rtwork and publications can be submitted to us either on disk or through email. However, if the file is large, it is probably better to provide it on a cd-rom as some email servers limit the size of attachments.

Having Us Do the Design . . .

is always an alternative. In fact, most people trust us to do the page layout as this is what we do best, and there will be guaranteed compatibility with printers.

If you want us to design your publication, please submit your text completely unformatted preferably in WordPad. Text provided in Microsoft Word will be subject to a surcharge. Your photographs must be sized appropriately, and never smaller than what will be required.

Operating System

Generally, we will only process art created on IBM-compatible computers. However, and without regard to the operating system used to generate your art, we can print Adobe Acrobat documents with no problem.

Using the Right Program

If you are submitting a completed publication, for example, a pamphlet, please prepare it in the proper program. It is always a bad idea to utilize a word processing program for a multipage print publication, unless you are using WordPerfect, which handles multipage publications quite well. In fact, WordPerfect seems to handle long publications far better than advanced page layout programs.

Recommended and Acceptable Formats

We recommend submitting your art to us as a PDF file. The reasons for this are legion, but primarily the advantages are: The document will be printed exactly as you designed it. All of your fonts will be included and will not have to be supplied separately, and there will be no conflict between font editions. There will be no conflict between software versions or upgrades.

Artwork may be provided in either bitmap or vector format.

Bitmap images must be 300 dpi or better. Bitmapped images must be appropriated sized before submission. Generally speaking, a bitmap image can not be resized without degradation.

Bitmap art should be provided in any of these formats: TIF, BMP, CPT, JPG or GIF. Vector art should be provided in CDR or AI. We do, of course, prefer CorelDraw. If you are uncertain about compatibility, please call before submission.

Images

Many of us are tempted (only occassionally surely) to save an image we find on the net and then subsequently use it in our print publications. There are at least two problems with doing that. One, it is unlawful. Unless the image is in the public domain, it is owned by someone and violation of the copyright laws can be serious. The other problem is that images on the web are generally 72 dpi and an image needs to be, generally, at least 300 dpi to print well. So when you take a 72 dpi image and try to print it, it becomes pixelated and it largely unattractive. Compare the two images to the right. Printing a 72 dpi image will generally result in an image similar to the bottom photo.

Typefaces and Fonts

If your publication includes text, and if you are not going to submit it as an Adobe PDF file, you must submit your fonts along with your art. These typefaces may be in either TrueType or Postscript format. For more information on typefaces and fonts, we have prepared a guide for you.

Questions?

Should you have questions, please call or email. If time is limited, the best time to call us is before you create your document.