Preparing Files for External Book Printing Services

What resolution should I use?

All 3 printers above specify images scanned to 300 ppi. You will find any printer requires this for high quality printing – glossy magazines and books work with this resolution and it looks great.
Images of 72 ppi are only suitable for the web and will print poorly. They can’t be improved by increasing the resolution in Photoshop.

SCANNED IMAGES

• At the scanning stage, CHECK you are scanning to 300 ppi.
• Scan at the SAME SIZE that you want your image to appear. Even at 300 ppi, if you enlarge the scan at 4 times
  bigger in your artwork, it will suffer loss of quality.

PHOTOGRAPHY

If you are taking photos, ensure you are using a high quality camera. Use the highest quality settings on the camera. Check your user manual for further details. You can check the size of your photos in Photoshop.

• In Photoshop’s Top Menu Bar>Image>Image Size.
• The pop out menu will show resolution, and physical size. A decent quality image will be tens of megabytes.
  Be suspicious of images that are only 1 MB. If you are printing to A4, for example, you file should be at least
  12 MB, and at least 22 MB for A3, 45 MB for A2.
• In Digital Photography, photos often have a resolution 72 ppi. Don’t worry yet, your images may be physically
  large (100 cm high, for example, is pretty big). The photo can be made to 300 ppi, but will be scaled down physically to compensate. In the top menu bar>Image>Image Size. In the pop out menu, UNCHECK the ‘re-sample image’ box, and type in 300 ppi resolution. The width and height will change. Click OK and Save.

• Using a tripod will give you less shake, resulting in sharper images. Even 600 ppi won’t help a blurry photo!

It does not matter if your scans or photos are larger than necessary (unless they are really huge and cause your computer to drag), as when you are making the PDF, the images will automatically be down-sampled to 300 ppi.

ACTUAL PPI & EFFECTIVE PPI – CHECKING IMAGE RESOLUTION USING INDESIGN

You can use lower resolution images in it your printing, but at a much smaller size. If an image is 72 ppi, this is the Actual ppi. However, if it is scaled down and used at 24% of it’s original size, the pixels would be ‘squashed’ together. The Effective ppi would then be 300 ppi.

You can easily check your Actual and Effective ppi in InDesign when you are laying out your document. Click on an image that you have scaled down with the Selection Tool (black pointer).

• Top menu bar>Window>Links. In the Link Info, pay attention to the Effective ppi, and ensure it is in the
  region of 300. If not, you need to use it smaller still.

How do I get consistent colours in my images?

START BY CALIBRATING YOUR MONITOR

To ensure that the colours that you see on-screen will match (as closely as possible) the final printed item, it is important to calibrate your monitor.

• Ensure your monitor is displaying millions of colours or 24-bit or higher.
• Set your desktop to display neutral greys. Patterns or bright colours interfere with accurate colour perception.
• In Mac OS, use the Calibrate utility, located in System Preferences>Displays>Colour tab>Calibrate. You will
  then be guided through the process (see below). In Windows, install and use a monitor calibration utility.
• For greater accuracy, use a monitor calibrator, such as Pantone’s ColorMunki or DataColor’s Spyder.

WORK WITH A SYNCHRONISED CMYK COLOUR PROFILE IN THE ADOBE CREATIVE SUITE

Most printers, including the 3 printers above, require CMYK artwork for digital printing. However, many digital cameras capture in RGB. Once you convert RGB to CMYK you will lose some colour detail – colours WILL look less vibrant than RGB (due to the nature of the process, and CMYK has a smaller gamut than RGB), and you MUST be prepared for compromise.

To see the effects the conversion will make to your bright RGB images, you should view the artwork/images in CMYK, in all programmes that you are using eg. Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator. By synchronising the software to the same CMYK profile, you will be working to the same colour space throughout.

N.B. Your monitor is in also in RGB, and working in a CMYK colour space simulates the printed colours.

By opening any of the Adobe programmes (launch without a file), you can use Adobe Bridge to synchronise the
rest of the Suite. I recommend you start with Photoshop.

• Open Photoshop>Top Menu bar>Edit>Colour Settings.
• In the dialogue box, click on the Settings button. There are a lot of settings to choose from, but choose the
  ‘Europe Prepress 3’ (unless your printer instructs you to do otherwise). This is a commonly used CMYK setting in European countries. Leave all other settings unchanged. Notice in the top left hand corner you are warned that your Creative Suite applications are unsynchronised. This will be resolved further on.
• In this setting, you will see that the CMYK working space is Coated FOGRA39. Coated refers to the stock (paper), and the ‘Europe Prepress 3’ setting assumes you are using this type of paper (magazines are often printed on coated or glossy stock).

• You can synchronise all the other Creative Suite applications using Adobe Bridge. Launch Bridge>Top Menu bar>Edit>Creative Suite Colour Settings and choose ‘Europe Prepress 3’>Apply.
  By checking Edit>Creative Suite Colour Settings once again, you will see that the status is ‘Synchronised’.

• If you don’t have Bridge, you can also individually change the colour settings in each programme. In both InDesign and Illustrator>Top Menu bar>Edit>Colour Settings. Go through the same process as setting up Photoshop (above) and select ‘Europe Prepress 3’.
• You can also save a colour setting as a .CSF file which is stored in your Adobe settings folder.
  In Photoshop>Edit>Colour Settings dialogue box (as above), name and SAVE. Then, in InDesign or Illustrator’s Edit>Colour Settings dialogue box, LOAD the .CSF you just saved.

