Prepress Guidelines
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RR Donnelley
Post Plant
201 East Progress Drive
West Bend, WI 53095
P 262.338.6101
F 262.338.0423
Prepress Guidelines
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Program Acceptance

"Good" Programs
There are literally hundreds of programs on the market that can produce text and graphics. However, only a select few are appropriate for professional publishing. Click here to view our Supported Program List.

"Bad" Programs
What do we mean by "bad" programs? These are applications that produce unreliable and/or unpredictable results. Also included in this list are programs that are known to require extensive rework to get them to output pages to PostScript™ printers. This does not mean we are unwilling to work with some of these programs, but you can expect additional charges and sometimes they can grow exponentially as problems mount. There is no guarantee that the final proof will look like what you have in the original document. It may be less expensive to completely re-create the document than work through the problems with these applications.

  • Characteristics of a "Bad" program include:
    • Color production is unreliable
    • Program only supports RGB colors (not CMYK or spot color)
    • Type rewraps without warning and unpredictably
    • Resolution of image is poor
    • Produces errors when attempting to print to PostScript devices
    • Takes exceptionally long to output proper files
    • Costs the customer extra money due to problems!
  • Programs to avoid:
    • Microsoft Word
    • Microsoft Excel
    • Microsoft Publisher
    • Microsoft PowerPoint
    • WordPerfect


    Photographs

    • Color images should be in CMYK color format, not RGB.
    • Do not create or edit clipping paths within Quark Xpress. Create all clipping paths in PhotoShop and save the image as EPS.
    • Do not create silhouettes by "deleting" to a white background unless you intend to place the image on a pure white background within your page layout program. You must use a clipping path for this.
    • Keep clipping paths simple. Make sure that the path is placed at least 2 pixels WITHIN the colored area of your image to prevent edge halos.
    • Do not use the STYLE menu to edit ANY images in Quark.


    Fonts

    Type 1 fonts
    Are preferred because they cause the fewest problems on both PC and Mac.

    TrueType fonts
    Although we accept them, they are known to cause output problems occasionally. We recommend avoiding TrueType fonts.

    Open Type Fonts
    This is a new font type. So far we have seen no problems with Open Type fonts. However, it is a new format and some unanticipated problems may occur.

    Bitmap Fonts
    Are NOT usable. These are some of the standard fonts with Windows.

    Font problems are the MOST COMMON causes of delays and problems with a job!
    • ALL fonts used should be sent in on a disk containing all files related to the project. Failure to do so will result in delays and possibly extra charges.
    • Avoid "cheap" fonts. Use fonts from reputable companies. You often get what you pay for with fonts. Many cheap fonts do not handle letter spacing properly and may not print at all on the Imagesetter. (Even if it printed fine on a laser).
    • Avoid Multiple Master Fonts from Adobe.
    • WARNING: Keyboard commands for BOLD, ITALICS, and BOLD ITALICS
      Although most fonts can be made to appear bold or italics on the screen and even on your printer, the only way to guarantee that the fonts will operate properly is when they are output to film. Choosing BOLD, ITALICS, OR BOLD ITALICS from the STYLE menu in any program may result in bad proofs and wasted money!


    Placing Images in Page Layout Programs

    • Do not embed graphics into any program. When placing graphics in PageMaker, always choose "NO" when asked "Include complete copy in the publication..." Choosing YES causes PageMaker to embed the graphic in the document. All graphics need to be sent separately.
    • If placing images in Corel Draw, FreeHand or Adobe Illustrator documents, those images are embedded automatically. Be sure to send us each image separately so that, if needed, we can make changes and corrections to your documents.
    • Make sure you fill picture boxes with "White" when importing TIFF files into Quark Xpress. Do not fill the picture box with "NONE". Doing so will cause jagged edges.
    • Do not reduce images more that 30% if possible. This causes the file to take longer to output and can cause some images to lose quality.
    • Always keep in mind what happens to the resolution when enlarging or reducing images. A 300 dpi image enlarged 200% becomes a 150dpi image. The same image reduced 50% becomes a 600dpi image.
    • Placing images that are too large and reducing them (50% or less) may result in extended processing times and extra fees. It is especially important to place images at 100% size at 300 dpi when the images are repeated multiple times on the same page or on multiple pages.
    • Rotating images is OK to do in most cases. Images with lots of detail will sometimes lose quality when rotated in a page layout program. If you are concerned about this, rotate in PhotoShop.
    • Do not save multi-layered .tiff files. Tiff files must have a single layer (flattened) and should not have extra alpha channels. If you need extra channels, the file should be a DCS/EPS file. Always send us the layered file as well.
    • In-Design users can achieve transparency by placing a native PhotoShop file with transparency. Although this works, use with extreme caution. This method has been known to cause serious problems and delays if used inappropriately or excessively.


