Frequently Asked Questions

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The following section contains some of our most frequently asked questions. Take a moment and browse through the list to see if it can help you with any questions you may have.

Printing and Prepress

What is Bleed?

When any image or element on a page touches the edge of the page, extending beyond the trim edge, leaving no margin it is said to bleed. It may bleed or extend off one or more sides.



What is the difference between CMYK and RBG?

CMYK (also known as 4-color process) refers to the 4 ink colors used in 4-color process printing. C is cyan (blue), M is magenta (red), Y is yellow, and K is black, the key plate or keyline color.

RGB is what monitors, scanners and digital cameras use for displaying color. R is red, G is green, and B is blue. When saving graphics for a web page, saving the image in RGB is best suited but when we are talking presswork, then you want to convert the image to CMYK.

RGB images may look great on screen or printed on your inkjet printer but they usually don't print well to PostScript output devices. Convert your images to CMYK. While RGB has its place (on the Web, for example) it isn't suitable for most PostScript color printing.

Save your original RGB file for later use or modifications. In your graphics application convert a copy of the RGB graphic to CMYK then place it in your page layout program. Send the CMYK version of your graphic to the printer.



What is Creep?

We are not talking about the ex-boyfriend. Creep allowance is to make adjustments to inner spreads of saddle-stitched booklets to maintain a constant outer margin when the publication is trimmed and counteract creep.



What are Crop Marks?

Crossed lines placed at the corners of an image or a page to indicate where to trim it are known as crop marks. Crop Marks are automatically applied with most desktop publishing software programs.



What is a Digital Proof?

A digital proof is a color prepress proofing method where a job is printed from the digital file to an inkjet to give a good approximation of what the final printed piece will look like.



What is a blueline?

Usually inexpensive, photographic proof. Best used for spot color jobs, a blueline is used primarily to check accuracy and position before plates are made. Does not accurately represent the color and resolution.



What do you mean by "FPO"?

FPO or "For Position Only" is the placement of a blank placeholder or a temporary low-resolution illustration in the required location and size on the camera ready artwork to indicate where an actual image is to be placed on the final film or plate. FPO images are commonly used when you've been supplied actual photographic prints or other type of artwork to be scanned or photographed for inclusion.



What is "DPI" and "PPI"? What should my "DPI" or "PPI" be set at?

A measure of the resolution of a printer is called DPI or dots per inch. It properly refers to the dots of ink or toner used by an imagesetter, laser printer, or other printing device to print your text and graphics. In general, the more dots, the better and sharper the image. DPI is printer resolution. DPI is not image resolution although frequently used that way.

PPI or "pixels per inch" is a measure of the number of pixels displayed in an image. A digital image is composed of samples that your screen displays in pixels. The PPI is the display resolution not the image resolution. (Adobe Photoshop uses PPI and Corel Photo-Paint uses DPI for image resolution so it's no wonder everyone is confused.)

Graphics Plus recommends your scanned images be at a resolution of 300dpi (or ppi technically) at the size you want to use them. (If you are resizing a scanned image in a page layout application, that is OK but when you oversize an image beyond 110%-120%, you will be loosing resolution and detail.)

What is the difference between Perfect Binding and Saddle Stitched?

Perfect Binding is a method of bookbinding where a flexible adhesive attaches a paper cover to the spine of the assembled signatures is called perfect binding. Paperback novels are one example of perfect binding. Variations of perfect binding are where the cover is glued only to the side of the spine and allow the book to lay-flat.

Saddle-Stitched is a method of securing loose printed pages with staples down the middle of a folded sheaf of papers. Many booklets are saddled-stitched. Side-stitching is a similar method where the pages are stapled about 1/4" from the spine.



What is a "varnish"?

Varnish is a liquid shellac or plastic coating put on a printed piece to add a glossy, satin, or dull finish. Part of the printing or finishing process, it is applied like a final layer of ink after a piece is printed. It may be clear or tinted. Varnish can be used functionally to reduce glare or enhance readability or as a design element to smooth, highlight, add texture, or create added dimension.