• Some students prefer printing on matt paper (uncoated stock). Uncoated paper is more porous, and colours will look more muted. This is not necessarily inferior, but has it’s own aesthetic appeal. To view on-screen how your colours will be affected by uncoated stock, in the colour settings dialogue box, change the CMYK working space from Coated FOGRA39 to Uncoated FOGRA29. Ensure you change all your Creative Suite applications.

How will CMYK printing affect my RGB images?

RGB>CMYK. SOFT PROOF TO SEE HOW THE COLOURS WILL CONVERT

By viewing your scans, photos and artwork on-screen in the CMYK profile you have set up, you will avoid any nasty surprises when your printing is delivered. This is called ‘soft proofing’. SOFT PROOFING IS SIMULATION, NOT CONVERSION.

• Open your photo or scan in Photoshop. If you get a warning box of a profile mismatch or no profile at all, click to leave the image unchanged. We are not aiming to change colours just yet, but simply to view the difference.
• In the Top Menu Bar>View>Proof Setup. Select Working CMYK for Coated FOGRA39 or choose Custom to select Uncoated FOGRA29 for matt stock. In View>select Proof Colours. To see the difference between the RGB original and the CMYK conversion you can turn it on and off by pressing command Y on the keyboard.

If you have placed RGB images directly into InDesign, you can view the artwork as a CMYK proof in the same way as you can in Photoshop;

• In the top menu bar>View>Proof Setup. Selecting Working CMYK will give you Coated FOGRA39 or Custom
  to select Uncoated FOGRA29 for matt stock. In View>select Proof Colours.

If there are undesirable RGB>CMYK colour differences, you can try to make adjustments to the image using Levels and/or Curves etc. in Photoshop. However, you need to be experienced in correcting colours, and if you aren’t, you will have to make compromises in your expectations – CMYK will always struggle with bright colours.

Do I need to convert my RGB images to CMYK?

Now that you’ve soft proofed your artwork and have seen the difference the colour conversion will make, at some point during the process the images must be converted to CMYK. The sample printers above require CMYK.

You have the choice of; a) leaving the images as RGB and allow the final PDF generation to make the conversion for you, or b) converting all images to CMYK in Photoshop before making the final PDF.*

In the past, designers would have to individually convert each photo or scan to CMYK for print. Some would still recommend this, but, as you can easily convert all colours to CMYK at the final stage of making the PDF, this is extra task is less common now. I recommend using InDesign to make the final PDFs, and the colour conversion at PDF stage will be the same as if you had converted with Photoshop.

However, there are situations when you it is better convert your images to CMYK BEFORE making the PDF, including;

• If your printer requires a PDF with a preset that does NOT convert all colours to CMYK and PRESERVES RGB.
  Stampa requires PDF/X3 (2002) or High Quality Print preset – both will NOT convert your RGB images.
  You should either convert all your images to CMYK, or modify the PDF/X3 preset to convert RGB.
• If you are working in all black ink. Your images MUST be converted to GREYSCALE (see next page).

*If you feel under confident or confused and want to be completely assured that all your artwork is in CMYK exactly as the printers require, I would advise you to convert each image to CMYK before making the PDF. Remember to do a ‘Save As’ (make it a .tif) to keep a copy of your original RGB file.

How do I convert my RGB images to CMYK

CONVERTING SCANNED IMAGES & PHOTOGRAPHY TO CMYK IN PHOTOSHOP

• In Photoshop, in the Top Menu Bar>Edit>Convert to Profile>and use the CMYK profile you set up. By checking the Preview box, you can see the colour changes it will make.
• The ‘Intent’ field governs how Photoshop builds the curves for CMYK. You can experiment with different settings, but be very careful to study the effects. I would advise you stay with the default intent of ‘Relative Colorimetric’ or, if your work is mainly photographic, try ‘Perceptual’. Both deal with out of gamut colours. Leave ‘Black Point Compensation’ checked.
• If you have NOT previously created a synchronised colour profile, or find it confusing, you can go Image>Mode>CMYK. This will be generic, but perfectly usable.
• It is advisable to do a ‘Save As’ and make the images ‘tiffs’, as CMYK .jpgs sometimes can have ‘weird’ results. When you ‘Save As’, ensure the ‘Embed Colour Profile’ box is checked, so that if anyone else opened your image, they would see the same colours as you.

CONVERTING SCANNED IMAGES & PHOTOGRAPHY TO GREYSCALE IN PHOTOSHOP

If you are printing in black only, then your images must be converted to GREYSCALE. (Note: desaturating the image is not ‘true’ Greyscale, Greyscale has only one channel).

• Photoshop>Top Menu Bar>Image>Mode>Greyscale. In the dialogue box, discard the colour information.
  This method is easy and final, but Photoshop makes a lot of the tonal decisions for you.
• If you want greater tonal control, BEFORE converting to Greyscale, here are a few techniques. Top Menu
  Bar>Image>Adjustments>Black & White. There are a range of sliders and a variety of lighting presets to experiment with. When you are happy with the tonality, click OK. You can also make further adjustments with Brightness/Contrast, or Levels and Curves – all to be found in Top Menu Bar>Image>Adjustments.
• After making tonal adjustments, your image must be converted to ‘true’ Greyscale. Top Menu Bar>Image>Mode>Greyscale. There should only be a Gray channel in the Channels Palette.
• It is advisable to do a ‘Save As’ and make the images ‘tiffs’.

