File preparation
Resolution, colour, bleed and a PDF the press can print without a surprise.
Bleed, cut and type
Give the cutter room
Any image that runs to the edge needs bleed. Add 0.125 in (1/8 in) on each side so the sheet can be trimmed and still keep colour at the edge.
An 8.5 × 11 in booklet with full bleed is supplied at 8.75 × 11.25 in. The extra 0.125 in on each edge is trimmed away, which leaves the 8.5 × 11 in booklet. Keep type 0.125 in inside the cut, on every side, so the letters are not trimmed off.
- 8.75 × 11.25 inFile with bleed
- 8.5 × 11 inSize after the cut
- 0.125 inType stays inside the cut
Bleed
Cut line
Type stays here
Resolution
Images need at least 300 dots per inch at the size they will be printed. A picture that is sharp only at a smaller size, then enlarged to the sheet, will not stay sharp. Build the file at the final printed size.
Colour
A print-ready file uses CMYK, the four process colours. A file sent in RGB or Pantone is converted to CMYK during preflight. That change can shift a colour, or a colour can drop out. On most products a hard-copy proof is available, so you can see the printed colour before the job goes to press.
Borders
The cutter has a mechanical tolerance of about 0.0625 in, or 1/16 in. If the design uses a border, leave at least 0.25 in, or 1/4 in, of white space between that border and the cut line. That keeps the border even after the sheet is trimmed.
Export the PDF
Check these settings before you send the file.
- Convert all text to outlines, which means curves.
- Convert all strokes to outlines, which means weld.
- Preserve alpha transparency.
- Preserve overprints and the source colour.
- Save the file as PDF 1.3.
If the file is not print-ready, the production clock does not start.