FAQ: Preparing Your Files for Print

What Types of Images Will Work Best for Printing?

If you are scanning images yourself from photographs save them in tif, eps or jpeg format. These image formats will preserve the color and sharpness of your pictures. The biggest concern with images is the resolution they are saved at. You should scan your images using a resolution of 300dpi at the final dimensions you intend to use them so that your colors will look smooth, and hard objects will look sharp. In other words don't scan at 300dpi and then enlarge the picture by 200% in your layout program! This is the reason why you should not use images that are lifted from websites; they are probably only 72dpi in resolution and will look very blurry when printed on a printing press.

Is Proper Resolution Important for Good Printing ?

Resolution is the measurement of the number of squares of color information in an inch. The human eye cannot detect the squares of color if there are 300 or more in an inch. For clear and crisp printing, images at their final size in the layout should be at 300dpi (dots per inch = squares of color in an inch) or 400dpi if the images include text. Resolution and size of an image are in inverse proportion to each other. An image 2 inches x 2 inches in size at 300dpi increased in the layout to 4 inches x 4 inches has a new resolution of 75dpi. Upsampling is when a low resolution image is saved to a higher resolution with no changes in dimensions. This process adds more pixels squares in an inch (dpi), but creates blurry images, ugly blocks of color, and high contrast in images. Upsampling will not produce clear and crisp printing results on a printing press. Images from the Internet are usually saved at a resolution of 72 dpi for quick screen loads and will not print clear and crisp on a printing press. Physical dimensions of an image and resolution are in direct proportion to each other. Shrinking the physical dimensions of an Internet image by 4x will achieve decent printing results. (72dpi x 4 = 288dpi)

How Do I Calculate the Size I Must Reduce (shrink) an Internet Image to Get it To Print Well ?

Reduce the size to 24% of its original size. (Because 72dpi is 24% of the 300dpi resolution you want) Example: Your have an Internet Image that is 3 inches x 3 inches, at 72dpi and you want to shrink it enough to get it to 300dpi for crisp printing: 72/300 = 0.24 (3 inches x 0.24 = 0.72 inches). Therefore, that 3 inch tall image on the web will only reproduce at about 3/4 of an inch tall on your printed piece. Sorry, but remember those math classes you skipped in high school? Your teacher was right! Zoom into your images at 100% to see the quality. Be aware of your design, purpose of your printing, and the needs of your customers before using images from the Internet.

How Do I Get the Most Out of Images From My Digital Camera ?

 

Before taking a picture, determine the quality of an image and how it can be used in a layout. Use the highest quality setting available on the camera. The pixel dimensions of an image identify the resolution. Dividing the pixel width and height by 300 determines the dpi (dots per inch in printing) and ultimately how large the image can be reproduced.

For example: Digital Camera Image) = 1200 pixels x 1600 pixels. Ok, here goes the math again (we never promised there wouldn't be any math!) 1200/300 = 4 inches; 1600/300 = 5.33 inches; Layout size for image = 4 inches x 5.33 inches. The image can print at this size or smaller for clear and crisp printing. Brighten and sharpen your image for clearer printing and convert the image to the CMYK color space. Use Adobe Photoshop for this task.

Will Images From Stock Photography Companies Work Well?

Math time again! Know the image size required for your layout before you purchase stock photography online. Read their information prior to purchase as it will determine, price, color, file size, copyrights, resolution and quality. Each image should be at a resolution of 300dpi for the final size in your layout. Here are some guidelines for you to follow:

2 inches x 2 inches @ 300dpi = 600 pixels x 600 pixels = 1.38 MB

4 inches x 4 inches @ 300dpi = 1200 pixels x 1200 pixels = 5.5 MB

8.5 inches x 11 inches @ 300dpi = 2550 pixels x 3300 pixels = 32.2 MB

Do I Need toSend You My Fonts?

We do need you to gather up copies of your fonts and send them to us with your layout file. Most layout software programs allow you to “collect for output.” This process gathers your layout file, fonts and images into one folder that you can brun to a CD, DVD or FTP to our site. Even if you are using fonts that came with your layout program and that we should have at Insite, small differences in font versions can make a huge difference. Play it safe and send your fonts.

Will My Printed Piece Look Exactly Like it Does on My Computer Monitor?

We once heard a speaker at a conference respond to the question “When will my monitor exactly match my printed piece.” His answer was “When paper emits light rather than reflects light.” Because monitors emit light and printing reflects light there will always be subtle differences in comparison. There are some steps to take to reduce the differences. Is your monitor calibrated? Monitor calibration is as much art as science. At Insite we calibrate our monitors to reflect what the final printed product will look like. At your location you can best use your monitor to give you an approximation of the final color on the printed piece. After you have printed a few jobs with us you can go back and open the layout files you sent to us and compare them on your monitor to the final printed piece. If you have monitor calibration software or can use the monitor setup program in Photoshop you can “dial in” your monitor a little closer to what is printed. When you bring in images from your digital camera or scan pictures always convert them to CMYK form RGB in Photoshop. That will give you a better example of the way they will look in the final product and it is something that we will do here anyway so it is best for you to see the results upfront. Offset printing uses Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black (CMYK) to simulate all colors. Red, Green and Blue (RGB) has a larger color gamut (it can show more shades of colors) but you can’t print in RGB.

What Are Bleeds, and Do I Need Them?

 

We promise there are no leeches involved here. "Bleed" is the term for printing that goes right to the edge of the paper. The way to do this is to make your document .125" too big on all four sides. In the better layout programs (InDesign, Quark) you create documents to the size you want the final product and then tell the software how much bleed you want. In InDesign for instance the page edges are shown in black and the bleed .125” outside of page border is in red. Make sure that any image that will bleed off the page goes all the way to the red border. Now create your design with the idea that the layout will be cut off where those guides are....because that is precisely what is going to happen. Make sure that any photographs or backgrounds that you want to bleed go clear out to the perimeter of the document, past the guidelines. Then after we have printed your piece we will trim off that extra .125" all the way around and "voila"! You have color all the way to the edges of your piece. It looks professional! For more information on "bleeds" and other printing terminology, visit our "Printing Jargon" page.

How Can I BeSure That My Files Will Work Well For Printing ?

Make a PDF of your job and send it to us. Most software programs will now allow you to export or save your file as a PDF. The PDF format, when saved correctly, will include your images, fonts, and “lock in” your layout. It is the best way to send files to Insite. If you are not sure that your file will work, you can send it to us and we will examine it to see if there are any major flaws that would prevent us from printing your job.