Tony's Instant Litho Printing, Inc.

Please use the following information to simplify the process of submitting your file to Tony's.

There are many quality PC and MAC applications that can produce digital files. InDesign, Quark Xpress, Photoshop, Illustrator, CorelDraw, and many programs with resolution control and ability to make PDF, EPS or TIF files.

Having your form set up correctly from the start can greatly reduce your pre-press and printing costs. Most importantly, you want to be sure that you will be able to provide us with a usable file to print from once you have finished your project. It can be very frustrating to put hours into a project only to find out that it is unprintable. If you have any concerns, do not hesitate to call us before beginning your project.

MEDIA · FILE TYPES · LAYOUT ISSUES · SOFTWARE

NOT ACCEPTED:
Powerpoint
Excel

LAYOUT ISSUES

GRIPPER
A key issue to always keep in mind while designing your form is GRIPPER. Gripper is the amount of clear or image free area at the lead end of the sheet necessary for the printing press to grip the paper while it is being pulled into the press. A minimum of 5/16" (.313") is necessary for forms to be printed. So when setting up the margins of your form use at least 5/16" and also keep this in mind when setting gutters on folded pieces in order to keep margins equal on all panels after folding.

BLEEDS
Bleed is a process where the image is printed beyond the final trim area. Anywhere that you have ink coverage running off the edge of the sheet is a bleed. To produce this type of printing, your image must run at least 1/8 of an inch past the desired final trimmed edge of the paper. This will usually mean an increased cost because it requires the document to be printed on a larger piece of paper and then trimmed to the finished size. For example, to print an 8.5 x 11 form with a four sided bleed, the form would normally be printed on a 9.5 x 12 sheet. So when designing your piece always run any bleed at least 1/8 of an inch off the edge of the page.

COLOR PRINTING
SPOT COLOR: When using the recommended programs listed above to create a form using spot colors, always use PMS (Pantone Matching System®) colors (preferrably from the solid uncoated pallette). Do not use CMYK or RGB colors (this includes the standard Red, Blue, Green, etc. in the default palette). This is necessary to create the proper color separations for printing. Be careful when choosing your colors - believe it or not, there is actually more than one kind of black.

FOUR/FULL COLOR: All photos and graphics used in your file MUST be saved as CMYK NOT RGB. All four color jobs are printed on a sheet at least one inch larger in each direction than the finished piece (8.5 x 11 on 9.5 x 12, etc.). Keep this in mind when designing your form or requesting quotes.

FILE TYPES

PDF - WHENEVER POSSIBLE SUBMIT YOUR FILE AS A PDF. PDFs are an excellent way to send your work to us if you prefer to set up your own form, rather than have us compose it. But there are several different ways to create a PDF file. Knowing the proper features to use will help make your file usable on our end.

See our Help page for free PDF Writer software which allows you to create PDFs from any program.

EPS - EPS files work well for sending multi-color graphics. Be sure to save text as curves and set up color files properly. (See the Color Printing page)

TIF - TIF files work well for sending black & white or grayscale graphics. Some programs do a better job of exporting TIFs than others. Watch your screens closely when exporting grayscale images. Be sure that after exporting your file, everything that should be screened (photos, light areas, etc.) is the proper value, and everything that should be solid black (text for instance) is not screened. Programs vary so be sure to print a hard copy of your file and check the screen values before sending the file to us.

Adobe InDesign
The best way to submit your InDesign file is to convert it to a PDF (see above). Use the "Adobe PDF Presets" feature under the "File" menu. Always choose the "PDF/X-1a:2001" setting which should embed all fonts and graphics while retaining the resolution and color separations needed for printing.
If the PDF option is not available, you may want to "Package" for InDesign file. However, do not make a package until the last change has been made to your document and the final approval has come. The package will not represent any changes after the creation of this folder. This packaging utility will not gather images placed or fonts used inside of another document which has been saved as a EPS or other graphic format and then placed into InDesign. You will need to remember these yourself and include them in the folders "links" and "fonts" inside your package folder.
Note: Never copy and paste graphics into InDesign if you expect Tony's to edit any of these files in any way. The file must be linked which can only be done by using the import menu.

Adobe Photoshop
When sending Photoshop files make sure the resolution is proper so that image quality is never sacrificed. The general rule is; always start your design with a resolution of at least 400 ppi/dpi. On the web, resolutions can be low for file size reasons. But when making good color printing, resolution is everything. If you are placing small type directly into your Photoshop image, we advise making the resolution even 600 ppi/dpi. Two common mistakes people make when designing are: 1) They start a file with a lower resolution, and when they are done they increase the resolution to the correct dpi. OR 2) They start with a high resolution and then reduce it to make the file smaller for e-mailing or fitting onto a floppy disk.
These are both wrong! Both methods will give you an image that is soft or blurred.
Save the image in either TIFF or EPS formats. Black and White files should be saved as Black & White or Grayscale (Be sure that grayscale photos/graphics are not saved as CMYK or RGB)

Quark Xpress
When laying out type make sure you "collect" all fonts used in the document (screen AND printer fonts). If you're familiar with the "collect for output" feature of Quark, make a folder and place all images, vector files and fonts in that folder.
Make sure you don't use hairlines (very thin lines) in your document. All lines should be a minimum of 1 point in width.
Be aware of the "runaround" feature on picture boxes. This feature is normally turned on by default. It can move or obscure other type or graphics.
No picture boxes with a fill of none, unless it is Vector Art or EPS with clipping paths being used in that box.

Adobe Illustrator
When completing your design make sure to convert all type used to "outlines" (from the type pull down). This will prevent the need to supply fonts with your file. Also, when placing images in your Illustrator file, make sure to place only TIFF or EPS formats with no compression. (TIFF uses LZW compression – EPS uses jpeg compression) These compressions should never be used. They will impair the placed image. Make sure all colors used are SPOT colors. Unless, you’re ordering four color CMYK for your printing. Before sending the file to Tony's, you need to turn that file into a Illustrator EPS. This will lock all outlines and images in position. If you want extra assurance, include the placed images with your document.

Corel Draw
When completing your design make sure to convert all type used to "curves". This will prevent the need to supply fonts with your file. Also, when placing images in your Corel file, make sure to place TIFF or EPS formats with no compression. (TIFF uses LZW compression – EPS uses jpeg compression) These compressions should never be used. They will impair the placed image. Make sure all colors used are SPOT colors. Unless, you’re ordering four color CMYK for your printing. Tony's currently uses Corel Draw 10. Earlier versions of Corel may use textures or effects that may be altered when converted to version 10. Be sure to proof Tony's copy COMPLETELY before it goes to press.

Adobe Pagemaker
PageMaker is a good page layout program but problems can arise when transferring files from one computer to another. When using PageMaker be sure to include all fonts and graphics used in your document. Screen values and text formats (spacing, kerning, line lengths) can change when the document is opened on a new computer so be sure to proof the Tony's copy COMPLETELY before it goes to press.

FILE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES