For quality printing, it is necessary to prepare PDF files according to the technical parameters of the type of printing and the paper to be printed on. Here is a short overview of the technical characteristics that should be applied in the process of preparing the materials for printing.
The file must be in PDF format. Instructions for preparing PDF. See Settings for Export to PDF
The image resolution for quality reproduction must be 300 dpi. The acceptable resolution for an inferior quality print may be 150 dpi. The maximum resolution is 600 dpi. The resolution of 1-bit images may not exceed 2400 dpi.
The PDF page format must be correctly set and centered on the page of the file.
It should contain a crop marks all other marks are unnecessary.
The PDF file must contain a bleed of a minimum 3 mm on all sides.
All the important elements, the text, pagination, etc. must be set at least 3 mm away from the cut line, except for images or backgrounds that extend into the cut. Presentation of the bleed
For smaller format products (A5, A6, etc.) the bleed should be 5 mm. Important elements on the page should also be indented 5 mm from the edge (cut).
Care must be taken with glued products. Because of the side glue on the second page of the cover and the first page of the book block, all the elements are moved away by approx. 5 mm. Presentation of gluing
All of the elements (images, logotypes, text, etc.) on the page that are being prepared for printing must be converted to CMYK before a PDF is created, except for special colors of the Pantone type, which must be designated as a special (spot) color.
All of the texts in a file are defined by a font. In PDF, they must be "embedded," i.e. during the preparation of the file, the "embed" option must be turned on.
All texts smaller than 24 dots must be defined by 100% of a single color.
All texts defined by a 100% black color must have the "overprint" option turned on.
The overprint option should be used only on texts that are defined as 100% black. If the overprint option is turned on for the elements that are not 100% black, unwanted effects may appear that you may not see on the monitor.
If you want to achieve a deep black color effect on large surfaces or headings, use the formula for "deep black" defined as K=100%, C=70%, M=60%, Y=60% for coated papers or K=100%, C=50%, M=40%, Y=40% for uncoated papers. If you have deep black defined above these values, an unwanted effect of rubbing and smudging of ink on other parts of your publication may occur.
The size of letters must not be less than 6 points, and letters in negative 8 points.
The minimum thickness of the line from 100% of single color must not be less than 0.2 dots.
All additional elements, such as partial varnish, foilprint, blind print, and spot colors, must be in a special channel with the "overprint" option turned on. Examples of overprint
It is recommended to have calibrated monitors on which a prepress layout is made to have the closest possible presentation of the print on the monitor. When viewing finished PDFs in Adobe Acrobat, you must select the appropriate simulation profile in the Output preview option for the printed paper. Simulation presentation of PDFs in print
In its printing process, Radin Print follows ISO standard 12647 which ensures the best quality reproduction of a digital record into a print record.
We also prepare a certified color proof that gives the closest simulation of what a print will look like on a specific type of paper.
We offer the option of electronic approval of pages through the Internet. Instructions for web approval of materials through the Web Approval online portal - See - Delano Instructions
One of the key factors in developing a quality pre-press layout is the total ink coverage on the sheets, the so-called Total Area of Ink Coverage or TAC. Maximum ink coverage is the sum of the percentages of which the color consists. That means that 100% of all the basic colors in CMYK amounts to 400% (cyan 100% + magenta 100% + yellow 100% + black 100% = 400%). Such a surface greatly disrupts print quality because the maximum ink coverage in a print is affected by the drying of a color, which is the combination of penetration, oxidation and evaporation. Because of that, the quality of drying depends on the time of drying and on the type and quality of the printing surface. To avoid a deterioration in print quality due to an excessive layer of color, the maximum percentages of the total ink coverage are determined by paper types. See the ValuesFor more information, download the information in Profiles
The application of appropriate profiles in processing images and preparing pages ensures a quality reproduction in print. For that reason, it is necessary to set the appropriate settings of "Color Management" in the image processing program "Photoshop" before the development of the pre-press layout. Color Settings for Photoshop
To ensure that all the programs used for preparing pages have identically set "Color Management" options, it is necessary to check if the settings are synchronized (highlighted in red color in the presentation of the settings for "Coated v2"). The simplest way to do this is to activate the desired Color setting in the Adobe Bridge program, which will automatically synchronize all of the Adobe programs in the same way. Bridge settingsYou can download the profiles in - Profiles
After the PDFs are prepared, we recommend that you check them visually before sending them to the printer. You can do this by using Adobe Acrobat Professional with the "output preview" option turned on in CMYK and with the appropriate ICC profile selected.
To have a well-prepared addressing base, you should observe the following rules: Reduce the font to 8 typographical points.
Use only one type of font without additional signs, such as quotation marks, etc.
A column must not contain more than 40 characters.For the zip code column, check if there are only numbers in the columns. If there are any letters, they should be deleted.
You should not move the text within one cell to another line by using "enter." The order of the columns is: catalogue number, company name, person's name and surname, address, city, zip code. See the Example
