check against changes such as text reflow that may occur when the file is output to film

Create this printout from the disk you are sending us and not from the file that is on your hard drive. This will ensure that all graphics and fonts are included.

If the file is multi-color, print out a composite as well as color separations. By printing color separations, you will be able to confirm that colors have been assigned correctly to text and objects. If you have a two-color job, you should get only two pieces of paper when you print separations - one for each color.

If you email your file to us (adrueding@gangiprinting.com for PC files or mac@gangiprinting for mac files), follow with a fax copy of the artwork for reference to 617-776-6084, attention "Prepress." If the file contains two or more colors, fax color separations as well as a color composite of the file.

If your printout is reduced to fit on paper, include amount of scaling used.

Microsoft Publisher
4-COLOR: If you have a 4-color Publisher file, convert it to a postscript file before sending it to us. You will also need to be sure that you have chosen to Process Color option. To accomplish this, go to the Tools Menu and navigate to Commercial Printing Tools, then to Color Printing. Select "Process Colors (CMYK)". Go to the Print Menu and choose the Print option. In the Print dialog, check the Print to file box, and save file. The file will be given an extension of .prn, (e.g. MyFile.prn)

Microsoft Word
Do not expect Microsoft Word files to always print out exactly the same on different computers. Variations in versions of Word and Windows (95, 98, 2000, Me, XP) can cause word and letter spacing to shift often throwing off word and line flow.

Scans
Photos should be scanned at 300 dpi. In order to capture as much detail as possible. It is advisable to scan color photos at a higher resolution such as 600 dpi and then resample down to 300 dpi in a graphics program like Photoshop.

The darkest part of the scan should be no darker than 90% black. Any area darker than 90% will fill in because of a tendency of ink dots to spread. The lightest area of the photo should be no lighter than 5%. Any area lighter than 5% will cause no ink to appear.

When scanning solid black and white images such as logos or clip art, scan at 1,000 dpi. Crop the image and save the file at that high resolution as a Bitmap. This higher resolution will ensure a crisper image.

Do not save a Photoshop graphic in RGB Mode. (RGB stands for red, green, blue, and is appropriate only for displaying color on monitors.) Instead, save it as CMYK if it is a color image or Grayscale if it is a black and white image.

Publisher 2000 can output only three spot colors (Black and 2 spots) To reconcile colors to this 3-color limit go to Tools menu>Commercial Printing Tools>Color Printing and Click on one CMYK color. Change to spot by clicking on "Spot Colors" above. Tints of original CMYK will also adjust to tints of spot color and repeat for additional color change