Commercial Printing Prep: Is Your Document Ready to Be Printed?

When you outsource your printing job to a commercial printing company, you’re sure to have certain expectations for the experience. For some people, these expectations are based on the false assumption that a commercial printer will be able to offer a full service experience from start to finish. In actuality, the printing process is a collaboration between the printer and the customer, and this means that you must first understand what you need to give your commercial printing company in order to help them create the kind of high quality finished product you want. So before you send your file off for printing, make sure you ask yourself whether or not your document is truly prepped and ready to go. Here are five elements to consider:

1. Color. Full color printing is an excellent marketing tool; it captures – and keeps – people’s attention, and it can elevate your print materials from mundane and boring to compelling and remarkable. But if you don’t make sure your file has the correct colors before sending it off to the printer, you could be in for a rude awakening when you see the finished product! In order to keep the colors true to your original design, they should be in CMYK. If you have any questions about color correction, don’t hesitate to ask your printer what is required.
2. File size. How large (or small) does your commercial printing company expect files to be? The answer may vary from printer to printer, so again, it’s best to ask before sending so you can re-size the file if necessary. And always explicitly state the exact dimensions that you want for your final product.
3. Fonts. If you’re using a standard font like Times New Roman, it’s a safe bet that your printer will be able to recreate it exactly. However, custom fonts can be tricky – so it pays to send your fonts along in a separate file. That way, the commercial printing company can download and use the exact fonts that you used in the making of the original document.
4. Image size and resolution. The imagery you’ve chosen for your document is sure to be of central importance, so you’ll want to ensure that it stays as pristine and true to life as possible. This can be accomplished by saving your images in the correct size and resolution, which is likely at least 300 dpi. As with fonts, you should always send the original image in a separate file along with your document so it can be incorporated seamlessly into the finished product.
5. File type. Sending a file that cannot be opened or used by your printing company will put a serious damper on your order, so find out which file types are acceptable ahead of time. In general, commercial printing companies prefer files in PDF format, or a ZIP file.

Remember, if you have any questions about prepping your document for the presses, don’t hesitate to ask your printer for more information.