Submitting Your Files to RC Hill

Please read to avoid problems or extra charges with your project

Supported Media

• Iomega Zip 100MB disks
• CD-ROM including Photo CD
• 1.44 and 800 KB 3.5 floppies

Supported Files Include:

• QuarkXpress vers. 3.1+
• Pagemaker vers. 5.0+
• Illustrator vers. 5.0+
• Photoshop vers.2.5+
• Freehand vers. 5.0+

Organizing Your Files

We suggest the following organization for your folders or directories. If you can follow these conventions, it will help speed the processing of your order.

I. Job Folder

A. Layout File

B. Fonts Folder

1. Individual Font Files

C. Supporting Files Folder

1. Graphics Files

2. Other Linked Files

This organizational convention will make it easier for us to locate your files and process your job efficiently, avoiding potential problems.

Gathering Your Files

There are a number of ways to make certain that you have sent us all of the files that we need to run your job. Print this page and the following checklist for easy reference.

• Did you supply a final proof at 100%?
• Have any special finishing instructions been included?
• Are the shipping instructions complete?
• Did you check for spelling and grammar errors?
• Does your file include the appropriate bleed area (1/8")?
• Are copies of all of the linked files, fonts, and files necessary to reproduce linked EPSs included?
• Have you included all fonts (including those used in EPS files) in a folder named "Fonts"?
• Have you replaced large black areas with rich black (50%C/40%M/40%Y/100%K) to make them appear more solid?

Font Handling

Only Your Fonts are Exact

In order to print your job properly, you must send us the fonts you used in your layout. Jobs that arrive without fonts are subject to additional fees and possible delays in production. While we do have a library of fonts, we may not have the particular one that you used in your job. Also, since there are many different versions of the same fonts sold by different vendors, your font may not match our font of the same name.

PostScript vs. TrueType

There are two types of fonts: PostScript and TrueType> PostScript fonts are generally preferred over TrueType as they produce cleaner results, process more quickly, and are generally more reliable. PostScript fonts have one drawback: each font has two different files associated with it, a screen font and a printer font. Both are required.

Please be sure to provide all files needed for every font you use, both in your layout file and in any embedded illustrations (EPS files).

Macintosh Fonts

Your fonts can be found in one of two places: the System folder of a folder within the System folder called "Fonts". Both the screen fonts and printer fonts for Postscript fonts or single font file for TrueType fonts should be placed within a folder on the disk you send us.

Transfer the fonts by dragging them out of their location in your system area to the disk you will be sending us. Please try to place screen fonts from the same font family in a single suitcase before putting them into the "Fonts" folder. This will decrease the clutter and make the fonts easier to identify and work with. Suitcases, shown in the diagram, contain multiple screen fonts and can be used to keep font families together. Font families are font groups of the same basic design, each with a style variation: regular, bold, italic, ect.

Windows Fonts

Fonts in Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Windows95 are generally found in the directory called "\windows\system". See the reference table above to identify which files relate to which fonts types, and which ones we will need to print your job.

To send your fonts files to us simply copy them into a directory named "fonts" on the disk you send us. Be sure to send us all of the fonts you have used.

Stylized Fonts: No Way!

Some programs allow you to apply styles (italic, bold, bold-italic) to a plain font to approximate the real font variant. Do not use this option! A stylized font will in many instances be replaced by the plain variant when RIPed. We will not be held responsible if this happens.

If you need a font style, use the font variant that is that style, not the variant with an applied style. For instance use the Helvetica Bold font instead of the Helvetica  font style Bold.

Some fonts, particularly True type fonts, will not show individual type variations in your program's font list. They demand that you use the stylization routines to access the variations, linking the stylized fonts to the real variations on output. If this is the case with one of your fonts, be sure that the output is truly using the variant font and that you send us both the variant and the base font.

Specifying Colors

Process vs Spot Colors

You should specify all colors in your document as printing with process inks. Most PMS or other ink specification system colors can be matched using a process equivalent to that you can find in the color palette of the program you are using or in the ink system's reference book. Be sure to check the specifications for process equivalent against a reference book, as a simple mistake can change the color dramatically. Not all programs use the same color palette process equivalents, so this double-checking is required.

