Being a Graphic Design and Print Specialist and running DC-Graphics, I thought I would explain why PDF files are best for final, professional quality print reproduction.
When designing work for clients, I email them low resolution PDF files just so they can receive the files easily and view them. They can then print them out if need be, check and finally approve my design work. Because I supply a low quality PDF at this point, I often have to assure new clients that once the job is approved by them, I will be making a very high quality, high resolution version of their job. This means I will be adding the relevant bleed and crop/trim marks that the print company needs to print the job to the highest standard. It’s a well known fact that PDF files are now the industry standard in the professional world of printing.
The Adobe Acrobat PDF
PDF stands for Portable Document Format created by the Adobe company and you probably already use Adobe Acrobat Reader (if not, go here) to open and view PDFs already. If you haven’t used or worked with PDF’s before, the following information will help you understand why designers and professional printers prefer to receive final approved artwork as a press ready PDF file.
1. With many elements used in a graphic design document, such as fonts, logos, photographic and even scanned images especially, a multi-page document like a newsletter, magazine or book means it will now be quite a considerable file size. Often too large to send by email.
2. Print companies used to require you supply all these elements as separate files on disk, but saving the whole job now as a PDF file means that not only are all these elements embedded, but it will also compress the combined data. So the final PDF when saved, is considerably smaller in memory size enabling it to be easily emailed to your chosen printer.
3. There are no cross platform issues with PDF files as they can be opened and viewed on PC’s as well as Apple Mac computers.
4. Correctly made PDF files can speed up the print process and most professional graphic design software lets you make your PDF from within that package.
5. One last tip – if you are making your own PDF’s – ensure all colours used are in CMYK format and your images, logos and scans are no less then 300dpi (dots per inch) resolution as this will mean less chance of your final printed job ending up with a pixelated, jagged edge look to all images. Don’t worry about the sharpness of the fonts, they will be fine.
Free Advice from Doug at DC-Graphics
There is plenty of other reasons why PDF’s are a printer’s preferred choice of artwork format. The information above is just a brief, basic outline. If you are not sure about anything, then please contact me on: 0208 440 1155 or email me: doug@dc-graphics.co.uk and I will give you some free advice over the phone. Or, if you prefer, like all of my satisfied clients, (see some testimonials here) - let me design your project for you, set up the artwork in the correct way and I’ll arrange the printing for you and get it delivered to any location of your choice.
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