Strategy

By knowing what goes into the printing process and the best file format for your printer, experienced designers can positively impact project turn-time and ROI.

Assignments

Marketing Team:

Marketing Team: Over the last few years, the printing industry has gone through major changes because of greater capabilities in equipment and expanding technologies. All of this helps get your project on-press faster than ever before. However, there are still a few things you can do in the prep stage to reduce time-to-press.

Printers generally take most files, but if you really want to ensure a smooth process, use industry standard applications and platforms. Most designers and printers run on Mac systems, using Quark XPress or Adobe InDesign for layout. Printers can handle PC files, but it adds time to the prepress stage. They also accept other file types, but it’s fairly limited—do not submit files in Publisher, PowerPoint or Word. These are desktop applications and really weren’t created for press-bound marketing materials and, if submitted, printers will either reject the files or reformat and charge you. This can add as much as three days to your turn time.

And, please don’t get into an argument over Mac vs. PC for design work. Trust me—Mac’s are the standard for design. Don’t fight it. Don’t waste your time trying to convert files or finding a printer who will take your Microsoft Publisher or Corel files. If you’re down at this level, hang up your executive jockstrap and quit while you’re ahead.

Digital printing is a wonderful option for low quantities and sales materials with sections that are customized for each recipient. The technology is getting better everyday, and although there are still issues with color matching, most digital output is nearly perfect.

In addition to digital printing, the greater capabilities of Adobe’s PDF has added to the print workflow process. PDFs can now be created in “Press Optimized” format, ready for output, even as a traditional press job. Most newspapers and magazines don’t even accept traditional film for ads any longer. The time saved here is incredible. What once took a week turn-time, now can be done in an hour. Most digital printers will take PDF files as an acceptable file format.

You don’t have to necessarily use high-end printers to get exceptional quality. Don’t be afraid to try printers outside your metro area, either. You can save money and with delivery services as efficient as they are today, there’s really no downside. For large quantities, we’re beginning to see excellent quality from China, too.

Coaching Points

• Make sure you include the fonts you used in the document, unless they’re embedded in a PDF file.
• Send a spec sheet with your job—list colors and include PMS chips for spot colors (or as reference for CMYK match), list the size of the job flat as well as the folded, final size. We always send a folding dummy/print mockup with every print job. This eliminates any question as to what we’re expecting. Include any other specs for final confirmation of the job, quantity, paper stock, etc. We also send a file list after the CD is burned so the printer has a reference of all files and fonts sent.