What is a "Print Ready" File?

You may have heard us ask, "Will the file be print ready?" but you weren't sure exactly what we mean.  Here is a brief explanation of some printing terms and recommendations for creating the ideal "print ready" file.

 

A print ready file requires little or no setup to print on our equipment. 
It is sized appropriately and there are no issues with fonts, images and quality.

 

PDF files with fonts and graphics embedded in a high resolution format are the preferred format.  We also print from Word, Publisher, Illustrator, eps, and photoshop files if the fonts are included and the images are embedded or flattened.

Word and Publisher documents used in business settings usually print in good quality, email a sample and we can determine the quality quickly.  Often times when we receive files in these formats, there is a problem with the formatting or the fonts.  This is due to your computer having different settings, and different fonts installed than our computer.

Quick printing and copying equipment utilize standard size pages to print.  Standard size pages are as follows: 

                        8.5x11 Letter • 8.5x14 Legal • 11x17 Ledger or • 12x18 

 

We do not run on odd size stocks in quick printing, those need to be offset printed.

As you set up your files, a non bleed file should have at least 1/4” margins.

 

If the print is closer than 1/4” inch, it will run as a bleed file and cost more.

 

Bleeds	When setting up a bleed file, have the file bleed past the cut marks 1/8”. The following sizes should be set to the papers sizes for bleeds. 8.5x11  should be set up on 9x12 with bleeds. 8.5x14  should be set up on 9x15 with bleeds. 11x17  should be set up on 12x18 with bleeds. 12x18  Can not bleed, must run as HP oversize print. We do not run on odd size stocks in quick printing, those need to be offset printed.  See our previous post on Bleeds here.
Fonts	Convert text to outlines or curves in any program that is possible. Include in your email with your file any odd fonts that can not be created to outlines.
Images	Images at least 300 dpi will print with the best quality. If it is very pixeled on the screen, it will print pixelated.Internet images enlarged to any size usually do not print well.
Photoshop	Flatten all images that are created in photoshop and save with at least a 300 dpi.
JPEG	If it is saved as high quality or taken from a digital camera at a high resolutions and left unchanged, the quality should be fine for printing.  Jpegs downloaded off of web pages usually have very low print quality.