You have just finished your perfect masterpiece of a brochure and are ready to get it printed in mass quantities for your big presentation. Before you take the document in to your local print shop or send it off to an online printing house for color copies, you should keep a few things in mind. Too often, people get their printed documents back and are disappointed by something. Maybe the color is off, or it is collated incorrectly or the images have turned out fuzzy. All of these examples can be easily averted, by taking the following steps in preparing your document for the printer.
1.Proofreading final copy prior to printing. I know it sounds like a no brainer, but you would be surprised how many people do not adequately proofread their documents. If your document is meant for a consumer audience, take some time to take off your company hat and read it as if you are a consumer. Heck, pay your Aunt Merle to proofread your documents, she lives to nit-pick! She may suggest changes you had not thought of before.
Proofread your document several times before sending it to the printer.
2.Furnishing a complete working dummy for design, printing and binding.When you are preparing your print order for a bulk printing, it is to your benefit to provide your printer with a complete working dummy of your design. The printer can refer to it, and have a very specific idea of what you want your final product to look like. It eliminates any confusion or surprises, and makes your printer less likely to look like a “dummy.”
Avoid confusion by providing your printer with a complete working dummy representing your final product.
3.Providing a completed work order. Make sure you fill out all of the components of your print work order. This work order will be the blueprint your printer uses to complete your printing job. If you do not put information that they need, like RGB color codes or binding selections, your print job will at best be delayed and at worst not meet your expectations. Most print companies don’t employ psychics. Tell them what they need to know.
Fill out your print work order completely.
4.Obtaining copyright permission when reproduced material bears a copyright. It is your responsibility to ensure your document does not contain any content, including text and images, which infringe on copyrights.
Check for copyright infringement.
5.Submitting clean, reproducible originals. Your final product will only be a good as the originals you provide to your printer. They need to have clear, error free and high quality originals to print from.
Make sure your originals are high quality.