Our templates have been specifically designed to ensure that your job will move quickly and smoothly through our print shop and packaging departments. Differences of as little as 1/32 of an inch can cause problems in the printing and packaging process.

No. A jewel box or DVD case from Oasis may look the same as every other at first glance, but they have slightly different dimensions. Even slight deviations from our specifications can cause problems in the printing and packaging process.

We have templates available in all professional-level desktop publishing software. Here is a list of file formats we can accept:

Layout files:
• Adobe Illustrator (versions CS - CS5)
• Adobe InDesign (version CS - CS5)
• QuarkXPress (versions 5 - 8)
• CorelDRAW (versions 8 - X5)

Photos or images:
• TIFF (.tif)
• Adobe Photoshop (up to version CS5) (.psd)
• Photoshop EPS (.eps) – with 8-bit TIFF preview
• Windows Bitmaps (.bmp)
• Corel Photo-Paint (.cpt)
• Photo CD (.pcd)
• GIF (.gif) – accepted, but not recommended for print
• JPEG (.jpg) – accepted, but not recommended for print

Fonts:
We can accept PostScript (our preferred format), OpenType, or TrueType fonts.

For the Mac, PostScript fonts will be a suitcase/screen file with separate printer files for each weight (e.g., bold, italic, plain), while TrueType will be a single suitcase. For PC, each TrueType font will be a single .ttf file, while PostScript fonts consist of two files, a .pfm and .pfb. We can also accept Adobe Multiple Master fonts, but you’ll need to be sure that you’re sending us all the necessary files to install all the custom instances of the font that you have created. Each custom instance of a Multiple Master font will have its own separate font file.

You can, but we recommend against it. If you are using any of the software we accept (see question 3 above) we prefer to receive the native files. Since we are printing to a specific manufacturing and packaging process, your files must meet our specs exactly. A part of our prepress service is to adjust your files to meet our specs if we find minor errors or oversights. If you supply PDFs, we are extremely limited in what we can fix or modify. If your layouts do not conform to the templates, are not in the correct template, violate any of our printing specs or require text changes, we will be unable to make the adjustments and you will have to supply new files.

We do not recommend doing your entire layout in Photoshop. Photoshop is great for manipulating photos and creating special effects, but it is not a page-layout program, and does not provide us with some of the tools necessary in our publishing environment.

If you must supply your entire design in Photoshop, we have provided a PDF in the template download. You can open the PDF into Photoshop. It is VERY IMPORTANT when you open the PDF that your color mode is CMYK and the resolution is 300ppi. The template and guides will come in as a layer. When you add your art add it on a new layer (do not add it on the layer with the template info). Please send us layered Photoshop documents rather than flattened files, with any text layers still editable, and all necessary fonts. If you do choose to flatten the document you will have to be aware of the guides from the template. If you flatten the guides into your artwork we will not be able to remove them. Text set in Photoshop may not print with the same clarity as text set in any of our supported layout or illustration programs. Your lyrics, credits, and other text will be much easier for your audience to read if you create it in a layout program like InDesign or Illustrator.

We are committed to staying current with desktop publishing technology, and we accept files from all major page layout, illustration and image-editing applications. Some popular desktop applications like Microsoft Publisher are suitable for printing flyers to your home inkjet printer, but are not powerful enough to work in a professional publishing environment. Similarly, while we can accept text in Microsoft Word, we cannot accept any layouts or images created in Word or any other word-processing program.

You can make your own template for a sticker in any of our supported programs by simply drawing a rectangle or ellipse of the appropriate size and leave a slight empty border along the edge of the sticker (we recommend 1/8-inch).

The Mac templates are contained in a compressed HQX file, and the PC templates are contained in a compressed ZIP file. In order to open them, you will need to have a compression utility such as StuffIt Expander, available for free for both Mac and PC from www.stuffit.com. Another popular program for Windows is WinZIP, available from www.winzip.com.

