What Are Print Ready Files?

Print ready files are just that - files which are complete and ready to send to the press or printer. They must be correctly sized and checked, with all elements embedded as you wish the finished product to appear. When we receive it, nothing more should have to be done with your file.

To Avoid Additional Pre-Press Charges, Be Sure Your Files Meet These Requirements

  • Artwork has been spell checked and verified for content
  • Files are saved in PDF format with images & fonts embedded
  • 1/8” (0.125) bleed and crop marks included if necessary
  • All text and content at least 1/8” (0.125) from edge of media
  • CMYK color space and/or spot separations
  • Spot colors trapped where necessary
  • 300 DPI minimum resolution for photos
  • Vector art or 400 DPI minimum for logos or images containing text
  • Fonts converted to paths or outlines

Other Guidelines For Digital Art

Native Files: Providing native files will allow us to modify your artwork if needed. All fonts and linked files MUST be included. Compressed archives should be sent in ZIP or RAR format. Preferred formats include files from Adobe Creative Suite or Creative Cloud (INDD, INX, PSD, AI), Also acceptable are Microsoft Office/Publisher (DOC, XLS, PUB) and OpenOffice (ODT, ODS). Generic document formats are also acceptable (RTF, TXT, CSV) as well as generic image formats (JPG, TIFF, PNG, GIF, BMP, EPS, SVG). If you are unable to save your file in one of the above listed formats, please contact our graphics department. PDF files are not native files. Although we can modify some PDF documents, they are not recommended as native files.

Methods For Submitting Artwork

  • Email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Files under 8mb)
  • Website - KlingstedtBrothers.com (Files under 200mb)
  • Bluray/DVD/CD discs or USB Drives
  • Cloud Drives (OneDrive, Google Drive, DropBox, etc.)
    • Please share with This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or change privacy settings on the files to "Public".

A hard copy must be provided with all submitted art. This helps us ensure that fonts and positioning are accurate. Faxes and raster images (scans or exports) are acceptable.

 

Microsoft Publisher & Microsoft Word

Quite a few of our clients send us files that are created in Microsoft Publisher or Word. These programs are readily available to PC users and it’s great if you are printing from your system to your color printer. Unfortunately it is not the best way to produce a finished product when sending your file to a commercial printer.

When you start a new document in Publisher, the color automatically defaults to RGB (red, green, blue) and commercial printers need to print from a CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) file. These four colors are combined in different densities to achieve a variety of colors that simply can’t be achieved with red, green, and blue. All color information should be converted to CMYK before the creation of these files. If it is not, it may result in incorrect color separations on output. Microsoft Word does not support this option.

Additionally, not all PC’s have the same fonts. If you do not save your fonts to send to us, along with linking your graphics; we can’t produce your piece.

If you have no other publishing programs, the best way to send your Publisher or Word document is to convert it to a PDF. If color correction is required, additional graphics charges will apply.

Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel is fine if you are sending a data file that needs to be converted to a mailing list or labels.