Pre-Press Guidelines to make your experience as effortless as possible
Please take a few minutes to ensure that your files meet our guidelines. Our staff is available to answer any questions. We are committed to producing a product that meets your expectations, on time and on budget, every time. The first step towards that goal is to start with correct and complete files.
Most common causes of Delay
- Missing fonts
- 250 dpi or lower resolution files (need 250 dpi – 300 dpi images)
- Files with no bleed or wrong sized bleeds
- Files with text or other critical elements placed to close to the trim line.
We are unable to accept files with symbols in the file name, such as example #,@,%, etc.
We prefer print ready PDFs as follows:
- ALL fonts embedded
- Images between 250 dpi – 300 dpi
- CMYK or PMS (if it’s a spot color order)
- 1/8″ bleed, no color bars, no registration marks
- All files that bleed must incorporate a minimum of 1/8″ bleed on all bleed sides. Make sure all items you DO NOT want trimmed are at least 1/8″ from the trim.
- It is not recommended that you use a thin border around your job. Borders must be a minimum of 1/4″plus the 1/8″ we need for bleed.
- Due to physical limitations of guillotine cutting, borders thinner than that will most likely appear uneven. We strongly recommend that borders less than 1/4″ be avoided.
Fonts, Images and color
- Submit all fonts, logos or images used with your job files if you are going to submit source files like InDesign.
- All images should be between 250 dpi – 300dpi.
- Please DO NOT make black text rich black. All text that is supposed to be black should be 100% black only and overprinting.
- If printing in full color, convert all colors to CMYK, do not leave colors in RGB mode as there is a big possibility of a color shift when converting from RGB or pantone to CMYK.
- Also embedding ICC profiles into the file will cause a color shift when converting to CMYK.
- DO NOT TRUST YOUR MONITOR
Below are the types of programs we do accept:
- Adobe PDF
- Photoshop CS4
- Illustrator CS4
- InDesign CS4
These file(s) must be submitted as a print ready PDF file:
- Freehand
- Word
- Publisher
- Corel Draw
Please Contact Your Hartley Rep with any questions!
(904) 398-5141