Printon’s Repro Department ensures a smooth print preparation process.
- Review and correction of project files
- Sheet assembly
- Design and layout
- Proof printing
- Preparation of printing plates
We use the computer to plate (CTP) technology for preparing printing plates and therefore we take care of the sheet assembly ourselves. We expect clients to provide a PDF or print file as films are not suitable for print preparation. The CTP technology reduces the time spent on print preparation considerably and produces a much better final result.
In the case of magazines and brochures, we ask you to present both the content and cover pages as separate pages and not paired.
We prefer print files and PDFs to open files. In the case of print files, we prefer composite (flattened) images, but you can also send us layered files. PDFs must be flattened.
When you are preparing print and PDF files, you must make sure to use the newest postscript drivers and PPDs (Extreme .PPD in the case of Printon). These can be obtained at ftp.korepro.ee (username: anonymous) where needed.
In the case of composite files, RIP automatically uses black overprint in performing colour separation. If the print features 100% black and black that includes other process colours side by side, the objects that remain underneath the black may start to show. In order to achieve beautifully rich and opaque black surfaces, you need to use the formula C – 40, M – 30, Y – 30 and K – 100 instead of 100% black.
It is recommended to carefully think through each design from the perspective of the impact of black overprint on the appearance of the print. If the design uses a mix of objects where overprint is switched off and knockouts, in which case the overprint of the repro can ruin something, you can make a print file with colour separation, which allows you to make sure that the most important stage of print preparation is flawless.
The trim box must be right in the middle of the printing page.
When preparing your design, add a bleed of 3–5 mm to each external edge. In addition to bleed, make sure to mark the crops.
The most common mistakes found in finished prints are typographical errors. Therefore, we recommend reviewing all texts before submitting. Reprinting due to typos costs much more than spending a little more time with your texts.
After assembling the sheet with a computer and before the preparation of print plates, a proof is prepared of each printing plate with an ink printer. This is to ensure that the texts and photos are correct. This is mainly an in-house job. In order to be completely certain that the texts and images are positioned correctly, the proof can be reviewed by the client before we start preparing the printing plates. This is the last chance to make changes in the printing process! The proof is not suitable for checking the colours!
If you want to ensure that the final result matches the colours in file, we recommend ordering a sublimation print. A3 sublimations are printed on high-gloss paper straight from file and the colours are highly accurate but not a 100% representation of what the final product will look like. The final colours of the print product depend largely on the paper used.
People often underestimate the importance of a mock-up. A mock-up is a scaled down copy of the desired final result, usually printed in black and white, folded and stapled to look like the final result. As files are submitted electronically, only a mock-up allows you to check that the texts and pictures are in accordance with your wishes. Errors that have occurred during the transport of files often remain undetected unless you use a mock-up. If no mock-up is submitted with the order, the printing house cannot guarantee an accurate result.
Design files can be prepared in the most common layout and design programmes for PC and MAC (Freehand, PageMaker, QuarkXPress, Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, etc.).