Helpful tips when preparing content for print

RESOLUTION! RESOLUTION! RESOLUTION!
With the growth in acceptance and use of digital cameras, reproduction of imagery has become a little less tedious, a little less costly and, a lot more fun. However with this boom in technology comes certain traps for the prosumer (an amateur who purchases equipment with quality or features suitable for professional use) or marketing executive wanting to be more 'hands on' in an Offset print design project.

Monitor resolution (relating to web design) and Print resolution (relating to brochure design / offset printing) are two different environments. The rich tones, colour and detail achieved in printed brochures are derived from high resolution photography and graphics. This is in stark contrast to the image requirements of a web server which tends to choke on large image files. The rule of thumb for web site image resolution is 72 DPI (dots per inch) and the corresponding resolution for print is 300 DPI. (This equates to Pixels per inch AKA DPI - see screenshot below)

Often designers are presented with images for a brochure that simply don't have enough OOMPH! (resolution) and this can only result in two undesirable outcomes; either the photo is printed at a fraction of the desired finished size or the image quality is badly compromised with pixelisation and blur when 'stretched' to the required finished size.

D.I.Y. Photography:

If you're taking photos yourself for a brochure and you're lucky enough to own the industry standard Image Editing Program, Adobe Photoshop, you'll recognise the following screenshot. See the figure circled in red?, this is the size of the file you'll need if you wish to have your images reproduced in A4 size on an offset printing press in all their glorious vivid detail, showcasing your exemplary photographic skill. For some, this is time for a reality check. You'll require a digital camera with at least 6 megapixel capacity for this assignment, or large format colour transparencies scanned to required resolution. Big is not always best, but if you're supplying photographs for offset printing, this is definitely the abiding rule.

What does .JPG mean?

Short for Joint Photographic Experts Group, and pronounced jay-peg.
This is a file compression format and reduces the image file size considerably. So if you need to tell a designer what the size of the image is, open it first in Photoshop or other quality image editing software and ascertain the size of the image after it is opened.
The image size circled in red above is the 'opened file size'.
If you'd like us to take care of your photography please visit our photography page

Delivering your images:

Opening every image on a CD to find the right one is tedious, time consuming and, in the long run, simply adds to the bill. You'll be a designers best friend if you can build a file path
i.e. my-pictures/brochure-photos/inside-spread/img_123.jpg to indicate which specific image or folder of images you would like used for a particular purpose. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions on this.

1. It's a good idea to adhere to the standard file naming conventions (this will stand you in good stead with all your file management endeavours) when saving your files;
2. Always use lower case:
3. Never leave spaces and don't use dots ' . ' except for file extensions i.e. '.jpg'
4. If you need a space between words, substitute white space with a dash '-' (hyphen) or an underscore ' _ ' (shift + hyphen)
5. Keep file names short and concise (Macs hate long names - for print design, understand that you'll more than likely be dealing with a Mac person)
6. 2mb is really the file size limit for emailing photographs. This is in a .jpg compressed state.
7. For multiple images, zipping them in a sensible folder hierarchy is a great idea, its like 'adding a little grease' to your email attachment.
8. jpeg (extension .jpg) is the industry standard for image files. NOT .tiff, .bmp, .eps, .ppt or any other extension.
   

   Print outcomes and expectations:

The design process requires careful monitoring of specifications like colour control, stock type/weight, ink application, registration, imposition, finishing etc. These are just a few of the areas of print design which need to be viewed in context with the overall job.
Possibly one of the major concerns for clients is the issue of consistent colour reproduction from monitor-to-proof-to-press. While great advances have been made in recent years with regard to colour calibration and consistent colour reproduction, it must be understood that like web design, there are still variables that influence the final outcome.
High resolution printer's proofs are still our best indication of colour integrity, and this is why it is vital for the designer to work closely with the printer to match the client's expectations with the final printed piece as closely as possible.