We stongly recommend you furnish us with high rez PDF files to print from. PDF has become the standard for insuring your job will print as you desire.

How do I save a pdf from: Indesign, Quark Express, Illustrator? (See Below)

Softwares we are currently supporting on the Macintosh are:

Quark Xpress current versions
Adobe Indesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator current versions
Microsoft Word (only in certain circumstances)
Pdf

Software we are currently supporting on Windows PC are:

Quark Xpress current versions
Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator current versions
Microsoft Publisher 2000
Microsoft Word (only in certain circumstances)
Corel Draw 11
Pdf

Media we can accept are:

Flash/ usb
CD
DVD

Document Setup:
All electronic files should be built so that the size of your printed piece is the size of your document in your page layout program. Bleed area should not be included into your document page size. It is unnecessary to build pages inside a larger page, and can lead to complications and delays. Printed pieces with multiple pages should be built as one document with each printed page built as an individual page. All areas that require bleed should extend to .125(1/8inch) past the edge of the page. For jobs including glue flaps or pockets (die cutting),the Die should be created in the file as a seperate spot color. All cuts should be a solid 1 pt. line , and all scores should be a dashed line. Please contact your salesperson or customer service representative to get you in touch with our prepress and art department for guidance on how best to layout your document.

PDF files:
If you wish to furnish Pdf files, please ensure that it meets our printing specifications, including being built with CMYK color, being free of low resolution images, embedded fonts, etc. Please contact your salesperson or customer service representative to get you in touch with our prepress and art department for specific guidance, or follow some of the general guidelines below.

To export a Pdf from Adobe InDesign:

Select File>Export
Set Format to Adobe PDF and select Save
Set Adobe PDF Preset to [High Quality Print]
In the General tab, under Options, check Optimize for fast web view and Create tagged PDF
In the Marks and Bleeds tab, under Marks, check Crop Marks and Bleed Marks and set the Offset to .125 in
In the Marks and Bleeds tab, under Bleed, set Top, Bottom, Inside, and Outside areas to .125 in
In the Output tab, under Color, set Profile Inclusion Policy to Dont Include Profiles
Select Export

To export a Pdf from Quark Xpress:

Select File>Export>Layout as PDF
Set PDF Style to Press High Quality/High Resolution and select Options
In the Hyperlinks tab, check Include Hyperlinks
In the Compression tab, under Color Images, Grayscale Images, and Monochrome Images, set Compression to None and Resolution to Keep Resolution
In the Compression tab, uncheck Compress Text and Line Art
In the Color tab, Under Mode, Set to Composite and Under Setup, Set to Composite CMYK and Spot
In the Marks tab, under Registration Marks Options, set Mode to Off
In the Bleed tab, under Bleed Options, set Bleed Type to Symmetric, Amount to .125 inches
Select OK
Select Save

To export a Pdf from Adobe Illustrator:

Select File>Save As
Set Format to Adobe PDF (pdf) and select Save
Set Adobe PDF Preset to [High Quality Print]
In the General tab, under Options, check Optimize for Fast Web View and Create tagged PDF
In the Marks and Bleeds tab, under Marks, check Trim Marks and set Offset to .125 in
In the Marks and Bleeds tab, under Bleeds, set Top, Bottom, Inside, and Outside areas to .125 in
In the Output tab, under Color, set Profile Inclusion Policy to Dont Include Profiles
Select Save PDF

Images: To ensure the finest quality in color reproduction, we strongly suggest you take advantage of our state of the art equipment and color expertise to produce color separations from your supplied art. We do accept supplied scans built in either Grayscale or CMYK mode, but because of the variables in desktop scanning and uncalibrated color monitors, we cannot be responsible for their integrity. Supplied scans and digital image file types should not include .lzw compression or .wmf (windows meta files). EPS files should have halftone screens and transfer functions unchecked. Resolution for all color images should be at least 300 dpi at the size it has been placed into your page layout program. Black and white bitmap mode scans should be at least 600 dpi. If you elect to take advantage of our high end scanning capabilities, please provide us with full size laser printouts showing the images positions and cropping.

Vector Images: Care should be taken when working with most drawing programs, with particular attention paid to path complexity and gradient fills. Keeping curve control points and complex gradient fills to a minimum will lessen imaging time and reduce the risk of imaging complications. Embedding or nesting bitmap images in these vector based files should also be avoided, and such placement is easier and more efficient to accomplish in a page layout program such as Quark Xpress or Adobe InDesign.

Colors: Keeping colors consistent between applications when creating your files is vital, and should match the specifications of your print request. Page layout documents as well as image and drawing files built for 4 color print should be set to CMYK mode. If PMS colors are to be used, make certain that the document settings reflect that in each application used to create your print document.

Trapping: Please do not attempt to trap your files. Johnson Litho Graphics prepress department will trap them within rip trapping.

Fonts: Please supply all fonts used to create your files to ensure an exact match to your supplied file. Type 1 or postscript fonts are preferred, and stylizing fonts in page layout programs without accompanying printer fonts should be avoided to prevent problems when ripping your file. We recommend you supply us with pdf files with fonts embedded, to streamline the whole process.

Proofs: A final, updated laser or inkjet proof should accompany any supplied document to be printed. This proof should reflect the desired printing, with accurate page numbering and color information. Color proofs are preferred but if unavailable please provide black and white proofs with proper color breaks indicated. Proofs should be provided at 100% the document size, or a scale should be indicated as to the relation to the final size. These proofs represent our only guide to ensure that the proofs sent to you are correct, and so care in proofreading and providing a current proof should be taken. Taking the time to be certain your proofs are correct ultimately saves time and expenses to you.

Media: Please review the types of media we accept and lock, label, and package your disks carefully so that they may be returned to you without risk of loss or damage. If you have forgotten to copy necessary elements to your disk, you will be notified and will have the opportunity to chose from an array of options, including email, high speed internet transfers, and Johnson Litho Graphics Ftp site, which would best facilitate the completion of your job. Please be sure to zip or stuff your files as self-extracting archives, when sending documents as email attachments or ftp downloads. Instructions on how to send Ftp downloads can be faxed / emailed to you from your Johnson Litho Graphics sales person or customer service representative.
File Management/Disk Organization: Please be sure to include any and all support files used to create your documents, including all fonts, all images, and all original files used in EPS documents so that we can make modifications if so required. Opening your files from the disk you are providing to us to ensure that it updates correctly is an effective method of checking that all necessary items are included with your job. Please do not send any additional, superfluous items that do not pertain to your job, and be sure you have copies of everything sent to us. PLEASE DO NOT SEND US YOUR ONLY COPY OF ANYTHING. After checking that all of the elements are in place, please print a laser copy of your disk directory and send it along with your disk.

If you need help sending your files or information on how to build your files do not hesitate to call us at 715-832-3211 or email us at prepress@johnsonlitho.com