An Artwork Creation Program is any computer or cloud-based software application that can be used to create the artwork file for print. There are several different programs that can be used, but the standard recommended suite of programs is Adobe Creative Suite or Adobe Creative Cloud. Adobe Illustrator CS or CC  Adobe Illustrator is an ideal program to use for print products as it is a vector-based program. Vector images are based on anchor points and the lines that connect them [image of a vector sample that shows points and lines]. This unique structure means that a vector image can be scaled up or down without losing image quality. Illustrator is designed with many tools and features to create and edit vector images. This program is perfect for designing flat pieces with one or two pages (single or double-sided), such as postcards, business cards, or flyers, as well as more complex items with die-lines like kit folders, boxes and other types of packaging. It has built-in functionality to ensure that files can be set up properly and will pass all prepress inspections. This is one of the two recommended programs that be used to create a proper print-ready file. Adobe InDesign CS or CC The other program that is recommended to create print-ready artwork is Adobe InDesign. This program is also vector-based but differs from Illustrator in that it is not intended to create or edit vectors. The main purpose of InDesign is layout creation, for example, multi-page books or files [screencap of a multipage book]. As such, there are many features in InDesign that Illustrator does not have that are specifically designed to create, manage, and edit documents with more than 2 pages. This program can be used for the creation of books, catalogues and other multipage documents, complex one or two-sided items like brochures, as well as simpler flat products like business cards or postcards.  Adobe Photoshop CS or CC Adobe Photoshop can be used to create print files if Illustrator or InDesign is not available, or if the user is unfamiliar with these two programs, but it is not recommended. Photoshop is intended primarily to edit photographs and perform colour corrections, touch-ups, and other manipulations. This program lacks many of the print-production features of the other two programs and is also not a native vector-based system. As the primary purpose is photo manipulation, the program is pixel-based and therefore the images produced are dependant on the resolution set in the program. PDF files exported from Photoshop are much more difficult to manipulate than those from Illustrator or InDesign, and so it is much more difficult to perform file corrections to ensure optimal print quality. Industry best practises recommend that Photoshop be used for the intended purpose of editing the photographs to be used in a print file, and creating the final print-ready output in InDesign or Illustrator, both of which support the importation of all Photoshop outputs (JPEG, TIFF, as well as native PSD).

One of the first steps to properly creating a print-ready file is ensuring that the format of the file is correct. In this case “format” means making sure that the file has the correct width and height, as well as the correct bleed and safe margin allowances. Each of these will be explained in detail below.Width and Height Though it may seem simple, it can be difficult to determine what the proper width and height of the document should be. There are also several terms that get used to describe the width and height, which are defined below: Flat Size: This refers to the dimensions of a document after it has been printed and received any necessary trimming, but before it has been subject to any operations that further affect its size, such as folding. Flat Size is often used interchangeably with Trim Size. For documents that are not folded, the Flat Size is also the same as the Finished Size. Trim Size: This refers to the dimensions of a document after it has been printed and cut down to its desired width and height from a larger sheet, prior to any folding. Paper is trimmed to remove any excess around its perimeter or to separate pieces that have been printed as multiple images per sheet. Trim Size is the same as Flat Size. For documents that are not folded, the Trim Size is also the same as the Finished Size. Finished Size: This term refers to the dimensions of a printed document in its final form. It is equal to the Flat Size or Trim Size of an unfolded document and the Folded Size of a folded document. Folded Size: This refers to the dimensions of a document after it has been folded. Page Size: This refers to the dimensions of the pages in a book or other bound document when complete, folded, and closed. In fact, the size of most books is conveyed by the page size. When designing a file for print, there are a few rules of thumb that can be helpful in deciding the size that the design document should be set up as. Folded Pieces: This includes brochures, greeting cards, and presentation folders. These items should be designed using the FLAT/TRIM (Unfolded) size. For example, the flat size of a standard 9”x12” presentation folder with 4” pockets would be 18” by 16”, (9x2=18 by 12+4=16). Flat Pieces: This applies to any piece that will not be folded or bound in any way, and includes postcards, posters, flyers, business cards, and door hangers, to name a few. These items should be set up using the FLAT/TRIM size. Multipage/Bound Pieces: Saddle stitch books, Wiro books, Spiral books, and Perfect-Bound books all use the same PAGE/FOLDED size as the proper size to set up the design file. See the “Document Set-Up” page for more information on how to set the document size in InDesign, Illustrator, or Photoshop.Bleed It is very difficult to print exactly to the edge of a sheet of paper/card, so to achieve this, it is necessary to print a slightly larger area than is needed and then trim the paper/card down to the required finished size. Images, background images and fills that are intended to extend to the edge of the page must be extended beyond the trim line to give what is referred to as bleed. Bleed is printing that goes beyond the edge of where the sheet will be trimmed and gives the cutter operator a small amount of space to account for movement of the paper and design inconsistencies. Artwork and background colours must extend into the bleed area if the intent is for these elements to go right to the edge of the final printed, trimmed piece. After trimming, the bleed ensures that no white unprinted edges occur in the final trimmed document. The bleed guidelines are as follows: Flat Products, Folded Products, Multipage/Bound Products: These items require a minimum of .125” (⅛”) on each edge Large Format Products, Banner Products, Signage: These items require a minimum of .5” (½”) on each edge See the “Document Set-Up” page for more information on how to set the document bleed in InDesign, Illustrator, or Photoshop.Bleed for Custom-Shaped Products When creating print-ready files for custom-shaped products, such as boxes, hang tags, labels etc., it is important to extend the background elements across the entire artboard. Do not trim the bleed to the final product shape. Safe Margin A safe margin can be considered in some respects to be the opposite of bleed. WIth bleed, elements must extend a proscribed distance past the cut. With a safe margin, elements must be placed a minimum distance away from the trim. This is to ensure that any important elements such as text, titles, images, or logos do not get cut off when the final piece is trimmed. This safe margin also serves a design function, as it ensures that there is a pleasing amount of space between the edge and any elements. As with the other topics of this article, the recommended safe margin varies depending on the product ordered: Flat Pieces: Items that will not be folded or bound should ...