Once you’ve opened a template, do not make any changes to the template itself (e.g., copying and pasting into a new page to save space, changing or deleting any of the crop marks, changing the page size, etc.). Our templates are created to maximize our in-house productivity. If you alter the template pages, we will have to reformat your job to fit into the original templates.

For maximum compatibility, our templates are saved back to the oldest version we support. You should save your documents in the version you’re actually using. For example, if you are working in Illustrator CS, do not save your layout file back to Illustrator 8; save it as Illustrator CS.

The templates have been compressed to save download time. You will need a compression utility such as Stuffit Expander, available for free from www.stuffit.com, to open the templates. (See "I’ve downloaded the templates, now what do I do?" above for more information.)

The templates from our website are organized by what type of printing you are getting. For example if you are getting a CD with 4-page you will want to download the 4-panel folder tenplate.

You will also need a template for printing on the disc itself, as well as any promotional pieces you are ordering (posters, postcards, etc.).

Yes. If you don’t provide layout files for every part of your package, you may have to pay design fees for us to create the missing files. The most commonly omitted files are for the on-disc printing and posters.

We have placed text boxes, crop and registration marks, and other items in the templates to help us prepare your job for printing. Do not delete or move these elements. Guides and overlays are on non-printing layers that can be turned off or sent to the back if they interfere with your design work. Consult your application’s help file or manual for information on adjusting layers. If you alter the template pages, we will have to reformat your job into the original templates, and you may be billed for this work.

If your project is going to have a bar code on it (recommended for retail sales) we suggest designating a location (typically on the traycard, or the back cover of your Digipak/jacket/wallet/etc.) by placing a white rectangle in your tray card design that measures at least 1.25" wide by .5" high.

Bleed is extending any color, photo, or design elements past the cut line. Our print shop trims printed pieces in stacks of hundreds of sheets at a time. This is much faster than trimming individual pieces, at the cost of a little accuracy. Bleed gives the print shop a margin of error when trimming, so that if the cut is a little off, the white of the paper won’t show along the edge.

We request you add 1/8-inch of bleed to your layouts. Each template has guidelines set up so you can see exactly how much bleed you need to add to your layouts. These are generally the outermost guides.

Safety margin is the opposite of bleed. If you put important information such as a song title or an important part of a photo right up against the crop line, some of it may get cut off. We recommend that you keep your type and other important elements 1/8" inside the crop marks. Each template has guidelines set up so you can see exactly how much safety margin to allow. These are generally the innermost guides.

Close up of a template showing the bleed and safety lines.

This cover was prepared without bleed (the black outline represents the cut line).
The image stops at the cut line, and the type runs right to the edge with no safety margin.

Here’s what could happen once this job is cut. Without bleed, a thin white border
of the paper shows, and without safety, the type closest to the edge gets cut off.

This is what a good cover should look like. The type has been moved 1/8 inch away from
the edge (cut line). The image extends beyond the crop marks to provide bleed. The bleed area
is represented here by the blue highlight, and the safety area is represented by the red highlight.

Generally, for your printed pieces you can go as small as 4 or 5 points for black type on a light or white background, 6 points for white type on a dark, black, or complex background (also known as reverse type). This varies depending on the typeface used. For on-disc printing, we recommend type be no smaller than 6 points, 8 points for reverse type.

For smaller type, such as lyrics and credits, we recommend you use simpler typefaces such as Arial, Helvetica, or Times New Roman. Display faces—the “fancier” fonts with lots of detail, like Vivaldi or Edwardian Script—are designed to be used at large sizes, and can be difficult to read even at 10 points.

CMYK and RGB are two different color models, and understanding the difference can mean producing a great-looking insert rather than a muddy, disappointing one. We’ll have to delve into a little science to explain this difference.

