READY TO PRINT? FIND OUT WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO SEND
A COMMERCIAL PRINTER
Hint: You May Need to Send More than Just the Design File to Your Printing Company
Printing marketing materials like brochures, postcards, business cards, etc. goes more smoothly when you follow the specifications of the commercial printer you're using.
Here are a few pointers to let you know the basic materials usually submitted to a printing company when you're ready to "go to print".
Artwork/Design Files
Commercial printers such as Online Prints will often have preferred formats for receiving your artwork/graphic design file for printing. A press-optimized, flattened PDF can make the printing job go smoothly, as it eliminates many of the other elements that are required when you send graphic design files in specific applications.
Many printing companies will also accept files submitted in Photoshop, Illustrator, Quark etc. Make sure you check with your printing company first if you intend to submit in one of these applications. Also confirm the versions they accept.
Fonts
When you send your graphic design files to the commercial printer in an application like Illustrator, you'll need to send your fonts, too, if you haven't rasterized the text.
It's best to send even those fonts that you think are common. If you don't send your fonts to the printing company, they may have to substitute their own fonts. Different printing companies use different fonts. In addition, different versions of the same font can cause unwelcome changes in how your printed material appears.
Graphics
The printing company will also require copies of all the graphics you've used in your design file.
Ideally, all your graphics and images should be properly linked from your design file (not embedded). Sending the graphics to the commercial printer along with the design file ensures that the printing company can print your file with the quality of graphics you've intended. Otherwise, the end result may not include the graphics or only show low-quality preview versions.
Proof/Mockup
If you are printing a brochure, postcard or other marketing materials, it's a good idea to send the commercial printer a 100% sized proof showing how you intend the finished printed product to look. This is easy to include if you are mailing your artwork/files to the printing company on a disk.
When you use an online printing company like OnlinePrints.com, there's no need to send a proof, as you'll be able to preview the file online as you submit it.
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