10 Commandments of Printing

1. Only place files for the piece you want to be printed on the disk you give to
    your printer or service bureau. If not, count on paying for whatever else is
    output.

2. Always provide a hard copy "style sheet" which shows everything on your disk,
    including file names, images, font usage, operating system and any other info
    that will help direct your printer or service bureau with your output.

3. Along with your disk always provide a hard copy of your artwork that is to be
    printed. "A picture is worth a thousand words" when your printer or service
    bureau can see what you are attempting to output.

4. Always provide a folded dummy of your work. There is no reason for your
    bindery to guess at your printing and folding requirements, because many
    variations are possible but only one is correct.

5. On your disk along with your document file, always provide an image
    folder with all the images you will be printing and a font folder with all the fonts
    to be used when printing your piece. Do so even with programs that embed
    them. If a fix is required of your printer or service bureau it is more difficult and
    costly to you to work with embedded files and not all programs embed fonts
    and images properly.

6. Never use JPG, GIF or other internet type file formats; they are usually low
    resolution and JPG files have a built in compression that can be visible on
    larger printed projects such as posters. These formats will print poorly because
    they generally have about 5% of the information required to print high resolution
    images. Generally stick with TIFF or EPS files for your images. The average
    printed piece on a small press is 266 dpi and on a large press 300 dpi (dpi is
    approx. 2X the line screen). If printing process color, be sure to convert your
    RGB images to CMYK or you will have shifts in color you might not like.

7. Work backwards from the last step of your printing job and you will avoid
    making mistakes that, as they say in the music business, "can be fixed in the
    mix". They usually cannot and might require you to reprint. Plan your print job
    from the bindery portion of the printing process (if that is your last step) and
    make sure that all requirements necessary in bindery, such as folding, die
    cutting, etc can be met in the prior process of printing and film output. (An
    example is "creep" which is preparing your page sizing to fold accurately).

8. Understand how pages print and what a "press efficient form" is: 4 for small
    press, 8 for a 28" press and 16 for 40" large press. This will allow you to keep
    your project within budget. (If you have 5 pages of information and can reduce
    or compact your information to 4 pages you are being press efficient).

9. Do not try to reinvent the wheel. Work with the most efficient press and bindery
    layout for your project. If you don't use the best machine for your requirements
    you will suffer in quality or costs.

10.The most important of the commandments: REDUNDANCY IS YOUR FRIEND!
    Cover your bases and watch the details in every area.
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