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Fonts
PROVIDE ALL FONTS: Please be sure to provide all fonts used in the job, including both screen and printer fonts for Type 1 fonts. Also, unless you have converted all type to paths in your Illustrator or Freehand files (which is generally okay unless there is any possibility of a copy change), be sure to provide all fonts used in those documents, too.

AVOID STYLE BUTTONS: When setting up your document, be sure to select the actual type styles from the Fonts menu, rather than clicking on the style buttons (such as "bold" or "italic"). This will ensure that the font will output correctly.

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Images
SAVING PHOTOSHOP EPS FILES: When saving Photoshop EPS files, please make sure that Include Halftone Screen, Include Transfer Function, PostScript Color Management and Image Interpolation are all unchecked, as they can cause unexpected results upon output. In addition, setting Preview to Macintosh (8 bits/pixel) and Encoding to Binary tends to work best for output.

RGB-CMYK ISSUES: Scanned color images should be saved as CMYK. Although our ApogeeX system will convert RGB images to CMYK, some color shifting may occur, which can give your images a noticably "duller" look. Thus, we recommend doing the conversion in Photoshop before you send the files to us, especially if you plan on sending PDF files.

BLACK TYPE IN PHOTOSHOP: If you are creating Photoshop documents that contain black type, please be sure you set the type when the document is in CMYK mode. Type that is set as 100K while in RGB mode will become a mix of all four process colors when the document is converted to CMYK mode, which tends to produce less-than-pleasing results on the press.

CONVERTING GRAYSCALE TO BLACK-ONLY CMYK: When a grayscale image is changed to CMYK in Photoshop, the result is an image that uses varying percentages of all four colors to acheve the "gray" look. Occasionally, however, you may need to convert the file to CMYK, yet have the image remain as shades of black. For instructions on how to do this, click here.

HALFTONE CURVES: If you are scanning your own halftones, you will achieve better results on the printed page if you adjust your halftone curve in Photoshop from 0%-100% to 2%-98%.

RESOLUTION: Resolution of provided halftone and color scans should be 300 dpi. Scans provided at lower resolutions can result in a "pixelized" look, especially if the image is re-sized in the page layout document at a larger percentage than the original scan.

PHOTOSHOP EPS CLIPPING PATH FLATNESS: When saving Photoshop EPS files with clipping paths, the flatness setting should be left as a flashing cursor (no numeric value). This allows the Apogee system to select the optimum flatness value for the curves in the clipping path.

BLENDS USING SPOT COLORS: When making blends/vignettes in Adobe Illustrator using spot (custom) colors, make sure they start and end as spot colors. For example, 100% Pantone 186 to 0% Pantone 186, not 100% Pantone 186 to 0% C, 0% M, 0% Y, 0% K. The latter setting will cause the colors in the blend to default to CMYK equivalents, and it will not reproduce properly.

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Page Layout
SPOT COLOR SWATCHES IN PROCESS COLOR JOBS: Unless you are using spot colors in your job, please make sure they are saved as process colors (InDesign: change the swatch "Color Mode" to CMYK, then change "Color Type" from Spot to Process; Quark: in "Edit Colors," uncheck the "Spot Color" checkbox).

AUTO LEADING: Contrary to popular belief, "auto leading" is not the point size of the type plus one point, but an arbitrary percentage of the type size. Your document will look better (and you will have control over that look) if you avoid auto leading and set a specific leading value. Generally, type size plus one point looks best.

BLEEDS: Don't forget to add bleeds! Anything you want to print to the edge of the page must extend past the edge by 1/8" (9 points), including photos.

BUILD FILES TO TRIM SIZE: Files should be built to the trim (or finished) size, if at all possible. Our system will automatically add crop marks upon output.

REGISTRATION COLOR: If you need to add your own crop marks (for a special fold, for example), be sure to color them "registration." That way, they will print on all plates.

QUARK, WRAPAROUNDS AND CLIPPING PATHS: If you are placing a blocked-out scan in Quark XPress and you want the background to be "none" (especially if you want the copy to wrap around the image), you must save the file as an EPS with clipping path. Placing a blocked-out image with a white background but no clipping path may appear without a background on screen, but will produce a square finish image upon output to film or plate, and will block out any copy that was behind it.

ITEMS OUTSIDE THE LIVE AREA: When adding a text box, rule, etc. to a Quark XPress page that needs to appear on the film or plate in the bleed area but not on the page, make sure the item touches the live page area.

IMBEDDED GRAPHICS IN PAGEMAKER: Since there's still a few Pagemaker users out there: please do not embed placed graphics in your document! If there is an output problem with the document that originates with an embedded graphic, there is (unfortunately) very little we can do to correct it.

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General
HARD COPY NEEDED: Be sure to provide clean laser/ink jet proofs of the latest version of your page layout files with the output percentage clearly indicated. This helps us in the quality control process.

PAGE ORIENTATION: Be sure your file is centered on the page for electronic imposition.

PROVIDE ORIGINAL FREEHAND FILES: Freehand users should be sure to include the original document along with the exported Freehand EPS file.

KEEP YOUR DISKS AND FILES UNCLUTTERED: When preparing your files for FTP or copying your job to disk for output, be as complete as possible, but don't copy unnecessary files (especially if any file names are similar to the ones actually being used). On a related note, be sure to delete any unnecessary elements from your file, including extraneous colors or patterns, text and/or picture boxes on the pasteboard, etc. — they can bloat file sizes and cause longer processing times.

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