Info Center

Here you will find a host of information to help you best prepare your files for print. This information is to be used as a guide and will help things flow smoother when your job reaches our prepress department. If you need more detailed information, feel free to  contact us. You can browse this page by clicking the topics listed below or you can view/download this page as a single PDF File by clicking HERE
(to save, right click and choose Save As.)
*Adobe Acrobat Required.

Supported Software / Accepted File types

Digital File Prep. Tips / Things To Avoid

Proper PDF Creation

How To Get Your Job To Us / What To Include




Supported Software / Accepted File types  | Top

Here at Kenyon Press, we use a PDF based workflow. This means that if you provide us native files instead of PDF's, we will generate PDF's from your original files based on our guidelines. PDF's are a reliable printing format, and the only format supported by our Raster Image Processor (RIP).

Below is a list of applications we support for the Mac:

  • Adobe InDesign, Creative Suite 3 or earlier
  • Quark Xpress, version 7 or earlier
  • Adobe Pagemaker, version 7.0 or earlier
  • Adobe Illustrator, Creative Suite 3 or earlier
  • Adobe Photoshop, Creative Suite 3 or earlier
Below is a list of applications we support for the PC:
  • Quark Xpress, version 6 or earlier
  • Adobe Pagemaker, version 6.5 or earlier
  • Adobe Photoshop, version 7 or earlier
  • CorelDRAW, version 10 or earlier
We strongly recommend the use of desktop publishing software and have limited support for files created in MS Excel, Word, and Publisher. These and other non-desktop publishing files will have additional charges to process.
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Digital File Prep. Tips / Things To Avoid  | Top

The following are guidelines for file preparation that will lessen the number of problems seen at the Pre-Press stage. This will provide faster service and fewer additional charges for adjustments that would otherwise need to be made.

General File Prep Guidelines
  • If at all possible, keep files as one document file. The fewer the documents, the easier and more efficiently we are able to process them.

  • Please label the document with the number of pages it contains. If it contains pages 4 through 12, then please label the document ¨ 4-12 ¨. Also include a custom name along with the page numbers.

  • Clearly label all disks and cds with their contents by the job title, name and date.

  • If possible, All art placed in a document layout (if sending native files), should be names with 31 characters or less.
Page Size and Margins
  • The document size must match the trim size on the final product. Kenyon Press suggests that you use a standard publication size or smaller. Digest size 5 3/8¨ x 8 3/8¨. Tabloid size 11¨ x 17¨, trimmed. Tabloid size 11 3/8¨ x 17¨, untrimmed. Broadsheet size 22 3/4¨ x 17¨, untrimmed. Flexie size 8 3/8¨ x 10 7/8¨.

  • Allow 1/4 inch of bleed beyond the trim size of the document page. Failure to allow 1/4 inch of bleed could result in white show-through on trimmed edges. (Untrimmed products do not need bleed.)

  • All critical copy must be at least 1/4¨ from the final trim to avoid the chance of being trimmed off. On untrimmed jobs, copy should be 3/8¨ from the edge.
Font Guidelines
  • Kenyon Press Inc. requires that all screen and printer fonts that are used in your output files be included, along with your graphic and document files. We cannot guarantee exact output without having the same fonts utilized in your files.

  • Please send both screen and printer fonts.

  • Please choose the correct typestyle from the fonts in your font menu. If you want to use an Italic typeface, choose the italic version from your font menu. Do not choose ¨ italic ¨ from the palette or toolbar. The type may look fine on the screen or even the printed version seems right, but when imaged on an image setter or prepared for computer to plate, it may not appear the same.

  • We discourage the use of True Type fonts. Font information may be lost or altered when sent to CTP. Use Type 1 fonts to prevent any problems.
Graphic & Image Guidelines

All graphics and images must be included when submitting your digital file.

Vector Graphics
  • All vector graphics must be saved as ¨ .eps ¨ to ensure compatibility.

  • Make sure you ¨ embed ¨ any images placed in a graphics file.

  • Remember to correctly name any ¨ spot ¨ colors that are used. Example: Pantone 2742 CV is not the same color as Pantone 2742 CVU.

  • When text is used in an illustration program such as Freehand or Illustrator, often enough the fonts are not included with the file. The easiest solution; in Freehand-convert fonts to paths, and in Illustrator-convert fonts to outlines. Be sure to make a copy of the file before hand, because the conversion will make the text un-editable.
Images
  • High-resolution images are required. Use the rule of thumb for 4 color and grayscale images that 2x the line screen = the final image resolution. Line art should be 8x the line screen. For Example; if using 150lpi, the image should have a final resolution of 300dpi.

  • When labeling graphics, illustrations, or custom colors, please do not use the following characters / \ : * ? ¨ < > | ,; Also, double check that no 2 files have the same name.

  • All 4 color images must be in CMYK mode- NO RGB or INDEX color. Black and white images must be saved as GRAYSCALE. Line art imges must be in BITMAP mode.

  • Remove all extra channels before saving.

