Prepress Tips

Sending your files to CLARKE, Inc.

What kind of files should I send to CLARKE, Inc.?
Why should I send them this way?
How do I collect for output in Quark Xpress?
How do I package my files in Adobe InDesign?
How do I collect my files in Microsoft Publisher?

Creating Good PDFs

Creating Good PDFs
How to create a good PDF from Quark Xpress 7.0
How to create a good PDF from Adobe InDesign
How to create a good PDF with Adobe Distiller

What kind of files should I send to CLARKE, Inc.?

Please send the following files by email or through our FTP site found on www.bebetterdomore.com.

Layout File - This is the file used to layout your design… Quark Xpress, Adobe InDesign, and Microsoft Publisher are most common.
Image Files - Any and all images used to create your layout… TIFF, JPEG, PSD, PDF, EPS, and AI are most common.
Font Files - All fonts used to create your layout… Times New Roman, Helvetica, Garamond and Arial are most common.
PDF File - Create a PDF of your Layout if you can… This is used as a guide to what your Layout is supposed to look like.

Tip: Please see the following 3 tips for how to easily collect all of your files into one folder. Please see the PDF section for how to create a good PDF from the most common programs used.

Why should I send them this way?

Sending us your layout, images, fonts and a PDF of everything gives us everything we could possibly need to prepare your files for printing. We usually use the layout file to print from, which needs the images and fonts in order to print correctly. We use the PDF as a reference to make sure we are preparing your layout files correctly. A PDF by itself, depending on how it was created, does not always have everything that is needed for printing. (Please see creating good PDFs for more information.)

How do I collect for output in Quark Xpress?

Please download the PDF. Follow the instructions on the PDF.
::Mac Pdf:: Win Pdf

How do I package my files in Adobe InDesign?

Please download the PDF. Follow the instructions on the PDF.
::Mac Pdf:: Win Pdf

How do I collect my files in Microsoft Publisher?

Please download the PDF. Follow the instructions on the PDF.
::Win Pdf

Creating Good PDFs

Not all PDFs are created equal. For printing, certain things are needed such as bleed, high quality pictures and fonts. Any of these things can be missing in a "bad PDF." In "How to create a good PDF…" a file is available for download which contains settings created by Clarke to ensure the above things and more are correct with the PDF you create.

An image less than 300 dots per inch (dpi) might print fuzzy or pixelated.
Most images downloaded from the internet will print fuzzy or pixilated.
Keep all text and important images at least 0.25 inches away from the page edge of your piece.
When allowing for bleed, please allow 0.125 inches all the way around the page edge of your piece. Make sure all pictures that go to the page edge, also extend 0.125 inches into the bleed area.
Reversed type smaller than 6pts may not show up correctly due to dot gain.
Make sure when using transparencies that all of your text is on the top. This will avoid incorrect PDF flattening.
Rich Black = Cyan 30, Magenta 20, Yellow 20, Black 100
Rich black is used to create a black that looks darker than just 100 K. It will be more effective in covering up an image and create a better contrast.
A standard 8.5x11 tri-fold: outside panels measure 3.625", 3.687", 3.687" and the inside panels measure 3.687", 3.687", 3.625"
The colors you see on your monitor may not be exactly what is printed. See “Why Calibrate a Monitor?” for more information.

Bleed and layout considerations

On some printed pieces, the ink runs off of the edge of the paper. In order to produce a print job like this, we need 1/8th (0.125) inches extra all of the way around the page edge. This is known as the Bleed area. Make sure all pictures that go to the page edge, also extend 0.125 inches into the bleed area.
Keep all text and important images at least 0.25 inches away from the page edge of your piece.
A standard 8.5x11 Tri-fold Brochure: The outside panels measure 3.625", 3.687", 3.687" from left to right and the inside panels measure 3.687", 3.687", 3.625" from left to right. :: PDF Template
#9 Remittance Envelope. :: PDF Template
- Allow for Glue at both top and bottom
- Allow for fold, pocket edge and flap edge - we cannot print here.
- We need at least 0.25" for margins.

Text considerations

Reversed type smaller than 6pts may not show up correctly due to dot gain.
Fonts downloaded from the internet may be incomplete or contain restrictions.

Fonts can be really fun to play with. They can also be a real headache to deal with. The following might help you understand why:
Font formats.
- PostScript Type 1 fonts – These files have two parts to them, a screen font and a printer or outline font. These are also platform specific. Please see “Printer fonts versus screen fonts.” below for more information.
- TrueType fonts – These are platform specific. They contain the screen font and printer font in one file.
- OpenType fonts – This is the newest font format. It is compatible with any platform. It can contain 65,000 glyphs or characters.
Clarke prefers TrueType fonts or OpenType fonts, if there is a choice. There have been little to no problems with these two font formats.
A missing font. Throughout the years, Clarke has collected many fonts. We probably already have many of the same fonts that you use. So some of the time, we will be able to deal with files that are sent without fonts. Most of the time there is at least one font that we do not have which a particular job needs. If we do not have the font, we cannot print your project correctly. To avoid this problem, please be sure to send all of your fonts with your job. Please see the “sending your files to Clarke” section for how to do this.

A corrupt font. There are many reasons a font can become corrupt. After a period of time, any file can become corrupt because it is so old. Always back up your fonts to a disc for this reason. A font can also become corrupt when it is a Mac font being used on a PC. Problems can also arise when sending a font file via eMail or FTP. Whatever the case, corrupt fonts cannot be used by any computer. There are programs which might be able to fix a font. But that is unreliable. The best solution to this is to get a new copy of the font either from the disc you backed your fonts up on or re-purchasing the font from the foundry.

Freware Fonts. Fonts can have restrictions written into the coding of the font itself. These restrictions can allow or prevent a font from embedding or being changed to outlines. Most fonts with these restrictions are free fonts from websites such as 1001fonts.com.
Clarke uses a PDF workflow which requires all of the fonts in a given piece to be embedded. The PDF cannot successfully go through our system without all of the fonts embedded.
Although these are rare, they can pop up now and again. In order to prevent problems with such fonts do one of the following:
- Make sure the font you downloaded does not have these restrictions. This may be found in a read me file that comes with the font.
- Be prepared to substitute another font in place of the one with restrictions.

Design considerations

Make sure when using transparencies that all of your text is on the top. This will avoid incorrect PDF flattening.
Rich Black = Cyan 30, Magenta 20, Yellow 20, Black 100
- Rich black is used to create a black that looks darker than just 100 K. It will be more effective in covering up an image and create a better contrast.

Image quality considerations

The colors you see on your monitor may not be exactly what is printed. :: Why Calibrate a Monitor?
An image less than 300 dots per inch (dpi) might print fuzzy or pixilated.
Most images downloaded from the internet will print fuzzy or pixilated. Internet images are typically low quality. The measurement of the quality of an image is known as resolution or dots per inch (dpi). To print a good quality picture, Clarke needs the picture to be 300 dpi. A low quality picture will print pixilated or fuzzy. When searching for and downloading images from the internet, try to limit your search by size; large or extra large should be enough.
Internet images are not all royalty free. Just like a company can put a legal copyright on a name or logo, photographers automatically have copyright or royalty to their images. This means the image should not be used without the consent of the photographer. This ensures the photographer gets paid for their work. There are many websites available to purchase royalty free images or to download royalty free images for free. To name a few…

www.shutterstock.com
www.getty.com
www.istockphoto.com
www.stockxchange.com
www.morguefile.com
www.imageafter.com