Do I artwork typography, logos & graphics in CMYK or RGB?

As with photos and scans, you can work in RGB and allow the PDF to make the conversion (providing the pdf preset you have been asked for will not retain RGB information). You can preview what it will look like in CMYK by using the soft proofing techniques shown in Section 3. The advantage of working in RGB is if your document is intended for dual purposes ie. to be used both for print and screen. It saves you making 2 pieces of artwork in 2 different colour modes.

If you know that you are working for print purposes only, then you may as well work in CMYK from the start. I am recommending that students who are new to printing should use a CMYK workflow.

How do I artwork typography, logos & graphics in CMYK?

CMYK COLOURS IN INDESIGN

• When setting up a new InDesign document, choose the Print intent. Colours will automatically be in CMYK.

• You are advised to work with the Swatches Palette in InDesign for colouring your type and graphic elements. InDesign has limited default colours, but unlimited colours can be added.
• n the Swatches Palette, click the Options at the top right of the palette (it has an icon of 4 lines and a downward arrow). Drag down to ‘New Colour Swatch’. Ensure the colour type is ‘Process’ and the colour mode is CMYK. Drag the sliders to desired colour. Add as many colours as you need and click done.

• Ensure you only use CMYK colours in your artwork. These colours are clearly recognisable in the Swatches Palette, as they have a breakdown of the CMYK percentages, and also have an icon with 4 triangular colours. If you have inadvertently included RGB colours in the palette, these will be accompanied by a written breakdown of the RGB percentages, and an icon with three colour rectangles.
• RGB swatches can be converted to CMYK by double clicking on the colour, and in the dialogue box changing the mode to CMYK. There may be a marked difference in the colour when you change it.

• If you are working in black only, just use the Black swatch in the palette (or tints of black using the tint slider).

PANTONE CMYK COLOURS IN INDESIGN

• Picking colours on-screen may have inaccurate results. If you have access to a set of Pantone Process (CMYK)
  Swatch Books, this will produce far more accurate results on your final prints.
• There are 2 choices of Pantone+ Process Colour Books – coated or uncoated. This refers to the type of paper –
  shiny or matt. Be aware that coated paper will allow the colours to be bright and will appear sharp. Uncoated paper is more porous, and colours will look more muted. Choose the correct swatch book for the look you want. Make a note of your chosen Pantone number/s.
• To add Pantone colours to your Swatches Palette, select ‘New Colour Swatch’ as above. Click on the button that says CMYK and drag down to Pantone+ Process Coated or Uncoated. The Swatch Library will load, and you will see a field in which to type the Pantone number/s. Click ‘add’ after each number and ‘done’ when finished.

CMYK COLOURS IN ILLUSTRATOR

• When creating a new document, you should select the Profile ‘Print’. Automatically, the colours in the Swatches Palette will be in CMYK. There is a more extensive range of default colours in Illustrator than InDesign.
• To add colours, at the bottom of the Swatches Palette (to the left of the trash icon), click the new swatch button. The Colour Type should be set to ‘Process’, and the Colour Mode should say CMYK. If it states anything different, you can change it within the dialogue box. Click OK. Your colour will be added to the Swatches.

• When you place an Illustrator image into InDesign, any colours that you have used will appear in InDesign’s swatch palette. If you need to change the colours in the vector logo or illustration, you must make the changes in the original Illustrator file and re-link* it when you are back in InDesign.

PANTONE CMYK COLOURS IN ILLUSTRATOR (skip if you don’t have access to Pantone Colour Books)

• Adding Pantone swatches is slightly different in Illustrator. In the Swatches Palette, at the bottom left, there is an
  icon that looks like books on a shelf. Click this button>scroll down to Colour Books>choose Pantone+ Process Coated or Uncoated. A separate palette will open, with a field in which to type a chosen colour’s number. Illustrator will highlight your chosen colour, and if you click on it, it will automatically add it to your swatches.

CMYK COLOURS IN PHOTOSHOP

In sections 3 & 4 above, we have covered soft proofing (viewing) RGB scans and photos as CMYK. We have also covered how to convert RGB images to CMYK colour in Photoshop. If you wish to create illustrations, typography and graphics directly in Photoshop, you have the same choice of working in RGB (or even LAB) and converting later on. But, as previously discussed, your colours will be affected by CMYK’s smaller gamut.

If you want to play safe and work with CMYK right from the start, then you must set up your file in CMYK mode.

• Top Menu Bar>File>New. In the dialogue box, Mode>CMYK, and Colour Profile>Working CMYK will give you Coated FOGRA39 or select Uncoated FOGRA29 for matt stock. Ensure the resolution is 300ppi. Click OK.
  You are ready to work in CMYK – the file name should be followed by (CMYK).
• Your Colour Palette should have CMYK sliders. If it does not, use the Options button (top right of palette) to
  change to CMYK.

PANTONE CMYK COLOURS IN PHOTOSHOP(skip if you don’t have access to Pantone Colour Books)

• In the Swatches Palette, click the Options at the top right of the palette (it has an icon of 4 lines and a
  downward arrow). Drag down to ‘Pantone+ CMYK Coated’ (or Uncoated for matt paper).
• Click OK to replace the swatches with the very extensive Pantone set. You can now start working in Pantone.

