Ensure artwork extends to bleed lines. Bleed lines are very important for printing. We recommend a 3mm / .125inch bleed to be set up on your job. Make sure artwork is placed to cover the
bleed. Also don’t forget to include the bleed marks on the final PDF.
Verify process colors are CMYK and not RGB. This is a very common issue. Often when images are worked on in Photoshop, they are edited in RGB (as that is how monitors, scanned images,
photos are handled). Images should be converted to CMYK in Photoshop before importing. When converting, you may see some minor color changes. NOTE: InDesign will automatically
convert any RGB images to CMYK however this can be risky as the colors might change drastically during the conversation. It is best to convert prior to ensure best results. The quickest way
to double check is when in InDesign, open the links panel, and then in the Panel Options, add the “Type” parameter. You can then see what kind of file is linked from the links panel. Nifty!
Make sure all images are at least 300 dpi. Low resolution images can look ok on the screen but when printed they can look like a hot mess.
When importing images, use .tif, .psd, .eps, .pdf. Do not import .jpg, .png, .gif as those are file formats for the screen and web.
Check that spot colors are converted to CMYK or, if printing a job with spot colors, carefully define the spot. Preparing a print job with spot colors requires very close management of the
colors on the file. It is important to select spot colors from the color books within the program, and to ensure that those colors are used continuously. Also be sure to check the ink manager
to see what colors will be output.
Delete any unused colors from the swatch panel. This is a very useful thing to do as you near the end of your file preparation. Go to the swatch panel, and select any unused colors (from the
swatch panel drop down menu) and delete them.
Ensure there are no missing fonts. When saving the PDF, make sure that you have embedded fonts as well.
Make sure there are no linked graphics that need to be updated or missing.
Make sure that all content is within margins. When designing be careful not to place important contact too close to the ends (unless required). This lessens the chance that that content
might be cut off.
If you have a die line, consider placing this on it’s own layer and that layer is set to non-printing, then lock the layer so that you cannot place any other items on the layer. Then place that layer
as the top layer so that you can see it easily.
Also if you have a die line, consider making the die line color a spot color (I usually choose a very distracting 100% cyan or 100% magenta so that it shows well. If it is a spot color, then you
can be assured that it does not get merged into the CMYK of your file.
Run a spell check! It’s often assumed the document is spelled correctly but even the best writers can make speeling errors