Preparing
Graphics for Media Fast
Simple
tips to help you prepare your artwork for
printing
There
are a few things to remember when you're
preparing graphics for Media Fast. If
you pay attention to these details early
on, you can save yourself a lot of time
as your media order is processed.
Resolution of Images
The optimal resolution of photographs
or other images created with a raster/bitmap
editing program such as Photoshop is
300dpi (dots per inch). Resolutions greater
than 300dpi are acceptable. However,
if an image's resolution is less than
300dpi, the quality of the image may
be compromised. Pixelization, dithering,
and distortion are common results of
using images with a resolution lower
than 300dpi. Therefore, images saved
for display on the internet at the web's
standard of 72dpi are rarely large enough
for use as a major part of the design
in print work.
File
Formats
Media Fast's preferred file format is EPS (Encapsulated PostScript). Generally,
Adobe Illustrator is our favorite tool for creating these files. However, we
do accept other formats for our print work including Adobe Acrobat / PDF
(PDF
files
must
be
saved
at print quality 300dpi.),
PSD,
TIFF,
InDesign,
and Quark Xpress when it is deemed necessary. The majority of our templates are
provided in EPS format.
Outlining Text and Strokes
When outputting the final version of your artwork for press in Adobe Illustrator's
EPS format,
remember
to
convert
all of the text and stroked paths in your artwork to outlines. This will prevent
the majority of font and stroke rendering problems that can occur when sending
your
artwork
files
to the
press.
To
convert your text to outlines in Illustrator CS, first select all of the text
in your design with the Selection Tool (the black arrow). Then select 'Type
>
Create
Outlines' from the menu.
To convert your
stroked paths to outlines in Illustrator CS, first select all of the stroked
shapes
or paths in
your
design
with
the
Selection
Tool (the black arrow). Then select
'Object > Path > Outline Stoke'
from the menu.
Once your text and paths are outlined, your desing should be
more concrete, but it will not be as easy to change. Consequently, you should
save
a separate backup of your artwork before you outline the text and stroked paths.
Preparing Bitmapped Images
If you flatten an image in Photoshop before submitting it to us as artwork for
a CD surface print, be sure that the guides or crop marks are not accidentally included
as part of the design. These elements are good for positioning proofs but can
complicate the process of preparing your artwork for print. Layered PSD's and
TIFF's are
often more preferable than flattened ones. However, be sure to include fonts
with your artwork or rasterize all of the text in your designs before submission.
You
can rasterize the text on a layer in Photoshop CS by right-clicking (control
+ click on the Mac) on
the
text
layer and selecting 'Rasterize Layer' from the menu that pops up.
|
 |
|