What application is best to structure my document for print?

Many designers will recommend that you use InDesign to structure your document for print purposes and create that final PDF. It is possible to set up posters, flyers and other single page printed documents with bleed, trim and ‘safe area’ margins in Photoshop. It is also possible to create a multi-page document such as a book or magazine in Illustrator (also with printer’s marks and margins).

However, I recommend InDesign as the best programme to finish off your artwork and get it ready for printing, as it is geared up for creating pages and spreads, you can ‘impose’ your pages for printers spreads if you need these, it can apply a bleed area and give you margins for the ‘safe area’, it will embed your fonts and apply printers marks into a PDF with ease, and has the capability to export PDF’s to a variety of standard presets.

Even if you are NOT making a multi-page document and have, for example, artworked a completed poster in Photoshop, I would STILL recommend placing the file into InDesign for generating the final PDF to your printer’s specifications.

What do I need to prepare for working in InDesign?

You need to be really organised before laying out artwork in InDesign. Unlike many programmes, when an image is placed into InDesign, the image file is connected, but remains independent elsewhere on your computer. This means if you make changes to, or move the original image to another place on your computer, InDesign needs to be updated as to where you have moved it to, or re-linked to incorporate the changes (more on linking later).

When you have finished creating your ‘ingredients’ (photos, scans, vector artwork etc), put them in an easy to find folder, appropriately titled. Don’t move the folder or it’s contents.

Do I artwork in single pages or in spreads?

How you set up your InDesign file for print depends on the format, pages, binding, and also which company is doing your printing so that you can work to their spec. You need to know if you are creating documents with;

• A single page (posters, business cards, flyers etc).
• Multiple pages laid out next to each other as ‘Facing Pages’ (books, magazines, leaflets etc).
• Multiple separate pages.

Make these decisions before you begin artworking in InDesign. For books and similar printing, it can help to make a small scale mock-up or dummy from folded scrap paper with the correct number of pages. Books with folded pages must be in multiples of 4 pages/sides (eg. 12, 24, 32). If you fold an A4 in half, you will get 4 pages. Decide on how you want your binding, eg. 2-up saddle stitched (stapled) or perfect bound in ‘signatures’ (sometimes called sections). Fold your mock-up to mimic the binding, number the pages and roughly mark in what content goes on which page.

For multiple page documents, One Digital does not want spreads, but separate pages. The Print Room and Stampa will accept both spreads or single pages. If single pages are required, you can either set up your document as individual pages from the start, or as facing pages and make them into single pages later when making the final pdf. It is easier to see how your pages will look together if you artwork in facing pages, and especially useful if you have a single image that goes across a double page spread.

The above printers want the document artworked in reading order (pages 1,2,3,4 etc). Don’t worry about artworking your pages to reflect the way that different binding and folding re-orders the page numbering. This is called ‘imposition’ and the printers will do this for you (more on imposition later). Clear instructions must given as to how the document is to be paginated when bound. Better still, provide a mock-up for the printer.

How do I set up bleed, trim and safe areas in InDesign?

SETTING UP AN INDESIGN DOCUMENT WITH BLEED & MARGINS (SAFE AREA)

• Go File>New Document (or use the pink launch page to select New Document).
• In the dialogue box select ‘Print’ as the intent.
• For pages NOT in spreads, and arranged underneath each other, uncheck ‘Facing Pages’ and type in the
  number of pages. Type in 1 page for posters and other single page documents.
• For pages arranged next to each other (in spreads) ensure ‘Facing Pages’ is checked.
• Use the paper size button to choose a standard page size, or type in your own measurements. This will be the
  TRIM size, once the printer has guillotined off any surplus paper.
• Select the correct page orientation (landscape or portrait). If you have typed in a custom size, InDesign shows
  the correct orientation.
• The above printers require either a 3mm or a 5mm ‘safe area’ (see individual specs). Any image, graphic or text
  placed nearer the trim edge than this risks being chopped off! In the ‘Margins’ boxes, type in either 3mm or
  5mm – the little chain button should be on to make the same margins all round.
• Click the ‘More Options’ button to access the bleed settings.
• All 3 printers above require a 3mm bleed (other printers may differ – check). Type 3mm in the ‘Bleed’ fields.
• Click OK. On your page, the BLACK border is the TRIM. The RED outer border is the BLEED. The PINK inner
  border is the MARGIN or SAFE AREA.

How do I make changes to the way my pages are laid out?

There are a few reasons that you may need to make changes to the pagination or layout of the document, for example, you may have made a mistake and specified single pages when you wanted facing pages (or vice versa).

You might want to make a Concertina Booklet, or to set up the document so that some, or all, of the pages are Gatefold Spreads. You might need to make a book cover with a spine. SPECIAL LAYOUTS SUCH AS THESE MUST BE DISCUSSED WITH THE PRINTER FIRST, SO GO ARMED WITH A CAREFULLY WORKED OUT DUMMY.

CHANGING THE DOCUMENT SETUP

• Top Menu Bar>File>Document Setup. In this dialogue box, you can change from facing pages to single pages (or vice versa) by checking or unchecking the Facing Pages box. You can also change the number of pages, size, orientation and bleed. It is advisable to make such changes before you start artworking!