  • Save images as TIFF or EPS format only. Do not use LZW compression for TIFF files or apply halftone screen or tranfer function for EPS files. JPEG and GIF files are heavily compressed and not meant for high-resolution printing.
Color
  • In all digital files, the colors must be created in the manner in which they will print. Four-color process items should be setup to use CMYK colors. If your job has a ¨ spot ¨ color, be sure to label it as such. If you are using a ¨ spot ¨ color in your layout program, be sure that the name of that color is the exact same if you also use it in an illustration program. For instance: Pantone 2742 CV is not the same color as Pantone 2742 CVU.

  • A ¨ rich black ¨ color should be used to avoid a ¨ washed out ¨ appearence whenever large fonts, graphics, boxes or backgrounds are to print as black. Use the values of 100% black and 40% cyan to create a ¨ rich black ¨.

  • Any specified color must not exceed a Total Tonal Value of 300. That is, the percentage of tint of each color when added must not exceed 300%. (C+M+Y+K). |   Top


Proper PDF Creation | Top

We at Kenyon Press use a PDF-based workflow. This means we take files supplied from our clients and create our own PDF's. This is so our RIP can recognize them.

Since we are PDF-based, this means we can accept PDF's from our clients, eliminating some of the possible issus that could arise from us making them (font issues, typesetting changes, etc). While it is quicker and eaiser for us to deal with pre-made PDF files from clients, it places more of a burden on you, the customer. We have limited ability in editing pre-made PDF's, so if the PDF method is the way you want to send your files, please keep this in mind. To assist in helping you create acceptable PDF's, the following are a set of general guidelines to follow.
  • Create your PDF using the "Press Quality" setting in Adobe Acrobat Distiller
  • Ensure that all fonts are embedded
  • Please create separate PDF's for each page in your document
  • Name each page that is being printed. For example; 02,03,04,05
The Following are Print Settings for Quark (For Indesign use the same principals)
  • Document Tab:
    Separations.....................................Off
    Registration.....................................Centered
    Bleed............................................... .25"
    Offset...............................................18pt

  • Setup Tab:
    Printer Description...........................any Laser Writer 8.0 or higher
    Paper size.......................................Custom
    Paper Width & Height......................1" larger than document W & H
    Page Positioning.............................Centered
    Paper Offset & Gap.........................0"
    Orientation.......................................Portrait

  • Output Tab:
    Print Colors......................................Composite Color
    Halftoning........................................ Conventional
    Resolution........................................2400 dpi
    Frequency........................................150 lpi

  • Options Tab: Output..............................................Normal
    Data.................................................Binary
    OPI...................................................Include Images
    Overprint EPS Black........................Off
    Full Resolution Tiff...........................On

  • Make sure to check that the page looks correct in the preview tab.

  • After you have checked the print preview and verified that the settings are correct, you then want to click on the Printer button.

  • Under this window you will see PostScript settings:
    Destination....................File
    Format...........................Postscript Job
    Postscript......................Level: Level 1, 2 and 3 Compatible
    Data Format..................Binary
    Font Inclusion................All

  • After these settings have been made, Click SAVE, and then PRINT the page. Repeat steps for each additional page. (you may consider creating a "Printer Style" within QuarkXPress to make your setup easy to access)

  • This will create a Postscript File that will then need to be distilled. DO NOT USE  Acrobat Writer to create PDF's, USE Acrobat Distiller to create PDF's. Acrobat Writer PDF's are not ideal or designed for pre-press purposes.

  • Kenyon Press recommends that we send you a "job options" setting for Distiller before processing any PDF's, but you can use your own settings if you so desire.

  • In Distiller go to Settings-Job Options, and check "Embed all fonts" under the fonts tab. If you are not sending a fonts folder, embedding the fonts is necessary to ensure correct output of the fonts in your files.

  • Click and drag your Postscript file into Distiller. After the PDF file has been made, open the file and check it against your laser proof for accuracy.

  • The PDF files are now ready to be sent. Please see the next section for how to submit your job. |   Top


How To Get Your Job To Us / What To Include   | Top

To process your job, We require either native files (the original file for the program it was created in), or PDF's.  If sending native files, we will need all images, fonts, and the original document itself.  You can submit your files to us a number of ways. It is best to discuss with your sales representative which is the best method for you to stay within deadline schedule.

You can submit your job via Hard Copy (disk):
  • CD
  • DVD
  • Zip 100, 250

Or you can submit your job electronically via FTP, in which case we have the following tips:
  • Please compress all files/folders being sent. This saves space and allows multiple items to be submitted at once. You can compress the files using Stuffit for the Mac, or WinZip for PC.

  • All modern web browsers ( Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, etc.) come with a built-in FTP support as well that will do in a pinch. Just punch in ftp://address/ (replace address with the numbers and punctuation given to you by your sales rep) and enter your user ID & password when prompted.
There are also some more full-featured FTP clients available for various operating systems that support some extra features:

For OS X For Unix/Linux For Windows * Denotes Free software (at time posted). Most of these have free trials, that in most cases should be full version. Kenyon Press has not had exerience with all of these programs, and we are not associated with any of them. This is posted to help you find a program that will suite your needs and allow you to better upload your files to our ftp site. |   Top