The RGB color model is used by monitors, televisions, scanners, and digital cameras. A monitor uses very small bands of red, green, and blue light to generate color. For a quick science project, put a drop of water on the front of your monitor in a white area, and it will act like a magnifying glass. You’ll be able to see the red, green, and blue bands. RGB is additive because when you add all three colors together, you get white light; when you turn off all three lights, you get black. By mixing varying amounts of red, green, and blue light, you can create most other colors.

The paper of a magazine, catalog, or CD booklet can’t generate light like a computer monitor. It has to rely on reflected light, and the subtractive color model CMYK. When you add cyan, magenta, and yellow together (CMY), you get a color close to black, and when you don’t lay down any ink, you get white—that is, the white of the paper. A fourth color, black, is added for economical and practical reasons, and is referred to by ‘K’ so as not to be confused with blue. By mixing varying amounts of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks, you can create most other colors. All commercial, full-color printing uses CMYK inks.

So why is the difference important? Most colors created on your RGB monitor can be duplicated using CMYK inks, but not all. Your RGB monitor is generating light, so it can create some bright colors that can’t be duplicated on any CMYK printing press. Paper can only reflect light, so if you print the super-bright RGB colors in CMYK, they get a lot duller.

If you’re designing artwork in an RGB color space, we’ll have to convert it to CMYK to print. Depending on your artwork, the colors might shift a little or a lot.

Some colors in RGB can become much duller in CMYK.

Depending on the image, an RGB to CMYK change may or may not look very different.

We ask you to provide all your images in CMYK. If there are any color shifts, you’ll be able to see them and take steps to correct it. If you supply RGB images, we’ll make the CMYK conversion here, and show you a proof. If you want to make any changes to your images at that point, your job may be delayed and incur additional charges. It’s much better for you to supply us with CMYK files up front.

Process color uses translucent CMYK inks laid on top of one another to fool your eye into seeing other colors. A spot color ink is a specially-mixed hue that is not made by combining two or more inks, but rather is a single ink of a specific color. Spot colors can be brighter or more saturated than process colors, or have special properties, such as metallic gold or fluorescent green.

We use process colors in printing packaging, and spot colors when printing on-disc. Spot colors are available in package printing for an additional fee.

Paper and board packaging are offset printed; CDs and DVDs are silkscreened onto the plastic surface of the disc. Because of the inherent differences in printing methods, inks and surface materials, the end result can be significantly different even under the best of circumstances.

If you use the same image or similar colors on your disc as on your packaging they will probably not match; if an exact match is critical to your design we recommend altering your on-disc design to use contrasting or complimentary colors rather than identical colors or images so a color match is n/a.

(Offset printing is available for on-disc printing, with a longer turn time. But even this will not guarantee an exact match, since the surface material and inks are still different even if the printing method is the same.)

We have one price for any type of color printing on your discs; all you need to do is supply the art as you'd like it to look and our prepress specialists will determine which printing method will work best with your art and adjust it if necessary.

Typically we will convert large areas of solid color to spot inks, as well as monochromatic, sepia and other images using a small range of hues. Artwork that utilizes the full spectrum of color, such as photographic images, will typically be printed as CMYK.

Of course, if you know you want spot color printing (see Q. 20, below) go ahead and set your file up to use spot colors (up to six) and we'll print it that way. If you're not sure how, just ask us to take care of it!

KEEP IT SIMPLE: While we can print full-color (CMYK) images on the disc, silkscreen printing works best with solid spot colors (no halftones/tints, no CMYK process inks). This is true of all silkscreen printing, whether on discs, t-shirts, posters, or any other surface material. While more simplistic in appearance than full-color, this provides the best print quality on the finished discs -- in this case less is more, without a doubt.

TONAL RANGE FOR HALFTONES: The tonal range that we can hold while silkscreening the discs is 15-85%. Tones lighter than 15% may blow out to zero, and those darker than 85% may fill in completely.(This does not affect 0% or 100%, of course.) As a result, we do not recommend using images with very dark or very light details.

