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.
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.
Artwork that is properly prepared and ready to be photographed for platemaking is camera ready. Traditional prepress consisted of boards or mats with all elements in place. Today, laser or inkjet printouts may serve as camera ready art.
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.
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.
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.
A digital proof is a color prepress proofing method where a job is printed from the digital file to an inkjet, color laser, dye sublimation printer, or thermal wax printer to give a good approximation of what the final printed piece will look like. The digital proof is generally less expensive than other proofs that use the printing press and inks.
Usually inexpensive, photographic proof from negatives but all colors are shown in blue (or another color) on white paper is called a blueline. Best used for spot color jobs, a blueline is used primarily to check accuracy and position before plates are made.
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.
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.)
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.
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.
You can find a listing of our currently supported applications on our Accepted Software page.
See our section on sending Graphics Plus your fonts. 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.
It depends. If you have the time, send everything on disk. If you are short on time and want to try e-mail, be sure to see our Sending Files to Graphics Plus section of our site.
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:
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.).