TECHNICAL HINTS

Artwork Format
:: All documents should include crop-marks and 5mm bleeding
:: Final artwork should be saved as Press Quality PDF [1.4] format
:: When re-printing a job it is recommended to forward us the previous Invoice number
:: Pages are to be sent in single pages in the same document [not in printers pages or spread pages]

::Colour
Choose Colours wisely by using a Pantone Process Colour swatch book. Unfortunately, different programmes separate Colour using their own tint values, but using the process Colour guide will act as a reliable reference. NEVER rely on your monitor to choose a Colour. Colour varies from monitor to monitor and it WILL look different when printed. You will see the difference if you compare several Pantone Matching System (PMS) Colours on your monitor with a printed Pantone guide.
Be specific if you are using spot Colours or 4-Colour process. If you are using 4-Colour process, use a Pantone Process Colour Imaging Guide, work in CMYK mode, and edit your Colours appropriately. All four-Colour process files to be placed in the page layout program should be CMYK, not RGB. If you are designing a piece with a black background, make sure to add under Colour in order to avoid specks and create the illusion of a flawless, uniform, dense black. A combination of 40% cyan, 40% magenta, 40% yellow and 100% black works great.

There may be times when you will want to use both 4-Colour process and a spot Colour. For instance, if you would like a warm gray background with accurate 4-Colour photographs: a large 4-Colour screen tint of gray cannot print with the same result as a single pre-mixed PMS Colour; and you cannot simply use gray paper, or the Colour in the photos will not be correct. Another reason you will need to run a fifth Colour is if you want to print a lot of small and/or delicate type in a Colour. NEVER make small body copy (text) out of a screen mix of process Colours, process Colours may not register at such a critical small scale on press. Furthermore, some PMS Colours are out of gamut, they cannot be matched by 4-Colour process, so if you must have that fluorescent fuscia, you will be running a fifth Colour. You may also want to use a metalic ink for impact, and the only way to get the reflective quality of metalic Colour is to run a spot metalic ink. In any case, always design your job with all the final Colours in place. Use CMYK mode for any 4-Colour elements, and specify the PMS Colour for your fifth and sixth Colours, we will separate the Colours here at Polidano Press Ltd. Spot Colours must be indicated on your laser proof to make sure we output the special Colour correctly and not as a screen mix.

::Lens Effects
Lens effects should only be used on CMYK and not on pantone colours.

Trapping and Bleeding
Trapping is affected by many factors such as line screen, paper, ink, and printing priorities and is therefore a task better left to us here at Polidano Press Ltd. We trap every day and most likely have a solution for every situation. However, to avoid a potential problem, try not to let two gradients or vignettes of contrasting Colours butt up next to each other without a keyline or space between them.
Bleeding, on the other hand, is simply a matter of knowing what the printer needs. Make sure all elements (photos and graphics) that run off the edge of the page have enough image bleed. Here at Polidano Press Ltd we like bleeds to extend at least 5mm beyond the final trim size of the document. Some jobs may need even more bleed, depending upon the steps involved to produce the final product. Use your judgement, more bleed won't hurt.

::Crop Marks
All crop marks should be touching outside bleed area [not the image].

::Fonts
All text should be converted to curves / vectors / outlines before exporting to pdf.
Most preflight headaches arise from missing fonts. To avoid potential problems we recommend that you ALWAYS convert fonts to paths/outlines or else include all the fonts you use to create your document on your disk or electronic file. Even though the font name may be very common, different manufacturers produce different fonts and if the fonts used are not exactly the same, there is a very strong chance that the text will re-wrap or otherwise change position.

::Spiral Binding
Leave 9mm clearance on the spiral side.