Send us your big files the easy way.
artwork
checklist...
right
first
time
You want your print job to be
hassle-free and look great first
time. We want the same thing,
which is why we’ve put together
this simple checklist to make
sure your supplied artwork does
not run into any unforeseen
delays or costly alterations when
we print it.
Whether you are a design novice
or an accomplished creative
professional, please take a
few minutes to read this guide
before you start designing and tick everything off when
you’ve finished. Avoiding these
common pitfalls now could save
a lot of heartache later.
If you feel your project is unusually
complicated or you are simply
not sure of anything, please give
us a call. We would be happy
to talk through any part of the
production process with you.
0800 4 BENEFITZ
correct colour?
proper black?
good layout?
high resolution?
double check!
artwork checklist
2
correct colour
c
m y
k
r
CMYK is Very Good.
We will print your full colour job with a mix of CMYK Process Colours. CMYK stands
for Cyan (light blue), Magenta (dark pink), Yellow and Black (yes, we know that doesn’t
begin with a K - don’t ask!). All of the images, text and other objects in your file should
be converted to CMYK to ensure colours are printed correctly.
If your job is black and white or greyscale, all objects on the page should contain only
black (K) ink. See the next page for more on blacks.
RGB is Not So Good.
Most images from a camera, scanner or the web will be made out of RGB colour (Red,
Green and Blue). Whilst we can change these to CMYK for you, it would be best if
you did this yourself as the resulting colour can vary from what you might have been
expecting.
Spot Colours are Bad (Usually).
Pantone® Spot colours are specialist inks for recreating an exact colour, for example in
a corporate logo. If this is what you require we have no problem in printing one, two or
sometimes more spot colours in your job, but if you are already scratching your head this
is probably not what you are after.
Spot colours can easily sneak into a design, often when importing logos and graphics
you have been sent or downloaded. These can quickly build up and create a productivity
nightmare incorporating tens of individual spot colour inks. As with RGB, it is best if you
can change these colours to CMYK at the design stage - as well as producing a different
colour result, outputting a spot colour job as CMYK could cause items to disappear off
the page altogether, and should be treated with extreme caution!
Don’t panic! If you are not sure about changing objects to CMYK yourself, we can do
this all for you. We can supply you with a printed proof which you can check for any
unexpected colour related changes.
we
At Benefitz, our preferred
design weapon of choice is
Adobe InDesign. It is very flexible
and your work can easily be set
up to avoid any colour, layout or
quality issues as you go along.
That said, whatever software you
are using to design your work,
we can work with. Simply stick to
the recommendations outlined in
this guide and you’ll be laughing.
Here are our three top tips for
you fellow InDesign-ers...
Set up 3mm of bleed when you
start your job (this is hidden
under ‘More Options’ in the
‘New Document’ window, just to
catch you out!)
In Preferences, set ‘Appearance
of Black’ to ‘Display All Blacks
Accurately’ for on screen and for
when printing. This will highlight
any tricky black issues right
away.
When you output your PDF,
make sure you include bleed
and crop marks, and use the ‘Ink
Manager’ output options to sort
out any unwanted spot colours.
artwork checklist
3
proper black
proof
& go!
Rich or Plain?
Using the correct mix of inks to make up black can be critical in getting the most out
of your finished job. Make sure you use plain black for text and small logos, and rich
black for large areas. Here is an overview of each...
plain black
0% CMY 100% K
As this black does not contain any
other colours it produces a very
clean and precise result. Plain black
is best for text and smaller logos.
Where possible it should be set to
‘overprint’ over other images.
Entirely black and white or greyscale
jobs should be made up of shades
of plain black, as should grey tints in
full colour jobs.
rich black
Plain black can look slightly grey
and washed out when used over a
large area, and setting a solid object
to overprint can produce strange
results.
30% CMY 100% K
Putting a percentage of other colours
behind a plain black can create a
stronger, richer black, which is ideal
for solid areas. Using rich black
should also eliminate any unwanted
overprinting.
Avoid using any more than 40% of
any other colour in a rich black - too
much ink on the page can saturate
the paper and ruin the job! Small text
can also appear messy when printed
out of a rich black.
