People think graphic design is easy. "Oh, just download something off the internet." Or, "I had Photoshop in High School, that should be enough." These inexperienced folks are only setting themselves up for disaster. Designers don't just have to worry about making things pretty, but also functional. They are sculpted into problem solvers. Keep in mind there are hundreds of ways a file can go wrong. To avoid the basics errors, follow these simple rules while creating a file.
AVOID:
Missing fonts - 97% of file errors are missing fonts. And its such an easy fix!
Embedded artwork.
Nested artwork.
3 Steps to creating a safe Illustrator File
1. Ungroup all artwork.
2. Clean up: lose extra points can throw off the RIP
3. Delete all unused swatches.
5 Steps to creating a safe InDesign File
1. Fonts: Find and missing fonts.
2. Delete all unused swatches.
3. Page Geometry: Make sure you include bleed if necessary. Respect margins.
4. Paragraph Styles: Be sure they are correctly formatted to your document.
5. Links: A missing link means there is missing artwork. Without the link, no information can be collected.
3 Steps to creating a safe Photoshop File
1. File Format: be sure to use the correct format. A correct COB should be saved as .eps.
2. Resolution: A safe print ready resolution is 300. Remember - you convert your resolution to a smaller number, (From 1500 to 300) but you cannot go up. (72 to 300)
3. Do your best to stay away from Pantone Colors in Photoshop. They were not designed to properly reproduce as rasters.
Hint: View image at 100% whenever possible. Especially during color correction.
With these simple rules for design you will be able to build a proper electronic file ready for output. Oh, and remember to always print to postscript when creating a PDF! (:
