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Submitting Your Digital Files for Printing
The following information is divided into three
categories: Large-Format Printing, Offset Printing and Terms and Conditions.
Please follow the appropriate guidelines for your project and review our
terms and conditions. All posted pricing is for digital files setup to
Media Solutions specifications and ready to print.
LARGE-FORMAT PRINTING
Color
All images should be setup in CMYK color mode. Duotone
images must be converted to CMYK for four-color output. Images submitted as RGB
or Pantone will be converted and color may shift.
Size and bleed
We can print files in widths up to 60" on most
of our poster and display stocks, outdoor banners can be up to 16 feet wide.
Setup your design at 100% scale if your program allows, or at 50% if necessary.
Bleeds of 1/8" are needed on any sides where color runs to the edge.
Crop any photos or background colors to include the required bleed.
Setup all document sizes to the size of the finished piece. Be aware that an
optimal resolution for images used in large format printing is from 120
- 150 dpi at 100% of actual print size for posters and lower for banners
and billboards. Use of an application like Adobe Illustrator is recommended
because it keeps all type in the vector format and allows for setup of
documents at 100% of actual print size.
Trim
All large-format prints are trimmed by hand. Whether
you have a white background or full bleeds, setting up your document size
to the exact finished size is important. All bleeds must extend 1/8"
beyond the edges of your document setup. Example: the document setup for a
24" x 36" finished print is 24" x 36" but the background
with bleed is sized to 24.25" x 36.25" (1/8" extra per side).
DIGITAL OFFSET PRINTING
File Naming
Front and back sides of offset print jobs must be
submitted as separate files. You must indicate which side is front and which
is back; as in, "myfile_front.eps" and "myfile_back.eps".
Colors
All images must be in CMYK color mode. Duotone
images and Pantone colors must be converted to CMYK for four-color output.
RGB images must be converted to CMYK and color shift should be expected.
The optimal way to design for print is to choose colors based on a Pantone
Process Color swatch book, or other table showing CMYK percentage values
of the desired color. Unless specified, all color sides will include a
gloss UV coating. Other finishes are available for additional charge, and
must be specified in your order. Call for options and cost.
Resolution
Files submitted for digital offset printing should
be 400 DPI at the actual size that they will be used. A 4.25 X 6.25 photoshop
EPS file in CMYK mode should be 16.2 megabytes. Anything over 400 DPI
will be discarded. Please don't include more data than is necessary.
Files less than 400 DPI or scaled up from a lower resolution may print
with a lower image quality.
Scanning
When scanning artwork for printing it is usually
a good idea to scan at a higher resolution than will be needed for your
print, than sample the file down to the 400 DPI resolution needed for
printing. When this is done, detail that may not be picked up in a 400
DPI scan, may be preserved and reproduced in your print. Be sure to convert
your RGB scans to CMYK for printing
File Formats
Currently we accept the following formats:
Photoshop EPS, Illustrator EPS, Tiff, JPEG and Press Quality PDF.
See guidelines below (Other File Types) for setup and creation of
acceptable files from other applications.
Size and Bleed
We have many standard print sizes, and many custom size
options available. For all jobs, a bleed is necessary if a color other than white
is to extend "off" any of the four sides. If no bleed is desired
(i.e., the background of the business card is white), the file may be built to
the cut specifications (3.5 inches wide by 2 inches high for a business card).
If a background color other than white is being used, please extend the file size
by 1/8" (.125 inch) on all four sides (for a file size of 3.75 by 2.25 inches).
This will give us enough tolerance for cutting purposes to ensure that no white
borders appear around the edge of your cards.
Trim
It is very important to keep all type a minimum
of 1/8 inch away from the trim edges for both the postcards and business
cards (.25 inch from edge of a full bleed card). This is to ensure that
no type is trimmed off.
Rich Blacks
Whenever any areas of black are being used (any
design element or fonts larger than 20 points), please use a rich black
rather than a single color black. A good mix is 50 Cyan, 50 Magenta, 50
Yellow and 100 Black.
Photoshop EPS and JPEG Files
Bitmap files should be 400 dpi (dots-per-inch)
and always in CMYK color mode. Layers need to be flattened, and all vector
data must be rasterized. For compressing files to reduce sizes, you can
choose to save EPS files with JPEG (maximum quality 10 or higher)
compression to reduce the file size substantially.
Illustrator and InDesign Files
All fonts need to be converted to outlines after
designing. Run the cleanup filter as well (Object:Path:Cleanup) before
saving to eliminate any hidden spaces and points. If embedding bitmap
images, it is imperative that the bitmap files are the proper dpi and
are CMYK. Once an embedded eps file is created, it is locked, so if there
is anything wrong with your bitmap files we can do nothing to fix them.
