Week 8 talking point – introduction to file preparation for print

There are a lot of aspects to consider before printing your publication; these are document setup and layout, fonts, text, graphics, color, trapping and file format. In my talking point, I will talk about the document layout and file format, which I think are ones of most important aspects to think about as well as they are the aspects that we came across very often during the course. With document layout, if you want the artwork to extend to the edge of the printed area, it is recommended that we should set up the bleeds at 1/8 inch. Most of the document layout application include non-printing area frame that is about ¼ around the document; this is call a safety frame. It is suggested that text or image should not placed beyond this line because it might affect your document when it is trimmed. Moreover, the edge of your document should have a trim line; this is the line where the printed document will be trimmed to. With the file format all the colour print should be in CMYK format not RGB with a minimum resolution of 300DPI. If the image or artwork is in JPEG file format, it will compressed the image and can result in detail loss therefore it is recommended to save your file as a TIF if you want a high quality of printing.