IMAGE CONTENT: High-contrast images work best. We do not recommend using images with subtle details or changes in tone, as they will not be visible when silkscreened.

Gradients that look smooth on CD packaging don’t translate well to the silkscreen printing process on the disc. Highlights
and shadows don’t offer smooth transitions, instead dropping off dramatically and resulting in an uneven, rough-looking line.

SKIN TONES: We recommend against using photographs of people for your on-disc printing. Unfortunately skin tones (both light and dark) fall within a range of tone that is difficult to print consistently with silkscreening, and can often take on unwanted color casts or become significantly lighter or darker than expected.

GRADIENTS / BLENDS: We strongly recommend against printing any gradients or blends on the disc, as they do not print well and often result in a blotchy or banded appearance.

Above is a comparison of how a photo prints on the booklet verses how it prints on the disc. Some of the details in the
darkest areas and lightest areas of the image get lost on the disc. For example, the wrinkles in the guitar player’s shirt
disappear and the tone in his face and arms gets lighter. Also, the background texture/tone is not as noticeable on the
disc. Be prepared to see this type of difference in image quality when you print a photo on the disc.

NEUTRAL TONES: CMYK colors that are grey or near-grey (tan, creme, etc.) will often take on a color cast when silkscreened. For important neutral colors we recommend using a spot ink.

No. Even though ink-jet printers use the same CMYK ink model that our printing presses use, the actual inks are far from identical. If you printed your design on an Epson inkjet, an HP inkjet, and a Canon color laser printer, they would all look at least a little different, because each company manufactures their inks a little differently. Since your printer and our press are not calibrated to each other, we cannot accept your printout as an accurate color guide.

Here are a few guidelines to ensure professional-quality scans.

All color and grayscale scans should be created at 300 pixels per inch (ppi) at actual print size. For example, if you want to use a photo to fill most of the front of a CD or DVD booklet, you would set your scanning software to 300 ppi at 5" x 5". If your software wants the measurements in pixels, multiply the inches times the ppi (i.e. 300 ppi x 5 inches = 1500 pixels). Do not scan at a resolution higher than 300 ppi; this will not increase the quality of the image on your printed piece. (Note: your scanner software may refer to resolution as DPI, or dots per inch. The same formulas apply.)

1-bit (black & white, or monochrome) scans should have a resolution of 2400 ppi at size (1200 ppi minimum). This is not the same as a grayscale image or black and white photo. A 1-bit black & white scan contains only black or white pixels, with no shades of gray. Examples of 1-bit scans would be the Nike swoosh logo, the CBS eye logo, and Chinese text characters.

Do not scan at a lower resolution and then increase it in Photoshop. This will result in blurry images. You need to input the proper resolution when you scan.

If you have an image editor, such as Adobe Photoshop or Corel PhotoPaint, you should convert your color scans to CMYK color mode before using them. If you don’t, we will have to make this conversion before we can print your files, and your colors can change (see #16, "What is the difference between CMYK and RGB?").

Save your scans as either .TIF or Photoshop .EPS files. Avoid using .BMP, .JPG or .GIF files as they can lower the print quality, and do not allow you to save in CMYK color mode. If you use .EPS files, be sure that you save the image with an 8-bit TIFF preview.

You should take your photos on your camera’s highest quality setting. We recommend at least a 2 megapixel size. Use the lowest image compression setting, or uncompressed if possible. Consult your camera’s manual for instructions on how to set the resolution, quality and compression settings on your specific camera. You shouldn’t assume that the default factory settings are correct for professional print needs.

You’ll need to transfer your photos from your camera to a CD-R or DVD-R. You can also FTP your image to us. We cannot accept compact flash or smart media cards.

We could, but you probably don’t want us to. The images on your website are usually compressed to be as small as possible, so they load quickly in a web browser. Images need to have a lot more information for quality commercial print than they do for the web. Your web images will appear blurry, pixellated, jaggy, and generally poor-quality if used in your print work. You should provide us with the original images before they were compressed for the web.