Please make sure your page size corresponds to the size of the job
postcard that you are ordering. See Size and Bleed above to ensure proper
dimensions. If you are using transparency features, particularly any
transparency involving gradients and bitmaps, be sure to flatten the file
you are submitting. Check the flattened file for hairlines and other errors
you would not want to print.
QuarkXPress
If you are using QuarkXPress to create your design,
you must save the pages out of Quark as EPS files, then open those in
Illustrator. (Make sure your page size in Quark is the same size as the
postcard size you are ordering including bleeds. See Size and Bleed above
to ensure proper dimensions.) In Illustrator, select the fonts and create
outlines, and save as an Illustrator EPS. If you get a message saying
"One or more fonts could not be outlined because the printer font
is missing", then that font will need to be changed to a font that
does have printer files. This happens when either a screen font is present
and a printer font is missing, or Menu-Styled fonts were used in Quark.
Do not use the menu-style options in Quark. It may look good on screen,
but if no corresponding printer font exists, your type will default to
Courier.
JPEG Files
JPEG files, if at the proper resolution (400 dpi),
and saved at high quality 10+ files can be printed with no problems.
PDF Files
Suitable PDF files for printing must be made with
Adobe Acrobat Distiller and its Press Quality setting. Other methods of creating
PDF files may not be suitable for quality results when printing.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Payment & Terms
Full payment is required with all orders submitted.
Check, Visa, and MasterCard are accepted. Fees for orders incurring
additional charges will be added as balance due. Credit terms are not
accepted.
Tax Exemption
California resale businesses must enclose a signed
resale license certificate WITH their first order. If a certificate is
not provided appropriate sales tax will be charged.
No File Handling or RIP Fee
If we receive an order and your file conforms to
the setup guidelines we will process and RIP your job free of charge.
However, computer files that do not conform to the guidelines and require
modification by Media Solutions may incur additional processing charges.
You will be notified if a computer file does not conform to guidelines,
is missing fonts or linked files, or any other problem that would prevent
printing the computer file.
File Updates or Order Cancellation
All orders submitted to us as "no proof required"
may be printed the same day received and therefore cannot be canceled. If
a file update or cancellation of a job is allowed, a fee will be assessed
commensurate with the current process status of the order, as follows:
? Pre-flighted files $35 each file. ? Ripped and
queued files $65 each file.
Proofing
A soft color proof (PDF) of your file may be ordered
for $10. This will be emailed to you within 2 business days after
your file is submitted with payment. A hard copy proof is available for$35.
Because of differences in equipment, paper, inks and other conditions between
color proofing and production, a reasonable variation in color between the
proofs and the completed job shall be expected, and constitute acceptable
delivery. Only a Media Solutions proof will be considered an acceptable color
proof. Unmatchable color proofs include anything other than those generated
by Media Solutions. Should corrections be required they must be done by you
and your corrected file resubmitted at which time it will be placed back to
the beginning of the queue for printing. Please note that this usually adds
additional time to your job.
Turnaround
Files submitted as pure pixel files that are the
correct document size and saved in CMYK, will be queued immediately.
Because pure pixel files require little or no preflight, qualifying files
will be placed in the print queue immediately. If you are ordering our Standard
Service the turnaround time will be dramatically reduced if you submit a
pure pixel file. We cannot quote a precise ship date for Standard Service,
however, pixel-only files are generally printed within three working days
from receipt.
The expected shipping date of a project is based
upon receiving your printable digital files and attachments required to
begin a print run. When printable computer files and all necessary information
have been received and proofs (if any) are approved, your file is added
to the queue. If the ship date is critical, Rush is available when the production
schedule can accommodate. Written price quotes are required for Rush Service.
Standard Service
Prices published on the Media Solutions site refer
to Standard Service which varies depending on the product. All shipping
dates are approximate and based on the current production schedule. No
exact ship date is available for Standard Service. If your schedule is
critical request a quote for Rush Service.
Rush Service, call for quote
(415) 665-1077 Rush Service orders will be processed
before Standard orders and on a first come first serve basis with other
Rush orders. The expected ship date is still determined by current production
schedules, but Rush orders generally ship in three to four days.
Reordering a Job (Job File Storage)
Media Solutions will archive a copy of the computer
file used to print a job so you can reorder by job number. This is done
as a convenience for reordering. We reserve the right to erase saved job
files at any time. Note: ANY change to printed job requires a new computer
file.
Submission via Zip 100,
CD/CD-R, FTP, e-mail Attachment
Deliver your disks via postal mail, FedEx, UPS,
bike messenger, or by hand delivery. We highly recommend you send your
files using some kind of tracking service. FTP or e-mailed files must
be reduced to minimum size and Zipped or Stuffed prior to sending.
Please don't hesitate to contact
us with any questions you might have.
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