I received my printed product and the colors do not match what I saw on my screen.  Here's a question we received from a customer who placed an order with this same issue. Problem 1. Dark Black colors inaccurate to digital proofThe questions was:  "The printing on the items is very strange. It looks like the colors did not come out correctly and does not match the proof. Please let me know if there is anything we can do to remedy this. Thanks!" On screen, here's how my design appear: 

Here's how it looks side by side with the actual printed piece. 


Reason why this happened:  The file provided by the customer is not of suitable quality for printing and because of this the print quality does not look as the customer expects! The digital machines we use are very precise and print even very small details that are not visible to the eye. The background of the product is a photo and has a variable percentage of one color black from 97% to 100% at the edge of the picture and around the text on the background there is something like a shadow (it looks slightly in the dark purple range), which is four colors C-13%, M-13%, Y-13% and K-98%. If you look carefully the attached photos, you will notice it with your eyes. Resolution:Option 1: Provided by the customer high resolution vector fileOption 2: Convert the file to grayscale. This will enable the digital machine to reproduce the color/ colors of picture smooth( with all gradations of black) to an acceptable standard.

This guide should be followed every time a design is started, regardless of the product being created. The points mentioned below are considered “Best Practises” when designing for print and will apply to all products. More detailed guides are available for specific products or product groups.Main Elements When Starting a Design For Print:Format Ensure the artboard/page is set to the correct size For books, the artboard(s) should be set to the final FOLDED size of the book For all other products, the final TRIM size should be used Bleed should be allowed using the built-in features of Indesign and Illustrator, and NOT by making the artboard bigger It is not enough to just have the bleed box allowed, any background images, shapes, or other design elements that go to the cut edge of the piece should extend out to the bleed box All important elements that ARE NOT supposed to bleed should be a minimum of .125” (⅛”) from all edges of the piece. This is known as a Safe Zone or Safe Margin.Colour The Colour Space should be set to CMYK, and instead of RGB Colours can be converted, but there is no guarantee that the colours will print as intended, and orders will not be reprinted for colour issues if the file had to be converted from RGB Pantone colours should only be included in the design if the final piece will be printed with Pantone inks.  Colours can be converted, but there is no guarantee that the colours will print as intended, and orders will not be reprinted for colour issues if the file had to be converted from Pantones Grey elements can be used in the design, but they should be made up of only Black (K) ink. If there are any other colours in the grey, it will create a colour cast in the element that should be pure grey Large areas of black or titles and headers that use thick, large fonts should use what is referred to as “Rich Black”. The formula for this is as follows: Cyan= 40%, Magenta= 30%, Yellow= 30%, Black= 100% Any thin lines, fonts, line art, body text should be made up of 100% Black (K) only. If there are any other colours of ink in any of these elements, there is a chance that the final print will end up blurry due to the various colours of ink not lining up perfectlyResolution DPI stands for "Dots Per Inch" and is a measure of resolution.  All images that are placed in the document should be a minimum of 300 DPI.  Images that are to be used for the web are normally 72 DPI, and CANNOT be used for print output The resolution of the document should be 300 DPI When exporting, ensure that any downsampling applied to the file in the PDF export process does not go below 300 DPI Fonts If the design uses a font downloaded off the internet, it should be converted to outlines prior to submission for print. Make sure to save the file with the outlines fonts as a copy, as once the fonts are outlined they cannot be edited
Make sure that the PDF does not contain any form fields. This is common when a template is received from a head office or corporate headquarters and the location-specific information can be filled in. However, if these fields are not flattened prior to file submission, the information in the fields will not print on the final piece All lines should be at least .25 PT, as anything thinner than this might not show up on the final print.  Borders around the outside edges are not recommended. Due to the mechanical cutting process, there is no guarantee that the margins will always be consistent. If the design absolutely must have a border, it should be a minimum of .25” thick 