EPS files have a low-resolution preview file for on-screen viewing. The high-resolution image is still there, and when you print to a postscript printer, the computer will throw out the low-resolution preview and use the high-resolution data.

You don’t need to make your image round to fit on the disc. All the templates come with a circular area for masking any rectangular image. Each application handles this differently, so consult your software’s manual or help file for information on masking your images into the template.

A properly saved 5" x 5" scan, in CMYK color mode at 300 ppi, will take up to 8-10 MB on your hard drive. Your application layout files from Quark, Illustrator, or other layout programs will be much smaller than your image files, perhaps even under 100KB. If you have WinZip or StuffIt installed on your system, you can use it to compress, or archive, all your files into one. These programs can compress your layout files down to as little as 10% of their original size. They cannot compress images files nearly as well, so don’t expect a lot of space savings with compressed scans.

You may email files under 1 MB to your project manager or Client Advisor. If your files are over 1 MB but less than 500 MB, you may use our FTP site, accessible from any web browser. Call for details on how to use our FTP option.

Before you upload any files, compress all of your documents into one stuffed or zipped archive. This will keep things organized in transit and decrease your upload time.

We strongly recommend sending a disc even if you are uploading your files to us. Uploading files does save time, but it’s not a flawless process. Files can get corrupted during transfer to or from our FTP site, and that can easily use up whatever time savings you had gained in using the FTP site in the first place. We recommend sending in a CD-R or DVD-R after uploading files as insurance.

The primary font format for Macintosh is PostScript. The fonts come in two main parts: a screen font (usually in a suitcase) and a printer font. If the font has multiple weights (such as plain, bold, italic, and bold italic), each weight will have a separate printer font.

Make sure you are sending us all parts of a font, as this is one of the most common mistakes (see #30, "The 5 most common problems when sending art on disk.").

While we recommend using PostScript Type 1 fonts on the Mac, we also accept OpenType, TrueType, and dfont. These will only consist of a single file. Some TrueType fonts can be troublesome to print, so use the other formats when possible.

On the Mac OS 9 or earlier, fonts are usually stored in System > Fonts. Is OS X, there are a number of possible locations:

• Home > Library > Fonts
• Library > Fonts
• System > Library > Fonts
• System Folder > Fonts

The primary font format for Window-based computers is TrueType. All of your installed TrueType fonts are usually located in the /WINDOWS/FONTS folder, and contain the .ttf file extension. The filenames can be cryptic, but if you double-click on a font file, you’ll get a preview window so you know you’re copying the right ones. Please do not copy the entire Fonts folder: just copy the individual TrueType font files you are using in your design.

If you own any Adobe products for Mac OS X, there may be fonts stored in either:

• Home > Library > Application Support > Adobe > Fonts
• Library > Application Support > Adobe > Fonts

If you own any Adobe products for PC, there may be fonts stored in c:/Program Files/Common Files/Adobe/Fonts.

We can accept Postscript Type 1 fonts for Windows, and they consist of two files: a .pfm file and a .pfb file. You must send in both files in order for us to be able to use the font. Type 1 fonts do not have a set location on your hard drive, but Adobe Type Manager usually stores them in a folder called PSFONTS.

We can also accept OpenType for PC files.

Users of Adobe Multiple Master fonts (Mac or PC):

At this time we can no longer accept Multiple Master fonts, as our current software cannot utilize these fonts properly. If you are using Illustrator, InDesign or CorelDRAW you must convert your Multiple Master text to paths/outlines before submitting your files; if you are using QuarkXPress you must not use any Multiple Master fonts in your layouts. If you are supplying your layout in Photoshop we can still accept .psd files with live text layers using Multiple Master fonts, but we will be unable to edit or modify these text layers.