    Using the Right Program for Your Project

    • Use Quark Xpress, PageMaker or InDesign for laying out pages. This is especially important on multi-page jobs.
    • Using drawing programs like FreeHand, Illustrator, or Corel Draw to lay out pages with photographs and columns of text is NOT recommended. These programs often take lots of extra time to output files and can cost extra for the additional time needed to produce the job. They also tend to grow VERY large and are hard to manage.
    • The same is true for PhotoShop. Now with the addition of vectored text in PhotoShop, we are seeing a lot of files where the entire page is created in PhotoShop. Although this works, vectored text pages are considerably larger than they would be if done in a page layout program with the photos properly placed. As a result, output times increase.


    Page Sizes & Page Design

    • Set up the page size in your document to be the FINALTRIM size of a single page. If you want an 8.5 x 11 brochure, set up your pages to exactly that size. If it is a 5 x 7 postcard, set it to 5 x 7.
    • Make sure all items that are to bleed (run off the page) extend beyond the page boundary by at least 1/8 inch. Do not make your pages larger to accommodate the extra size.
    • If you are designing a document that will fold, it is very important that you talk with your sales associate about exactly where the folds need to be in the document. Otherwise, you may have to redesign your document to fit the folding!
    • Set your pages as single pages in a regular printing order of page 1, page 2, page 3, etc. Do not set the document in "Printer Spreads".
    • If you have odd-size pages or inserts, create them in a separate document. For example, if you have an 8.5 x 11 document with an 11x17 foldout, produce the foldout on a separate document.
    • Die lines should be set as a separate spot color named "zDIELINE" using the color formula of 100% Magenta. They can be created in Illustrator or Freehand and imported into the page layout program or they can be created directly within the layout program. Set the spot color to OVERPRINT.
    • Spot Varnishes should setup as a separate spot color. Many customers prefer us to create the varnish plates to avoid problems. Be sure to tell us exactly what you want varnished.
    • Avoid placing text or objects within 1/8 inch of the edge of the page unless it is a photo or graphic that will bleed off the page.
    • Type colored in a percentage of black will have a jagged look to it. To avoid this, color all type 100% black or multiple percentages of colors. This will eliminate any jagged look.


    Colors

    • Understand the difference between a spot color and a 4 color process. Make sure all color formulas are what you want and that you have checked the formula against a standard swatch book like the Pantone CMYK book.
    • Make sure any spot colors are named the same within all files being used. If you have a color named "Pantone 300 CV" in one document and "Pantone 300 CVC" in a graphic, you will get two different colors!
    • Remove any unused colors from your documents. This reduces confusion and helps assure you get exactly what you want.
    • To be sure you are getting what you want from a spot color job we recommend printing a set of color separated lasers. Examine them to make sure your spot colors are on the correct plates.


    File Naming

    IMPORTANT: Make sure you do not have ANY files with the same name, even if they are in different folders. This will cause serious problems when we re-link the images in preparation for outputting the file!



    File Preparation

    • Include all layout documents and each linked/imported image.
    • Include ALL fonts used in your document and any imported images. Be sure to include all weight and styles used. (Bold, Italics, Extra Bold etc.)
    • Include any NATIVE FreeHand, Illustrator or PhotoShop (layered) files that were used to create the placed EPS or TIFF images. This can save a lot of time should we need to edit or correct a file!
    • A set of FINAL lasers at 100% size are REQUIRED. We must have a complete full size set of lasers to insure type has not re-wrapped or the images have not moved or changed. This is an important quality check point. A PDF with ALL fonts embedded can be sent to be used as a laser proof. Please name the PDF "jobname_laserproof.pdf" so we will know what it is for.
    • Be sure to mark lasers wherever FPO (For Position Only) images or PICKUP images are located.
    • The rule about hairline rules in QuarkXPress (QuarkXPress 5/6): While hairline rules may look great onscreen and okay printed on a desktop printer, they probably won't look so good when printed on an output device that prints over 300 dpi. For this reason, it's best to avoid using the Hairline option (defined as a zero width line) when drawing rules or frames in QuarkXPress. To access the Hairline option, open the Modify dialog box (Item > Modify), click on the Line tab, and then click on the Line Width pop-up menu. To ensure your rules print on any device, always define their line width no less than 0.25 points.


    File Transfer

    We offer several methods for electronic transfer of files such as Mass Transit, FTP and Email. See the File Upload section of this website for more information.


    File Archiving

    • We can archive your job to CD-ROM or DVD and return it to you after it is complete. This will insure you that you will have all the latest changes and corrections that may have been done during the production process. Please request this service before we begin production on your job. The charge for this service depends on the size of the job.
    • As a convenience, we archive all jobs after they have been printed. However, every type of media has a certain percentage of failure and there is no guarantee of the file integrity of the archives. We do NOT guarantee that we will have copies of files in our archives and are not responsible for data integrity of stored files.
    • Retrieval of files from archives for reprints is a free service. There is a fee for retrieving files to be re-archived to disk to be sent to customers. The fee depends on the size of the job.


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