Printing Guidelines: Quickmaster DI Pro
Lots of full colour jobs? High expectations? Too little time? The solution
. . . Digital Offset printing from Heidelberg's Quickmaster DI Pro! Achieve
what you couldn't before - fast, cost-effective, short run, full colour
printing on an offset press.
Follow these guidelines to ensure faster turnaround and
better output from your digital files. If you need further support, please
call 604.683.6991 and ask to speak to our
friendly and knowledgeable technical support staff or click
here.
We can print from virtually any program (and
from hardcopy):
We want to help you make the most of your digital equity. You can use
this guide to create a PostScript file from any
Windows or Mac OS application or use this guide
to create a print-ready PDF file. We also support native files from the
following applications: QuarkXpress, Adobe Pagemaker, Adobe InDesign,
Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Acrobat, CorelDraw and more
(call our technical support staff if you are unsure of your application).
If you don't have a digital file, don't panic . . . we can also scan from
hardcopies.
Graphics Preparation:
All halftone raster images should be scanned at a resolution of
300 ppi at reproduction size. For example, if you have a graphic placed
into your application enlarged to 150%, the graphic should be at least
450 ppi (300 ppi multiplied by 150%).
All lineart images should be scanned at 1270 ppi at reproduction
size.
Vector images can be scaled without losing any image quality.
Whenever possible, rotate, scale and crop pictures before importing
them into your document.
Colour Management:
Disable all colour management options in Photoshop. Unless colour
management is disabled, the output obtained with Adobe PostScript Level
2 and 3 RIPs can differ.
If you have a colour-managed workflow, you can download an ICC
colour profile for the Heidelberg Quickmaster DI Pro.
Wherever possible, convert all image data from RGB to CMYK (Microsoft
Office applications don't support CMYK images). If you separate RGB images
in Adobe Photoshop, use medium GCR. For good results, we recommend that
you select an area coverage of 95% for black and total area coverage of
340%.
Do not store any screen information or separation curves in your
Adobe Photoshop documents.
Add a 60% Cyan boost to large black areas. This will make the black
areas more intense in your final product.
Use all colour names consistently and use CMYK in both your graphics
and your page layout program.
Creating PDF files:
Use only Adobe Acrobat Distiller to create PDF files. The PostScript
file should be created with the original Adobe Distiller PPD. You can
download the Mac
version and PC
version from Adobe’s website.
If you have the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Distiller, use
the canned settings for PDF/X1a or PDF/X3.
If not, use the following settings in Distiller when creating PDF
files:
General
- Disable ASCII format
- Enable "optimize PDF"
- Set the resolution to 1270
Compression
- Color pictures: disable recalculation; compression: ZIP, quality: 8-bit
- Grey-level pictures: disable recalculation; compression: ZIP, quality: 8-bit
- Black-and-white pictures: disable recalculation; compression: ZIP,
quality: CCITT Group 4
- Disable "compress text and vector graphics"
Fonts
- If at all possible, create the PostScript and PDF files on the same PC
(mainly because of the installed fonts)
- Enable "embed all fonts"
Color
- For conversion: enable "do not change color"
- Disable "keep transfer function"
Extended
- Disable Prolog/Epilog
- Disable "Postscript file may overwrite settings"
- Disable "keep level to copy page semantics"
Fonts and Lines:
Always select fonts from the font menu. Avoid using style options
(bold, italic).
Define black text as 100% K only.
Use precise units to define lines. If you want to use a hairline,
define it as a 0.25 pt line.
Trapping:
If possible, set your objects to trap with 0.14 pt choke or spread
where needed.
How to Position Your Job on
the Press Sheet (Imposition):
Ideally you will set up your files to optimize the best use of the press
sheet. Depending on the page size, stock and quantity, you need to "impose"
your files differently. Our technical support staff will be happy to supply
you with instructions based on your job specifications or impose the job
for you (file handling charges may apply). Please check with us before
starting on the project so that we may provide advice and guidance and
save you the frustration and expense of submitting improperly imposed
files.
Stock and imaging specifications:
We are able to print up to 11" x 17" with full bleeds. Maximum
printable area is 13" x 17.75" (330 x 450 mm) and maximum sheet
size is 13.375" x 18.125" (340 x 460 mm).
What to send us:
Please only send us the files required for the job. If you are sending
multiple jobs, please label the directories or folders clearly. If you
are sending us a native file, please send all fonts and supporting graphics
as well. If you are sending us a postscript or PDF file, you need not
send anything else. Please send along either a colour printout or a composite
laser proof with markings for the individual colours or a set of laser
proofs with separate printouts for each colour separation. Regardless
of the type of printout you send with the job, please ensure that the
printouts are at 100% of actual size.
How to send your file:
The fastest and preferred method of getting the file to us is to upload
the file to our website (free registration required). You can register
for an account here. You can also
email your file as an attachment to the
Sales Department, however there is a file size limit of 8 MB on our
mail server.
Remember to compress your files. You can download some free compression utilities here. Samco also supports a wide variety of data carriers such as 3.5" floppy diskettes, ZIP100 disks, ZIP250 disks, JAZ1GB disks, JAZ2GB disks, CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs.
For free technical support, call 604.683.6991 or click here.
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