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So you have a project that is ready to go to the print company. Now what exactly are you supposed to send them? The answer is pretty simple…well it should be. It really starts at the beginning when you created your file. If you are organized, you probably have all of your graphics and images in one folder. If you’re not so organized they could be all over the place. Lesson learned. Next time put everything in one project folder.

Your print company needs essentially three things, with one more if you understand how to do it.

1. Your design file.

2. ALL of the graphics and photos you used in your project.

3. ALL of the fonts used in your project.

4. If you can create it accurately, a pdf of your project for reference. (This one is optional, but I HIGHLY recommend it.)

Now if you’re using a high-end program like Adobe InDesign, the task of compiling all three of the initial components is very easy and automated. All you have to do is find the “Package for Service Provider” option and run it. It will create a well organized folder with everything your printer needs to work on your project. As for the PDF, well…InDesign can do that in a snap also. You can create a “High Quality” PDF and they will be able to use it for reference purposes. I can personally vouch for the effectiveness and accuracy of InDesign’s tools here because I have used them extensively and have never had a problem. If you want to know a little more about why I choose InDesign, check out my post on “Design Software for Printing“. It will give you a brief synopsis along with an overview of other software programs available.

If you are using any other program, you really need to put all of the pieces together manually because I cannot give you an opinion on what other programs may have the packaging utility or if they work with any accuracy whatsoever.

Now before you go and start thinking “Hey…all of the pictures are in the file already, so why do I need to send them separately?”, I feel it necessary to inform you of something about page layout software. First of all, that image you see in your software probably isn’t really there unless you told the program to embed it there when you placed it into your project. Most programs default to LINKING the picture in your file to the original graphic. This is not done to make your life complicated, it is done to keep your page layout document manageable. If you try embedding every single photo and graphic into your document, you will quickly see that going from one page to the next will take forever because your computer is essentially reading and drawing the full data image of every one of those graphics. It doesn’t make sense to do that, bogs down your computer more than it has to and pretty soon you will throw your computer out into the parking lot. By linking the graphics in the document, you are really only looking at what is called a header. It is an accurate representation of the picture, but not really part of the layout file. This keeps the page layout file size small and lightweight.

The other benefit with linking files, rather than embedding them, is if you need a last minute photo update made to your project after you submit it to the print shop, you can send only the modified photo (and maybe the updated layout) to the print shop. You don’t have to repackage and send the entire project again. There are simply too many practical reasons to avoid embedding graphics and if you spend much time working with a printing company on various projects, you will understand those reasons with great clarity.

The same applies with fonts also, but a little differently. Fonts are normally stored in a hard-to-find folder on your computer (unless you have experience with fonts and have a cool font management program in place). Please read the post “Fonts and Commercial Printing” to gain a little insight as to why it is important that you ALWAYS send them with your project.

The PDF is the one I say is variable, but it should really be included. The pdf will retain your layout just as you want it to look, so if there’s any question or font problems or anything else with the print company, they have a solid reference to go to without bugging you. However…be sure to look at your PDF carefully and make sure it is indeed accurate before you send it along as a reference. Check back for an upcoming post on PDFs and I will dive deeper into this topic because it has changed the way print shops work in recent years.

As always, if you have any questions, drop me a line or comment here and I will try to answer it quickly.

Tags: Card Template Business, Commercial Printing, Design Software, Designing for Print, Fonts, Graphic Design Printing, Layout Graphic Design, Printing