Which software applications do you currently support?

You can find a listing of our currently supported applications on our Accepted Software page.

Do I need to send fonts along with my application file? How do I find all my fonts and send them to you?

See our section preparing files. Even when you use common, classic typefaces you'll need to send the copies of the actual font files that your document contains. Fonts can vary from vendor to vendor and there are differences between the TrueType and Type 1 versions of fonts. If you don't supply your own fonts, Graphics Plus may substitute our own version. This might work. Or it might result in subtle or obvious differences in your document including text reflow.

  • Send both screen and printer fonts (for Type 1 fonts).
  • If you have embedded EPS files that include text that is not converted to curves, be sure to send the fonts for those images as well.
  • Avoid mixing TrueType and Type 1 fonts in the same file.
  • Send the same version of the font (that is, if you used TrueType fonts but send the Type 1 version of that typeface you may see errors).

Can I e-mail the files to you or do you prefer a disk?

It depends. If you have the time, send everything on disk. If your files are small enough (less than 350mb) you can send them through our file upload section of our site.

What format should I prepare and save my graphics?
Can you offer any tips on graphics?

There are dozens of graphics file formats but only two -- EPS and TIFF are the standards for commercial high resolution printing. Beyond file type other graphics issues that can jeopardize your printing project are color, compression, complexity, and completely missing images.

When you send your document to Graphics Plus, we often can and do take the time to fix some of the common problems listed below. However, there may be instances in which we would have to charge for any additional time spent. Save time, money, and frustration with proper preparation and submission of your graphics for printing.

Avoid these common problems when sending your graphics:

  • Missing Graphics
    It's probably easier to do a headcount on the graphics in your publication than on the fonts used but it is still possible to miss a few, especially with large, graphics-intensive documents. Missing graphics can result in delayed printing or if you don't proof carefully enough it can be an expensive error when you find out later that the image is missing or a low-resolution screen version was printed instead. Graphics may appear to be missing if you change filenames after linking. If you find that you need to change the name of a graphic file, re-link it in your page layout program before sending the graphics and application file.
  • Font missing from EPS graphics
    If you have embedded EPS files that include text be sure to send the fonts for those images as well. Generally it is best to convert the text to curves but sometimes this can alter the image in unwanted ways. If that's the case, you must send the font files for that text along with the graphic.
  • EPS and TIFF vs. other formats
    EPS for vector images and TIFF for bitmapped are the preferred format for high resolution printing. Native graphics formats from standard programs such as Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop are also usually welcome. When Windows users cut-n-paste images from other applications (such as PowerPoint images or Excel charts) you end up with a WMF (Windows Metafile) graphic embedded in the page. Often these WMF files print with the wrong colors or with changes in line weights (lines may disappear or may print thicker than expected). GIF images obtained from the Web are usually too low resolution for printing and they are in RGB format which is not designed for PostScript color printing. Avoid sending GIF, JPG, WMF, BMP, PICT.
  • Compression
    Compressed images can cause problems for PostScript output devices. While they may print -- eventually -- it can considerably slow down your job. For best results, send your graphics in uncompressed TIFF or EPS formats.
  • Resolution
    Graphics at the wrong resolution may print alright, but the resulting image is often less than acceptable. Images pulled from the Web are a common low-resolution culprit. Artificially increasing the resolution may give acceptable results on screen but the image loses quality and it becomes most obvious after high resolution printing. Too much resolution results in larger graphics files and can slow down your print job (and increase costs).

Should I set my file up using "printer spreads" or "reader spreads"?

PLEASE do not set up your page layout using "printer spreads". It may help you when creating your own printed mockups but you are not helping us output your file any faster! In fact, doing so is confusing and in the long run may cost you money for the extra time and effort. Always set up your layout using "readers spreads" (ie. 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.).

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