The most basic definition of printing is putting ink on paper. How that ink is used to create the image is a far more complex process, and can be impacted by several factors. The most important of these factors is Colour. This can refer to the actual hue of an element in the design, but in the technical sense, it refers to the different systems for classifying and mixing colours. Printing primarily uses the CMYK and Pantone systems, with black ink playing a very important role in ensuring a proper print outputCMYK Colour Space CMYK stands for Cyan (C), Magenta (M), Yellow (Y), and Black (K), and is also referred to as “4 Colour Printing” and “Process Printing”. Most “Full Colour” printing uses this system, where all the different colours in the artwork, from pictures, vector artwork, text, to solid shapes, and special effects, are all created using just these four inks.  This is important when designing because if the artwork is designed in a different colour space (like Red Green Blue), the artwork will need to be converted prior to printing. This can cause the colours to change, sometimes dramatically, from what is seen on screen and the final piece. RGB has a much larger colour “gamut” or range than CMYK and is normally used for web design. Therefore, many colours will look very bright and vibrant when in the RGB space, and more muted and less brilliant when converted to CMYK. To prevent disappointment and to ensure the colours that are printed are as close to the intended hue as possible, the colour space of the design document should be CMYK. If primarily designing for print, CMYK can even be set as the default colour space for a design program. Pantones When a very specific colour is needed, like a corporate or brand colour, or artwork requires special ink, such as metallic or neon inks, Pantone inks are used. These inks are mixed according to the Pantone Matching System, and so are sometimes referred to as PMS inks. The inks are chosen from “Colour Books”, literally hundreds of inks grouped into swatch books, with the “ink mix” (or recipe) included so that no matter where the item is produced, the printers will always have the same recipe. The standard Pantone colours are designated with a number and are mixed using different proportions of specific mixing inks, which can be looked up in the swatch book. Specialty Pantone inks, like metallics, neons, and pastels, are purchased pre-mixed from ink companies, and therefore increase the cost of a project that utilizes them. This is important when designing a file for printing, as they can cause issues during pre-press file processing. If Pantone inks are present, but the item will be produced with the standard Process colours, the file will need to be converted. Depending on how this is done, the results can vary. This can cause the final colour to be slightly or wildly different from the original Pantone colour, depending on the profile used for the conversion and the Pantone being converted. To avoid this issue entirely, Pantone inks should only be used if the product will actually be printed with Pantones. Even if Pantones will be used for printing, this does not mean that a large number of Pantones should be added. Most Pantone jobs are one or two colours only, sometimes one Pantone plus black, sometimes just one or two Pantones. Rarely, a project can be three or four Pantones, or even CMYK plus Pantones. Regardless of the number of Pantones being used, only the ink numbers that will be used in the final print should be included in the design. If there are more inks than expected, this can cause confusion, extra processing time, and/or additional costs if a prepress technician has to go through the files and convert or remove the excess inks. Pantone Colours in Design Software Greys Grey in print-bound artwork is an interesting topic and causes far more problems on press than one might think. If the grey is comprised of either CMY inks or CMY with a small amount of black ink, the actual hue of the grey can vary wildly depending on the colour balance and ink settings on the press sheet. When the Cyan is the dominant ink, the greys will look more blue, or cool. If the Magenta and/or Yellow are more prominent, the greys tend to look warmer and may end up more on the brown side. Getting a proper grey balance can add significantly to the time required to print a job if the pressman has to constantly monitor and adjust the inks to make sure the colour cast on the sheet doesn’t drift warmer or cooler. It is therefore considered best practices for grey to be comprised of only black ink. This removes all the potential for an unwanted colour cast and greatly reduces the “makeready” time or the amount of time it takes for the pressman to get a good press sheet. Black ink is neutral and does not have an inherent hue, so it is neither warm nor cool. It also produces cleaner solid areas of ink coverage, as there is only one ink in that particular...