Doing Your Own Scans

Resolution

Image resolution is usually expressed in terms of Dots Per Inch or dpi. The resolution of a given image is one of the key factors in determining the final output size of the image and how well the image will reproduce. The dpi also affects the size of an image in terms of megabytes (Mb) and thus how the image will be stored and transported. As an example, an average 8' X 10' image in CMYK at 300dpi is approximately 27.5 MB. If you only need to reproduce the image at a size of 4" X 5" and a resolution of 300dpi, then that's the size the file should be scanned at or scaled to before you save it. Providing us with images at the correct sized and resolution allows us to process your files faster.

• Provide halftone images in EPS or TIFF format.
• Avoid placing Pict Files
• PC images in Tiff format

Scanning Tips

1. Before scanning, know what the final output size (2" X 3", 4" X 6", etc.) will be in the layout and adjust your scanning parameters accordingly, rather than scaling the image later in an editing application like Adobe Photoshop.

2. The resolution of you images at final output should be 300dip. On many images, however, a difference of plus or minus 10% in resolution will not cause any visually significant difference.

3. Line-art scans should be done at a higher resolution, such as 800 to 1000dpi. They need this higher resolution to reproduce well and to define clean edges.

Image File Submission Tips

1. Clipping paths should be as clean as possible with no more points than really needed. The clipping path should have a flatness of two or greater.

2. Be sure to remove extra channels in your images: they can cause problems with the RIPping pre-press.

3. Do not use file compression on your images, such as LZW, JPEG, or GIF. Some compression software uses "lossy" algorithms, which can seriously affect the quality of your final piece. All compression routines slow down the processing of your files, which can incur additional cost.

4. Do not use any kind of transfer function when saving your files. Transfer functions can override our precise color calibrations on the proofer and the press, resulting in color you may not want.

Color Tips

1. Submit all color files in CMYK color. When converting a file from RGB to CMYK, you may notice a slight change in the image color. This change occurs because RGB can hold a wider range (or gamut) of colors than CMYK.

2. Monitors vary widely in how they display colors. What you see on your monitor may vary from the final printed piece. We recommend that you use the Gamma control panel (bundled with Photoshop) or a similar monitor calibration method to achieve color matching of any degree.

3. Duo, Tri and Quadtones should be submitted with specific process color percentages. If you must submit a file in RGB mode, we will convert it to CMYK for you, but you should be aware that some colors may shift in hue or desaturate slightly. Also, converting files from RGB to CMYK will incur an additional cost due to the additional prepress time required.

Applications

If QuarkXpress pages are saved as EPS files and placed in another document, send the original QuarkXpress page and any placed files required for the page.

Place all scans at 100% size or smaller. Enlargements could compromise quality.

Rotate, scale, and crop images before placing them on your page. Completing these steps in the page layout program creates excessive imaging time.

Set picture box background to white or zero percent black in QuarkXpress whenever possible.

Create blends (or gradients) in Adobe Photoshop adding a guassian noise or two. This step will help reduce banding.

Trapping

It's important to note that any trapping you supply will be output as received. We'll be happy to check your trapping, or complete trapping for you. If you'd like us to review your traps, we'll do so at an additional charge.

Proofs

In order to assure that our printing of your files matches what you expect to receive, please be sure to send us a current proof or printed sample. Make sure that this proof is output at 100%, even if you have to tile the output over several sheets of paper. This allows us to do a lineup on a light table for the best match. Any last minute changes should be reflected in the proofs you submit.

Your provided proofs can be either a black and white laser print or a color proof. We prefer the format with the highest resolution; it provides the best comparison. Please be aware that your particular color proofing device may not be calibrated to accurately display color as it will be printed on the final output from our press. Please don't submit proofs of CMYK separations.

Rich Black

Printing a large area of black can have a significant impact on the look of your piece. When something large is tinted in 100% black, it may not appear as dark as you may expect. This is an unfortunate limitation of offset printing; however, it is easy to overcome this obstacle.

A rich black is used in place of black ink alone in heavy coverage areas such a large text (headlines and logos larger than 48 point) or backgrounds. A rich black should generally be specified as 50%cyan, 40% magenta, 40% yellow, and 100% black.

Folding Dummy

A folding dummy shows our bindery experts exactly how you would like your piece to fold. It also lets you check whether the layout you have done will fold properly before sending in the job. Otherwise we may have to try to contact you while the job is in progress, which may cause a delay in delivery.