Once we have checked your
job and it is ready to be printed,
we will supply you with a proof,
either as an e-mailed PDF or as
a full size print on our dedicated
large format proofer.
This is a final check for you
to ensure nothing funny has
happened in the supply or set up
of your artwork.
Whilst our proofer is colour
calibrated for accuracy, there
may be some slight variation in
colour between the proof and
the final print, due to the different
inks and materials being used.
An e-mailed PDF will not be
colour accurate, and is just for
checking the layout and content
of the job.
None more black...
Be wary of blacks created by programs such as Photoshop or Microsoft Word,
as these can contain far too much ink to be able to print effectively and will look a
mess!
You should also check if you are placing images with black edges onto a black
background, that the colours match, otherwise you will see a join when printed.
artwork checklist
4
good layout
Your job might look great on the proof, but once it has been
trimmed down to size it may be a different story. Here are
a few things to look out for when laying out your design.
Avoid the edges.
Placing critical text and objects too close to the edge can
be risky - they can make the finished job look messy, and
may even be cut off altogether! It is always best keep stuff
at least 3mm away from any folds or cuts.
objects away from edge
objects too close edge
Aidan Bennett
Managing Director
Aidan Bennett
Managing Director
Mobile: 021 500 997
DDI: (09) 477 4701
aidan@benefitz.co.nz
Benefitz DMA Limited
Corner Constellation Drive
& Parkway Drive, Mairangi Bay,
North Shore City, New Zealand
P.O. Box 33-1630, Takapuna
Mobile: 021 500 997
DDI: (09) 477 4701
aidan@benefitz.co.nz
file has bleed
Phone: (09) 477 4700
Fax: (09) 477 4799
Benefitz DMA Limited
Corner Constellation Drive
& Parkway Drive, Mairangi Bay,
North Shore City, New Zealand
P.O. Box 33-1630, Takapuna
Phone: (09) 477 4700
Fax: (09) 477 4799
www.benefitz.co.nz
www.benefitz.co.nz
crop marks included
The trim line.
(Don’t worry, we don’t actually use scissors to cut your job - we have some fancy guillotines to do this)
no crop marks
Note that this example is a small business card - for bigger
jobs like posters you should allow for more space at the
edge, especially if your job is going to be put in a frame.
Crops and bleed.
You should allow at least 3mm of ‘bleed’ that will be cut off
the edge of your job. Any items that you want to run off the
page should overlap into this bleed area - this will allow for
a much neater finish once the job is cut.
If possible, also include crop marks (those little black lines
in the corners) so that we have a clear guide for where the
job should be trimmed.
no bleed in file
does it
work?
If you have anything unusual in mind, make sure your
design will work on a practical level. Will everything
be the right way up when it is folded/unfolded? Do
perforations, cuts and creases match up on both sides?
Do folders and brochures fold and fit neatly on the final
material?
It is always worth making a mock-up to check out any
unusual finishing before sending your job to us.
artwork checklist
5
high resolution
Always work with the highest quality images that you can. Your photos should ideally have a ‘resolution’
of 300dpi (dots per inch) and be saved at the best possible quality. Low resolution (under 200dpi) or
compressed images can appear blurred or blocky.
You should check the quality of all images in the final file as some programs can automatically lower the
resolution of images when they are added to a page or exported as PDFs.
...please!
Whilst we are able to work with most artwork file formats, there
can often be issues such as missing fonts or images. If possible,
we’d prefer it if you can supply us with print-ready Adobe Acrobat
PDF files, with the colours, bleed, crop marks and image quality
set up to reflect the guidelines in this checklist.
low resolution (72dpi)
high resolution (300dpi)
low quality (blurred)
artwork checklist
6
double check!
Now you are ready to send us your job, all that remains is to do a quick double check
of the final PDF or artwork files, and let us have them!
correct colour?
proper black?
good layout?
high resolution?
double check!
Remember, whilst the guidelines in these pages should eliminate the most common
printing pitfalls, something strange can always sneak through, so you should always
check your proof thoroughly, and we are always happy to help remedy any lastminute glitches before we go to print.
...thanks for your time!
artwork checklist
7
Send us your big files at http://bigfiles.benefitz.co.nz
No software. No login. No problem.