If you are using Adobe InDesign as your layout application, we recommend you make use of the Package option, which will gather your fonts and images for you.

1. Failure to include fonts.
   By far, this is the most common reason a job gets delayed at the start. For a complete explanation, see #29. "Why and how would I have to send you my fonts?"
2. Failure to include all linked images.
   Before you send in your job, make sure you’re including in all linked files. Each application has a different way to check this. In QuarkXPress, use the Collect For Output feature. Illustrator has a Links menu, which will list all placed images in the document.
3. Image resolution is too low or supplied in RGB instead of CMYK.
   For a complete explanation, see #22, "How should I scan my photos?"
4. Insufficient bleed or safety margins.
   For a complete explanation, see #14, "What is bleed and safety?"
5. Failure to supply all parts of the job in our templates.
   For a complete explanation, see #1, How do these templates help me?" and #11, "Should I supply layout files for every part of my package?"

When you’re ready to submit your job, make sure that you’re including all of the following items:

• layout file for each part of the job (insert, tray card, on-disc printing, poster, etc.)
• all the fonts used in the layouts
• all the scans placed in the layouts
• up-to-date printouts of every layout file. Black and white prints are fine, even if your files are in color, but faxes are not acceptable due to lack of detail.
• a listing of the files on your disk (please also note the OS, programs and versions you used; i.e. WindowsXP, CorelDRAW 10, Photoshop 6, etc.)
• a folded and/or stapled mockup (where applicable)
• any special instructions you may have

You should also do a final proofread of all your text and layouts to make sure everything is accurate and complete.

Organize the files on the disc clearly. Set up separate folders for layout files, images, fonts, not-for-output files, etc. If you submit a disk with dozens of unorganized and/or unnecessary files, your project will be delayed.

Include any third-party Xtensions you have installed, such as Extensis’ QX-Tools. Some Xtensions, when used on a Quark document, are then necessary to open the document.

To do this, copy your entire XTensions folder (and XTensions Disabled for QuarkXPress 4 users) along with your other files. Save your Quark files in whatever current version you are using. Our QuarkXPress templates are saved in version 3.x format, and Quark will not automatically save your layouts in a later format unless you specify this in the save dialog box.

We do not accept QuarkXPress Passport files. You must save your Passport documents without support for multiple languages.

There are several features of CorelDRAW that we recommend avoiding, as they produce inconsistent results, and may not print properly. If you have used any of these features, please rework your files before submitting them to us.

Font embedding
Do not embed your fonts in the CorelDRAW document using the TrueDoc font embedding option (in the Save dialog box). This feature only works if you do not re-save the document, and we always have to add our internal job information to the file. Using this font-embedding feature will delay your job.

Drop shadow effect
CorelDRAW’s drop shadow effect often does not work with our publishing systems. If you use the drop shadow effect, please be advised that it may not print as you see it on your screen, and we may not be able to correct this. To create a blurred and transparent drop shadow effect, use Photoshop or Photo-PAINT instead.

Drag & drop (or cut & paste) for images (also known as OLE - object linking and embedding)
The correct method to place scanned images, clipart, or other items into your CorelDRAW document is to use the IMPORT command in the FILE menu. Dragging and dropping or cutting and pasting an image from Photoshop into CorelDRAW prevents us from checking the resolution and color depth of your images.

Text should always be flowed into a paragraph box or artistic text insertion point. If you’ve placed your text and cannot edit it with Corel’s text tools, the status bar will read Embedded object when you have the type selected. It should always read Paragraph or Artistic Text. Replace the text with the correct tool.

Lens effects on images
CorelDRAW allows you to apply lens effects (transparency, color tints, etc.) to scanned images. We recommend avoiding these features, as the file may print incorrectly. The proper way to create a complex montage of several images is to use Photoshop or Photo-PAINT to collage the images together into one composite TIFF that you can then import into CorelDRAW.

