Frequently asked questions regarding file setup for print.
Q: What is bleed and how much bleed should we include when setting up our file?
A: Bleed is a certain amount of image or color beyond the trim size of your document. This ensures that your file won’t have a white border on some sides during the trimming process if any slip occurs. Please include 0.125″ of bleed on all sides of your document.
Q: Would you like us to supply you with a printer spread or booklet spread document?
A: No this isn’t necessary. Our prepress department along with our imposition software correctly paginates a file based on how we are binding the final product, whether it is saddle stitch, perfect bound, or coil bound.
Q: I would like certain elements in my file to be a rich black. Is there a particular build you would prefer us to use or is the default Photoshop black (R=0, G=0, B=0; C=75, M=68, Y=67, K=90) alright?
A: Actually, we prefer not to use the default Photoshop black as it’s total ink values reach very close to 300% which can cause ink to pool. Because of this, our preferred rich black build is C=60, M=40, Y=20, K=100. Otherwise, we prefer Black only blacks set to overprint (default in Adobe InDesign).
Q: Do you prefer PDFs or is there another file preference?
A: As we use the Adobe Creative Cloud software, we prefer packaged native files from InDesign or Illustrator. Otherwise, PDFs created with our PDF settings, which you can download below would be great.