JOINING PAGES TOGETHER TO CREATE EXTENDED SPREADS

If you click on a page and try to drag it next to another, pages will only swap position. Similarly, if you try drag your first right hand facing page to the left, you will not be able to. This is because, by default, the pages are set to ‘Allow Document Pages (also Spreads) to Shuffle’. This facility needs to be turned off.

• Open the Pages Palette. Options>uncheck ‘Allow Document Pages to Shuffle’. This will enable ALL the pages in the document to be dragged to a new position.
• Drag each page slowly next to the previous one. As you drag it closer, overlap slightly and a curve ended line will appear – it looks a bit like a bracket. Let go of the mouse and the page will join.
• This is useful for Concertina Books. You can, of course, set up one big page and use ruler guides to divide the page up, but this technique is quicker and, when you make the pdf, you can apply crop marks for each page that can be used for the folds.
• Potentially, this technique can also be used for Gatefold Spreads, but, if all the pages are all the same width, the outer pages will be too wide when folded in and they will buckle against the binding. See the next section for better tips on creating Gatefold Spreads.

SETTING UP GATEFOLD SPREADS

Gatefold spreads are made up of more than two adjoining pages – you may have seen them in books or large pull out adverts in magazines. For a Gatefold Spread in the middle of a book, generally, you would add an extra page on the right of the first spread and another on the left of the subsequent spread.

• In your facing pages document, open the Pages Palette. Shift select the pages you wish to alter.
• Options>uncheck ‘Allow Selected Spread to Shuffle’. The page numbers will appear underneath in brackets.
• The below example was constructed by dragging green page 7 to join the right of the [2-3] spread, and pink
  page 6 was joined to the left of the subsequent spread. Green page 4 is intended to fold on top of page 6, with
  pink page 5 on the inside.
  See next section for instructions on re-sizing the outer Gatefold page width to accommodate the binding.

MAKING VARIABLE PAGE SIZES FOR GATEFOLD SPREADS

InDesign CS5 and later facilitates multiple page sizes in one document. When your Gatefold Page folds in, it needs to have sufficient clearance from the spine or binding. There is no definitive measurement, due to a variety of factors such as binding method, creep, weight of paper, personal preference. Making a dummy in the paper you will be printing on can help you decide on how much clearance from the binding edge you require.
Discuss the layout with your printer – they may prefer Gatefold artwork provided differently.

• In the Tool Palette, click on the Pages Tool (3rd tool down). In the Pages Palette, click on one of your Gatefold pages (green page 4 in the example). Your page will display a scalable frame with handles.
• In the top Control Panel you are able to choose either a standard size given by InDesign or set a custom size.
• Click on the ‘A4’ button and scroll down to ‘Custom’. In the dialogue box, change the width to one that fits your
  design (I have reduced the A4 width by 10mm) and give the custom size a name (eg. ‘Gatefold’). Click to add, then OK. The size will be saved alongside the standard ones, and when you click on your second Gatefold page, you can choose your newly named size (as above).
• Alternatively, you can also use the Edit Page Size dialogue via the bottom of the Pages Palette, 2 buttons to the left of the trash button (icon looks like 2 different sized pages). You don’t need the Pages Tool for this, just ensure you have a selected page. Apply the same to the other Gatefold pages.

SETTING UP A BOOK COVER WITH A SPINE

Book covers are often created as a separate document from the pages, and may be larger, especially if it’s a hardback. You need to calculate how much larger you need to make the front and the back. The width of the spine also needs to be calculated, and this can depend on number of pages, weight of the paper, method of binding etc. Making a mock-up or dummy in the same paper/stock can help. When you have worked it all out;

• Create a 3 page document to the front & back measurements – non-facing pages. Specify the bleed & margins.
• Select page 2 and click on the ‘Edit Page Size’ button (bottom left in the Pages Palette). Drag down and select
  ‘Custom’. In the dialogue, name it (eg. ‘Spine’), specify the width and add. OK.
• In the Pages Palette. Options>uncheck ‘Allow Document Pages to Shuffle’.
• Drag all 3 pages to join each other (see above ‘Joining Pages Together to Create Extended Spreads’).

How do I work within the bleed, trim and safe areas?

• Draw an image frame (tool palette, rectangle with a cross). Click and drag the frame to the red bleed lines, from the top left hand corner to the bottom right. If you don’t quite get the frame on the bleed lines, it can be re-sized by pulling the handles with the Selection Tool (black pointer).
• Top Menu Bar>File>Place, and in the dialogue box, find the image in your folder.

• The image edges MUST extend to the bleed on ALL sides. Use the ‘Fit Content Proportionally’ button in the top control panel or use the Direct Selection Tool (white pointer) in combination with the shift key to pull the content’s handles out to the bleed or even slightly beyond. The shift key keeps it in proportion.
• Once the image is positioned, you can see how much of your artwork you will lose when the bleed area is trimmed off, and how much text, graphics or images you could lose if they are positioned outside of the safe area (pink margins). If you use InDesign to apply type and other graphics, always work within the margins, or if you want the artwork to go right up to the edges, take it up to the bleed. Never place elements exactly on the trim – trimming cannot be that accurate and you may be left with an unprinted gap.

Preflight – check the artwork before making the PDF

I stated earlier that all imported/placed images, whether they are vector or bit-mapped, exist independently on your computer and that if you alter the original image or move it’s location, your InDesign document needs to be updated and the images re-linked. If you forget to do this, the altered or missing images do not disappear, but they will be reproduced at a low resolution in your PDF, and will look very bad indeed when printed!

Other things that could escape your notice may be overset text (when a text frame is not big enough to hold all your text and has more text hiding underneath). Or, you could be missing a font. The Preflight Panel is designed to check all these things and more.

• In the bottom left of your document pane, you will see either a green button (if you artwork is error free) or a red button with the number of errors. Click the downward facing arrow next to the button to open the Preflight Panel. The panel can also be found in the top menu bar>Window>Output>Preflight.

• Here you will be warned of any of the above and the page on which it occurs. Click on the arrows to expand the detail. Fix any overset text. Install any missing fonts.
• If you have any missing or altered links (images), you will need to open the Links Panel. Top menu bar>Window>Links. Click on each image in turn that has a warning status (red ? or yellow triangle), and, in the bottom of the panel, click the ‘broken chain’ button to re-link. If you just need to update, click the 3rd button along (with 2 arrows). Find the file/s on your computer. Select and click Open.
• The Preflight Panel should now have a green light for ‘No Errors’.

SPELLING! If you’ve written the text in Word, you can check it there. If you’ve typed straight into InDesign, go to the top menu bar>Edit>Check Spelling. In the dialogue, choose suggested replacement words and click to change, or you can choose to skip or ignore all instances. Be aware that any spell checker will not pick up on allowed words, eg. if you have typed ‘land’ instead of ‘lend’. Another person’s eye on your typing is invaluable.

Failure to make the above checks may result in the job being printed more than once AT YOUR EXPENSE!

How do I make the PDF the printer’s specification?

PRESETS
All 3 printers above prefer a PDF. Using presets takes half the work out of making the PDF. One Digital and The Print Room favour the PDF/X1a (2001) preset. Stampa prefers PDF/X3 (2002) or the High Quality Print preset. Other printers may have different requirements. Check first.

PDF/X1a (2001) – converts all colours (incl. RGB images) to CMYK. Flattens all transparency. Colour and greyscale images of over 300 ppi are down-sampled to 300 ppi.
PDF/X3 (2002) – preserves colours (doesn’t convert RGB to CMYK, for example), but it still flattens transparency like the PDF/X-1a preset. Colour and greyscale images of over 300 ppi are down-sampled to 300 ppi. Any RGB images need to be converted to CMYK for this preset (at source in Photoshop, or adapt the PDF preset).
High Quality Print – preserves colours (doesn’t convert RGB to CMYK, for example). Retains transparency. Colour and greyscale images of over 300 ppi are down-sampled to 300 ppi. Any RGB images need to be converted to CMYK for this preset (at source in Photoshop, or adapt the PDF preset).

EXPORT A PDF IN READING ORDER

• Top Menu Bar>File>Adobe PDF Presets>depending on the printer, choose PDF/X1a (2001), PDF/X3 (2002) or High Quality Print. Choose where on your computer you want it put, re-name if desired.

In the Export Panel, there are a few sub-menus to comb through. Most have been set correctly just by choosing the preset.

• In General, select all pages.
  For one page or multiple separate pages, leave the ‘Spreads’ box unchecked.
  For multiple paged documents in artworked spreads, select Spreads.
  If you have artworked in spreads, but need the PDF in single pages (One Digital does not want spreads, but separate pages), leave the ‘Spreads’ box unchecked.
  If you have joined separate pages together for Gatefold pages, or Concertina books, or covers with spines, select Spreads.

Leave the other boxes in General as their default.

• Leave the Compression unchanged. The presets have done this for you.
• In Marks & Bleeds, all the above 3 printers require you to check Crop Marks and Bleed Marks only. Other
  printers may vary.
• Also in Marks & Bleeds, select ‘Use Document Bleed Settings’ or type in 3mm each side.
  For one page or multiple separate pages, this is all you need to do in this section and can move on to Output.

If you have selected spreads (in the General section), there will be bleed around the pages, but not between.

If you have left spreads unchecked to create single pages from your spreads, there will be a 3mm bleed all around each page. For content artworked right across a double page spread, the PDF will divide the images/ text/graphics in half over the 2 separated pages. The bleed comes from duplicating 3mm from the opposite page. If the printer does NOT want bleed on the ‘inside’ of the page (the edge that goes into the binding), manually type 3mm bleed on all sides, EXCEPT the inside, which should be 0 mm.

• In Output, there is no need to do anything if you have been asked for PDF/X1a (2001) preset. All colours will be converted to CMYK, and, if you have set up synchronised colour settings, it will use this as the destination. You can check by ensuring the Colour Conversion drop down menu has ‘Convert to Destination (Preserve Numbers), and the Destination is set to CMYK Coated FOGRA39 (Uncoated FOGRA29 or any other that the printer has specified). If you haven’t set up colour settings for the document, any generic CMYK destination will still be usable by digital printers.

  If you have been asked for PDF/X3 (2002) or High Quality Print, both of which preserve RGB data in the
  PDF, modify the Output from ‘No Colour Conversion’ to ‘Convert to Destination (Preserve Numbers), and the Destination is set to CMYK Coated FOGRA39 (Uncoated FOGRA29 or any other that the printer has specified).

