United Litho, Inc.


		What are the top 10 prepress issues found in DPP? In 1997, the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (GATF) identified the 10 most common digital prepress file problems and their frequency of occurrence. You can see the list below, and also see my tips to keep them from happening! 10. Resolution too high or too low in customer-supplied scans (3.2%) 9. Missing graphics (4.5%) 8. No laser proof supplied (4.6%) 7. Incorrectly defined or undefined bleeds (5.2%) 6. Graphics not linked (5.3%) 5. Incorrect page settings or page setup (7.4%) 4. Scans supplied in wrong file format (7.8%) 3. Files defined with incorrect color, e.g., RGB vs. CMYK (10.9%) 2. Missing or incorrect trapping (11.5%) 1. Missing or incorrect fonts (22.2%) 10. Resolution too high or too low in customer-supplied scans (3.2%) To find out the maximum size you can make your graphic, load it up in Photoshop and choose Image > Image Size. Make sure "Constrain Proportions" is ON (it may be greyed out) and "Resample Image" is OFF. Then type 266 into the Resolution/pixels per inch field, highlighted above. You'll notice that the width and height will change. If you save the file now and place it at 100% on your page, you'll be OK. If the graphic is too small at this point, you'll need to rescan. If it's too large, you may reduce it, but understand that you're wasting disk space. The perfect job will have all graphics placed at 100%. Back to top 9. Missing graphics (4.5%) Above is an example of a PageMaker Links Manager window with missing graphics. See the question marks? They mean PageMaker cannot locate the graphic file on your hard drive or network. That's bad news. The upside-down question mark on the right indicates that the object will not print in high resolution either because there's a missing file or a required filter is not available. Both of these situations should be resolved by re-linking before doing a Prepare for Service Bureau command. Make sure that you never paste graphics into your document; always use the Place command. Back to top 8. No laser proof supplied (4.6%) Not getting a laser proof is a huge problem for us, since lasers are used in nearly every department in our plant. It's very important that the laser be output at 100%, so that we can check our proofs against your lasers on a light table. Additionally, please hand-write at the bottom of each page the colors used on that page. This is so that our plate checkers can verify that the plates were made correctly: If they notice a portion of a plate with no dots on it, they'll want to check your lasers to verify that you weren't expecting that color on that page. Back to top 7. Incorrectly defined or undefined bleeds (5.2%) Bleeds should always be 1/8". The graphic above from Quark depicts a perfect bleed at the top of the page. Note that it is bleeding on the left, top and right sides by 1/8". Use of the Measurements window in both Quark and PageMaker will make this process very easy. You may also want to extend a few guides that are 1/8" off the page so your graphics and boxes will snap to the correct bleed amount. Back to top 6. Graphics not linked (5.3%) Getting a graphic with your job that isn't linked is just as time-consuming to fix as not getting it at all. If any art in your document is FPO, mark "FPO" clearly on the lasers. If you want us to place a graphic, write the filename clearly on your laser. Back to top 5. Incorrect page settings or page setup (7.4%) The golden rule of DPP: Make your document size the same as your trim size. It's as simple as that. Don't try to incorporate bleed into your page size; don't add any for grind-off; no change is necessary for live area, spine size or any other factor. Your document size is your trim size. If there is a discrepancy, there is no easy fix. Outputting your pages at a percentage won't do it, since the bleeds are scaled with the rest of the page, making those pages out of spec. It's important to get this piece of information right from the start. Our maximum size for both perfect-bind and saddle-stitch publications is 8-3/8 by 10-7/8". Back to top 4. Scans supplied in wrong file format (7.8%) GIFs, JPEGs, CTs, BMPs, WMFs, PICTS, etc. are great for screen displays and the internet. But they don't fit in well with the print production workflow. Convert these graphics to flattened CMYK TIFFs. Download a Mac Photoshop 6.0 action to automate this process. Back to top 3. Files defined with incorrect color, e.g. RGB vs. CMYK (10.9%) RGB- or Indexed Color-mode graphics won't print correctly. Simply go into Photoshop and choose Image > Mode > CMYK to fix. Back to top 2. Missing or incorrect trapping (11.5%) Good news! You won't have to worry about trapping with any job you send to United Litho. There is one exception though, and that occurs when you use 100% black type or 100% black boxes that partially overlap a four-color picture. In that case (and in that case only), use a "rich black," which is defined as 100% black and 30% cyan. Our RIPping system will trap these colors correctly and not overprint the black. If you don't do this, the page will still output correctly, although you'll notice that there is an ink density change between the black that's printed by itself versus the black that is printing over the picture. Back to top 1. Missing or incorrect fonts (22.2%) Fonts have always been a problem for printers. They get corrupt, they change over time and they reflow. The best thing to do is to organize your fonts in a secure location, and then back them up in case any of them go bad. Also, be especially attentive to your Fonts folder on your Mac or PC after installing new software. The screen capture above is merely a subset of the fonts installed without notification after loading Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer and other utilities. When sending your job to us at ULI, send only the fonts used in your documents. It's important that we get the actual font files that are being used on your system to avoid getting reflow. FlightCheck and FlightCheck Collect can help with this process. Another helpful piece of software to manage fonts is Font Agent by Insider Software. We use it at ULI to manage our font sets and have had a lot of success with its use. See the screen captures below to see how easy the program is to use. Note that the demo version functions well as a scanner for problems; the full version adds the ability to fix them. Back to top Copyright 1997 - 2008, United Litho, Inc. All rights reserved.