O’Day Printing FAQ's

How do I know if my images have the optimal resolution for printing?
What is a duotone image?
What application should I use to create my print job?
Should I use vector art and bitmap or raster art in my file?
How can I make sure I’m sending you everything you need to print my file?
What is trapping and do I need to set this in my file?
What is a bleed and how do I create one?
Should I send my document to you as printer spreads or single pages?

How do I know if my images have the optimal resolution for printing?

Too low of a scan resolution will result in an image that appears blurred or pixeled. Too high of a scan resolution will result in a larger than necessary file size that may not impact or improve the quality of the final image, but may delay final rastering time at prepress.

Scan resolution is measured in pixels-per-inch (PPI). Follow this scanning formula to determine the appropriate scan resolution that will yield the optimum reproduction of a photograph.

The formula for determining resolution needed is: 2 x line screen x final size % = resolution.

What is a duotone image?

A duotone is a two-color halftone reproduction of a grayscale photograph. Duotones, tritones (three-color) and quadtones (four-color) are done to achieve a greater tonal range or to create a special effect. These can be created in Photoshop by opening a grayscale image, changing the color mode to Duotone, Tritone, or Quadtone, and selecting the colors desired for each channel or plate. Always adjust the curve for each color to achieve the best possible combination of color and contrast. Also, it is important make your printer aware of any multiple-tone images used in your print job to ensure that the colors are printed at the appropriate angles. Screened images using two or more inks should be printed at angles 30° apart to avoid an undesirable moire pattern. The printer will take care of setting the proper angles as long as you notify them you are using these multiple-tone images.

What application should I use to create my print job?

There are two widely-accepted page layout programs for creating print documents: Adobe InDesign and QuarkXpress. You can create artwork in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, or Macromedia Freehand and import it into either of these programs.

Adobe Photoshop is the best used for scans, pictures, or custom artwork. Be sure to scan or create artwork with at least 300 dpi (ppi) at the size it will be used.

Adobe Illustrator or Macromedia Freehand are the best tools for creating vector art to import into InDesign or QuarkXpress. Some jobs are created entirely in Illustrator or Freehand. This is acceptable, although not preferred. If images are imported into these programs the file size can increase tremendously.

Microsoft Word, Microsoft Publisher, Microsoft Excel, Print Shop, Microsoft Works, Claris Works, and any other design application that is not a professional graphics application should NEVER be used for creating artwork to be printed professionally. These programs are designed for creating documents to be printed on your home or office printer.
Can I just send PDF files to you as my print documents?

PDF files can be used as print documents if they are prepared properly. Common problems with PDF files are:

1) Fonts may not be embedded.
2) Images were not converted to proper color mode (i.e., RGB instead of CMYK) prior to creation of the PDF file.
3) The PDF was created as a CMYK document instead of “Device N,” causing spot colors to convert to CMYK and black type to convert to a four-color black build. Device N color mode will retain the color mode used in the native file.
4) Editability may be limited.

It’s always a good idea to include the native files with any PDF file to your printer.

Should I use vector art and bitmap or raster art in my file?

Vector art is the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and polygons to represent images in computer graphics. Vector art is created in applications such as Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia Freehand, Adobe InDesign, and QuarkXpress. (Artwork imported into these applications may or may not be vector art.) Vector artwork is totally scalable up or down without losing any clarity of the artwork.

Bitmap or raster graphics is the representation of images as a collection of pixels (dots). Images created or scanned in Adobe Photoshop are this type of art and has limitations on being enlarged from its original size. A 3” x 5” image with 300 dpi resolution becomes only 150 dpi when scaled up to 6” x 10” size, which is too low of a resolution for printing.

A good rule of thumb is always to create type as vector art so it will print as crisp and readable as possible. Logos are also best created as vector art since they are often used at various sizes.

How can I make sure I’m sending you everything you need to print my file?

Both QuarkXpress and Adobe InDesign have features built-in to help you collect all the files you need to send us. In QuarkXpress there is a “Collect for Output” feature under “File” in the top pull-down menu. Using this feature, you can have QuarkXpress collect all the fonts and linked graphics used in the document. InDesign has a similar feature under “File” in its pull-down menu called “Package.” When “collecting” or “packaging,” be sure to have all graphics linked and all fonts activated.

If you are using a different application to create your file and it does not have a feature to collect fonts and graphics, you will need to manually collect them.

What is trapping and do I need to set this in my file?

Because paper stretches and vibrates as it moves through a printing press, it is necessary to slightly overlap the edges of two or more abutting colors so that gaps between the colors do not appear. This process is called trapping. Trapping can be achieved by spreading or choking one of the colors that need trap. A spread traps a light foreground element to a dark background. A choke traps a light background to a dark foreground element. Because the darker of the two colors defines the visible edge of the graphic element or text, spreading the lighter color0 into the darker color maintains the visible edge. Manual traps rarely need to be created these days because prepress systems, like O’day Printing has, can be set to automatically create traps as it rips the file. Be sure to let us know if you have a specific concern about trapping on your job.

What is a bleed and how do I create one?

Printing a graphic element to the trim edge of a printed piece requires first creating a bleed. A bleed extends beyond the live area of a printed piece on one, two, three or all four sides of the piece. Bleeds are done to compensate for inaccuracies in trimming. If a bleed is not included where one is needed, the results are printed elements that do not completely reach the edge of the trimmed piece unless it is undertrimmed.

To create a bleed on your document in InDesign, QuarkXpress, or Illustrator, first make your document size the same as the actual trim size. Then, wherever the artwork meets the trim edge of the document, extend that artwork 1/4” beyond the trim edge. If you are creating a PDF file from this document to send us for output, allow 1/4” bleed on your PDF file, and please include the native files to us just in case we need them.

Should I send my document to you as printer spreads or single pages?

Single pages are much preferred to printer spreads. We use imposition software to impose the pages of a multiple page document. If these pages are already created as printer spreads, the pages have to be broken back into single pages for us to impose properly.

Some designers like to put the back cover on page one and the front cover on page two as facing pages, but the rest of the document is in reader spreads rather than printer spreads. This creates an imposition problem as well. Be sure that, unless you have the cover in a separate document, page one of your document is the front cover and the back cover is on the last page of the document.