  N.B. (Preserve Numbers) converts colours to the destination profile only if they have embedded profiles that DIFFER from the destination profile (or if they are RGB colours, and the destination profile is CMYK).

IF YOU HAVE CONVERTED ALL OF YOUR IMAGES AT SOURCE IN PHOTOSHOP AND HAVE BEEN ARTWORKING WITH CMYK COLOUR SWATCHES THROUGHOUT, YOU CAN BE ASSURED THE PDF WILL BE IN CMYK!

• In the Advanced sub-menu, you will see that fonts are automatically embedded. However, some font vendors may have licensing restrictions that will prevent embedding. You can check if the font is protected by going File>Package>Fonts. The status should say OK. Cancel Package. If it is protected, you must choose another font or contact the vendor.
• The Summary will document all that you have previously specified – useful to check it over.
• Export the PDF.

CHECK THE PDF BEFORE SUPPLYING IT FOR PRINT
It may sound obvious, but check the PDF over before you send it for printing. What you see is what you’ll get (especially if you’ve calibrated your monitor)! Check the spelling. Are the colours OK? Have you used the right images? Has font substitution occurred? Have you applied Crop and Bleed marks?

Acrobat Pro is the best application for checking your PDF. Acrobat Reader or Preview do not have the necessary tools. Amongst other checks, you can ensure you have only used CMYK colours.

• Click on Tools (in tool bar top right of window) Print Production>Output Preview.
• Make the Simulation Profile the profile you have been working with ie. ‘Coated FOGRA39’, and Show CMYK.
  Your images should be showing on every page. If you switch to Show RGB, every page should be blank.

USING ACROBAT PROFESSIONAL TO CONVERT A PDF TO A PDF/X PRESET
Even if you don’t think you have made the PDF correctly, or if you have a PDF that you want to CONVERT to a PDF/X preset, it is easy to do in Acrobat Professional. Acrobat Reader does not have the necessary tools.

• Acrobat Pro>File>Save As>More Options>PDF/X. In the dialogue box, next to Format, choose PDF/X. Next to Format, click on Settings. Choose PDF/X 1a or PDF/X 3. It should state Coated FOGRA39 as the printing condition. This can be changed to Uncoated FOGRA29.

If the above method notifies you that there was an error, try the following alternative technique;

• Click on Tools (in tool bar top right of window) Print Production>Preflight. Select the ‘Standards’ tab.
• Choose the first button for PDF/X>Continue>PDF/X-1a>Continue>select ‘Create’ button and Save As >
  Name and choose location. In the final ‘Results’ box, it should have a green tick to show no problems found.
• Check the PDF using Acrobat’s Output Preview (procedures as page 21).

What are ‘imposed’ pages or printer’s spreads?

You have been advised to create the pages of your book in InDesign – and export PDF’s – in reading order. However, books and other multi-page documents are not printed in this sequence. The running order depends on your choice of binding.

Fortunately, most of the time, the printer will ‘impose’ the pages your PDF into the correct order (sometimes called ‘Printers Spreads’). Occasionally, you will be asked to provide imposed PDF’s. The Print Room require imposed PDF’s, but only if you have used full bleed on your book pages. Alternatively, you may need to impose your pages is for printing at home or for creating a mock-up or dummy, so you can check what it will look like.

The best way to understand is to take 2 sheets of A4 paper and fold them in half together, to make an 8-page dummy booklet. The diagram below represents a 2-up, saddle stitched (stapled) binding. Number the pages as you would expect to read them. You should have 8 pages. Now pull the pages apart and lay them flat in spreads. You will see that page 8 will be on a left hand side, and page 1 on the right. Page 2 will be on the left of a spread and page 7 on the right. This pattern continues until the centre spread of pages 4 & 5.

Other binding techniques will impose your pages in a different order. Perfect binding 32 pages in ‘signatures’ (or sections) of 4 will produce 8 ‘mini booklets’ to be stitched/glued next to each other into a cover and spine.

You MUST be sure of how you will be binding the book before you make the PDF. It is very important to make a mock up of your booklet or brochure first, even if it is with scraps of paper.

When calculating your pages, you must ensure that the figure must be divisible by four. If it isn’t, then you will have some blank pages.

How do I make ‘imposed’ PDF’s for printer’s spreads?

You can impose single page PDF’s in Acrobat Professional, using the ‘Booklet’ button in the Print dialogue, but
it is fairly unsatisfactory. You can only make 2-up Saddle Stitched booklets. If you want Perfect Bound books in signatures, or an imposed file created to the printer’s specifications, then you must use InDesign’s ‘Print Booklet’. It’s the nearest thing to professional imposition software the Faculty has. Print Booklet has controls to make both Saddle Stitched and Perfect Bound books in a choice of signatures (or sections). It is also able to allow for ‘Creep’ (when your middle pages stick out due to quantity or paper thickness).

HOWEVER Print Booklet does have some problems, which you will need workarounds for. Adobe have neglected Print Booklet for some years – they assume designers will buy their own imposition software or leave it to the printer. Unfortunately, from Mac OS 10.6.4 onwards, you cannot directly make an imposed PDF from Print Booklet. An extra step has to be taken – you must make a .ps (Postscript file) first, then convert the .ps into a PDF. This may seem off-putting, but it is not difficult.