.eps files
Unless your images contain clipping paths or are set up as duotones, do not use the EPS format for your images, and do not place EPS files into your CorelDRAW documents. EPS is much more troublesome than TIFF, and should be avoided when possible. For those circumstances where you need to use EPS files in your layouts, you must supply them as separate documents in addition to your CorelDRAW files. Failure to do so will delay your project.

Linking images
Newer versions of CorelDRAW allow you to link to your images, rather than embedding them in the document. This feature does not work properly for our workflow. Make sure that Link Bitmap Externally is deselected in the import dialog box, so CorelDRAW embeds the image properly.

.bak files
Do not supply .bak files with your job. These are created by CorelDRAW’s autobackup on save feature, and are not the current version of your files.

Save your document in whatever current version you are using. Our Illustrator templates are saved in version 8, and Illustrator will try to save these documents in version 8 format by default. You must change this the first time you save your file(s). New features such as transparency are not supported in version 8, and saving backwards may cause problems that cannot be fixed.

We recommend against converting type to paths. Once type is converted to paths, it’s uneditable, which limits our ability to make adjustments to your files. It also creates a more complex file that may cause Postscript errors in the printing process. Keeping your type as editable text and sending in your fonts is the most practical solution.

Yes. If we need to do any editing on the scans, whether to add bleed, convert to CMYK or to adjust the resolution, we will need your scans as individual TIFF or EPS files.

We recommend against embedding your images (except in CorelDRAW, see #33, "CorelDRAW: special issues"). Linked images are much more efficient than embedded ones.

If you are using Adobe InDesign as your layout application, we recommend you make use of the Package option, which will gather your fonts and images for you.

You can download our color profile and instructions here.

Color management is a complex topic and simply downloading a color profile will not guarantee that you will get an accurate screen preview of how your files will print. You must have a good monitor that is calibrated (preferably using a hardware calibrator) in addition to controlled lighting conditions in your design area. Without these elements in place there could be drastic differences between what you see on-screen and how your files will print to our press, even if you are using our profile. Please keep in mind that even with calibrated equipment in a controlled environment, an exact match from screen to print is not always possible.

For more information on color management we recommend the Adobe Photoshop help system, and Real World Color Management by Bruce Fraser, Chris Murphy and Fred Bunting.

You can download our color profile and instructions here.

Even if your monitor and/or environment aren’t calibrated as described above, you can still download and use our CMYK profile to convert your RGB images to CMYK, or convert existing CMYK images to our profile. This will give you a CMYK file that is more appropriate for our printing conditions than the profiles that come with Photoshop.

Our total ink limit is 300% (small areas of up to 320% are OK), and our dot gain is approximately 20%. If you use our color profile and don't make any significant tonal adjustments after converting to our profile your images will adhere to these specs.

You can download our color profile and instructions here.

Yes, but it’s not recommended. We can’t review or edit PostScript files, so any errors or minor incompatibilities with your files could cause delays or additional charges. Our abilities to analyze and edit PDF files are much more limited than working with native Quark or Illustrator files.

Our service includes a complete review of all your files by an electronic prepress specialist. Take advantage of this free service by providing layout files in one of our accepted publishing programs instead of PostScript or PDF files.

We use powerful automated trapping software, and will trap your files as part of our standard service. We recommend you do not trap your own work, and let us handle any necessary trapping.

We recommend providing us with the original computer files if at all possible. We use computer-to-plate technology that is higher quality than traditional film workflows. The handling of your electronic files is included in our standard charges, so there is no cost savings in providing film.

If you must supply film, we will scan the film to fit into our digital workflow. Make sure to use our templates when outputting film. Film for inserts should be negative, emulsion down, at a 200 linescreen with 0.3 point traps. Film for 3-color on-disc printing should be positive, emulsion up, 100 linescreen, and have a 0.5 point trap. For full-color printing on-disc, call for the latest specifications.