When you're up against a deadline, sometimes it seems like you have way too much to do and not enough time to get it done. At times like these, it's tempting to cut corners and skip a few steps to get a design project out the door. Although we employ “preflight” software, such as FlightCheck Pro, you can avoid delays and problems on press by doing your own in-house checks. Before you send your files, follow these simple steps to make sure your job runs smoothly.
1. Print out hard copy proofs. When you've been staring at a screen for a long time, you might think, "Oh I don't need that last printout; I know what it looks like." Unfortunately, that's how mistakes happen. Colors look far different on paper than they do on screen. Plus, you can turn a printout upside-down and sideways to look for problems. This trick is surprisingly effective for finding last-minute typos.
2. Run your software's "preflight" checks. If you have a program like Adobe InDesign, you can have the software check for simple, but all-too-common mistakes, such as making sure that all the fonts are available, that you've converted RGB images to CMYK and so forth. In fact, a new feature in Adobe's InDesignCS4 is live preflighting. The program checks for errors while you work, so you don't have unwelcome surprises at the last minute.
3. If you are creating PDF files, make sure that you have embedded all of your fonts in the PDF. Open the PDF in Acrobat, and choose Document Properties. On the Fonts tab, the word "embedded" should appear next to every font.
4. If you have linked images, make sure you provide the files. Use commands like Quark's Collect for Output to gather everything you need in one place. Also make sure that you have taken the fonts in the linked images into account. You can use commands like "convert to outlines" to change any problematic fonts to vector artwork.
None of these tasks take long, so don't be tempted to skip these simple, yet essential preflighting steps. If you have questions, pick up the phone and call us. With years of experience, we can advise you on key issues that can affect both the cost and effectiveness of your printed piece.