A further problem with using Print Booklet is that the final SIZE of your PDF is PPD ‘Device Dependent’. This means that, after you have chosen Postscript as the printer (the nearest thing we can get to a PDF), the choice of PPD is dependent on the printer that you are connected to, and you are restricted by the size that your printer can print. So, if you only have an A4 printer at home, the maximum size PDF you can print is A4. This means your maximum page size will be A5 (spreads of 2 A5 pages = A4). In fact, with bleed and trim, your pages will be reduced to even less than A5 size to fit on the paper.

If you are connected to an A3 printer (we have one in the Media Centre), you will be able to make larger PDF’s, with pages up to A4 (spreads of 2 A4 pages = A3). But the spread must be made smaller still to fit bleed & trim.

What if you want to make an imposed PDF to any size you want without being restricted by the PPD? Good news, it IS possible, but you must first download and install an old Acrobat driver to do this. Full instructions below.

Finally, another thing to watch is a ‘bug’ in Print Booklet. If you have changed your page size at any point during the artworking, or even switch from points to mm’s, Print Booklet will give you an error of variable page sizes (even though you haven’t any) and will not complete the process. Be warned – DON’T CHANGE YOUR PAGE SIZE!

DOWNLOADING AND INSTALLING ACROBAT 9 PPD (DRIVER)

• Quit InDesign.
• Navigate to Applications>Adobe InDesign CS6 (or lower)>Presets.
• Within the Presets folder create a new folder. Name it PPDs. It must be typed exactly as this, it’s case sensitive.
• Use the below link to download the Acrobat 9 PPD (or Maria has a copy she can send you).
  Acrobat 9 PPD
• Place a copy of the downloaded PPD within the new folder you just created.

MAKING A PRESET BEFORE YOU USE PRINT BOOKLET

• File>Print. Leave the Preset as Default. Choose Printer>Postscript file and PPD>Acrobat 9. Preset will now say ‘Custom’.
• n General, select all pages. Check spreads. If you have Blank Pages, check this.
• In Setup, make the size ‘Custom’. Leave the orientation unchanged. Page Position>Centred. This is really
  important, because if the spreads are not centred, they will not align when printed back to back.
• In Marks & Bleeds, all the above 3 printers require Crop Marks and Bleed Marks only. Other printers may vary.
  The ‘Custom’ size will enlarge to accommodate the Crop and Bleed marks automatically.
• Also in Marks & Bleeds, select the box for ‘Use Document Bleed Settings’ or type in 3mm all round.
• In Output, it should be Composite CMYK.
• In Colour Management, if you have been working in a synchronised CMYK setting (as recommended in section
  2), the Printer Profile should be Coated FOGRA39 or Uncoated FOGRA27 (coated or uncoated paper).
• Leave Advanced and Summary as they are.
• In the bottom of the dialogue box, click Save Preset to create a new preset. Give it a name you will recognise.
• Cancel printing. You have now created a preset for the Print Booklet.

See page 25 for full screen shots of above.

MAKING THE IMPOSED POSTSCRIPT FILE USING ‘PRINT BOOKLET’ IN INDESIGN

• File>Print Booklet.
• In Setup, click on the Print Preset drop down and select the named preset that you made (above).
• In the dialogue box, confirm whether it is 2-up saddle stitched or Perfect Bound. Select the number of
  Signatures (pages in Perfect Binding) if required. Key in a figure for ‘Creep’ if you have calculated one.
• Under Margins, ensure ‘Automatically Adjust to Fit Marks and Bleeds’ is ticked.
• If you have blank printers spreads or pages, tick to include them.
• Click on Preview and you will see how the pages are imposed according to the binding choices you have
  made. Don’t worry if the colours are faded – it’s just a preview window so you can check the pagination.
• If all looks OK, click Print. Choose where to save it and name it. Ensure ‘show file extension’ is checked and you
  will see .ps is added to the end. Delete the .indd, as 2 extensions (.indd.ps) may cause problems. Save.

CONVERTING THE IMPOSED POSTSCRIPT FILE INTO A PDF, TO YOUR PRINTER’S SPECIFICATIONS

• Simply open the postscript file with Acrobat Professional (Preview can also open it). Remember to save it as a PDF, or when you close it, it will revert back to a .ps.
• Check the PDF in Acrobat – see page 21. Ensure the pages are imposed in the order that you require. If all is OK, you can send the file to the printers, or print yourself if your own printer can accommodate the size of paper.
• Use the procedures on page 22 to convert the PDF to your printers required PDFX standard.

How do I make my own double-sided printing?

You can print the imposed booklet yourself. It will depend on the size of printer and paper available to you. If you have made a book of A3 or larger, you may have to scale it down at print stage to fit.

By selecting the Page Position as Centred when you set up the Preset for Print Booklet (pages 24 & 25), the Crop and Bleed Marks will be perfectly aligned both sides when you use a professional printer, but may be a little out if you print from home or Uni. This is due to paper slipage in your printer, and not the PDF.

Having access to a Duplex printer is an advantage, but if you don’t, then you can still print on 2 sides.

• In Acrobat > File > Print. Underneath ‘Pages to Print’, select ‘More Options’. Select ‘Odd Pages only’ and print all of those out. Flip the pages over and load them into the printer. Again, File > Print. In ‘Subset’, select ‘Even
  Pages only’