Online printing services have come a long way in revolutionizing and redefining the way the printing industry functions. Anyone can have their designs printed now without approaching the press directly. All you need to do is register and click, because the process is so easy. However, despite all the conveniences, people are still encountering problems while looking for online services. You need to remember a few important aspects.
If you are doing the designing personally or getting it done in your company, you would probably be using Corel draw or Illustrator or Page maker or QuarkExpress or a similar package. In almost all these packages there are options which enable you to compile all the graphics and fonts along with the art work in one folder which can be sent to the printer. There will usually be an option “prepare for service bureau” which enables this facility. It is always use to use this as fonts can get changed. Also it would be wise to prepare a PDF and send it along with your original artwork files so the two can be compared and the print house can advise you of any differences between the two and rectify the matter before printing. One other point to follow is to take a printout, preferably a full color printout so that you can check for spelling mistakes and other graphical errors and correct them at your place itself before sending out the files.
One option which takes care of missing fonts is to convert all fonts to curves in the art work so your final print will not be affected due to missing font problems.
One important point to keep in mind is that almost all printers use the CMYK technology to print. CMYK is cyan-magenta-yellow and black which, in combination, produce all colors. While designing your art work use the CMYK color palette. If you use RGB (Red-Green-Blue) there is a chance that while converting the exact shade may change. If you have scanned in a photograph which will probably be scanned in RGB convert it to CMYK in the artwork. This is extremely important to maintain color fidelity in the output. Then only send out the files to be printed. Some printers will take care of this while some may not and do not accept responsibility so make sure of this at your end.
If you are designing a full page with border to border color background, make the page size larger and put crop marks where the actual cutting to final size needs to be done. Allow for traditional paper sizes to accommodate this “bleed” printing. Also keep in mind that most printing presses need about one half to an inch of blank paper space for the “gripper” and space allowance also needs to be made while designing the art work. It is always wise to include crop marks and cutting marks by yourself instead of relying on the on line printer.
One thing to keep in mind is the use of color black. Using simple black will not give a saturated and deep black. For deep blacks use 100% black mixed with 40% cyan. Or better still, use 100% cyan, magenta and yellow with 100% black for a really solid and deep black in the print. However use saturated colors only when you will be printing on coated art papers for best results.
If you have the time, ask for a sample proof. This confirms what the final print will look like from the online printing service end.