Paar Printing House: General Prepress Requirements
- A print-ready PDF file, preferably compliant with the PDF/X-1a:2001 standard.
- 3–5 mm bleed on every edge.
- CMYK colour space or Pantone colours.
- Images at 300 ppi.
- Black text must be 100% black with overprint enabled.
- Supply all pages in a single PDF as individual pages, without imposition.
- We accept the following colour profiles:
Coated FOGRA 39
ISO Coated v2
PSO Uncoated / Fogra 47
All objects that extend to the edge of the finished page must continue 3–5 mm beyond it to prevent white gaps caused by slight shifts during folding, binding, trimming and other finishing processes. It is important to allow for bleed when preparing design elements and cropping images; otherwise, important content may be trimmed off. The bleed requirement also applies to advertisements that extend to the edge of the page. Important elements on the page must also be kept at least 3–5 mm away from the edge. Lines running parallel to the page edge make even the smallest finishing inaccuracies particularly noticeable.
To prevent minor registration errors from showing around black text, lines and small objects on coloured backgrounds, all black (100% K) objects must be set to overprint. For black objects where overprinting is undesirable, such as large areas through which an underlying image or colour might show, use black without overprint:
• Standard black (automatic overprint applies): 100K
• Rich black: 100K-50C or 100K-50C-40M
• Black without overprint: 100K-1C-1M-1Y
Another common overprint problem is accidentally applying overprint to white or coloured objects, causing text to disappear or colours to change. We recommend removing overprint from all non-black objects during preflight. If the job uses trapping, overprinting of non-black objects, or any other special overprint settings, you must inform the prepress team for each job and agree on a suitable workflow.
Since 100% K black tends to look too light over large areas, designs often use rich black, which combines black with other process colours. When printing white text on this type of background, or on a dark image or coloured background, even a slight registration error can make the text illegible. As a general rule, the minimum size is 10 pt for serif, italic or fine-stroked type, and 8 pt for sans-serif type. When using rich black, choose 100K50C or 100K50C40M; both achieve almost the maximum darkness (density) possible in the printing process.
For white text on a rich black background, registration problems can also be reduced by adding a 0.1–0.15 mm outline behind the text, set to black without overprint (100K-1C-1M-1Y).
Although newer versions of photo editing, graphics and page layout software allow parts of an image to be transparent (transparency), add a drop shadow, or apply similar special effects, these features are not supported in PDF version 1.3, on which the PDF/X-1a standard is based. With newer PDF versions, the printed result often depends on the printer or RIP used and is therefore unpredictable. Attempts by software to reproduce transparency in other ways during printing result in large, potentially problematic PDF files. It is therefore advisable to avoid effects involving transparency. If the design requires an image to be cut out from its background, use a Photoshop clipping path, which all common page layout programs recognise in TIFF and EPS files.
Follow these steps:
• Use the Pen tool in Photoshop to draw a path around the required object. It works in the same way as the corresponding tool in Adobe Illustrator.
• Save the path in the Paths panel, then choose Clipping Path from the panel menu and select the path you have just created. Leave the Flatness field blank.
• Save the result as a TIFF (or EPS) file and use it in your page layout.
Similarly, in CorelDRAW you can create a shape and place an image inside it using the PowerClip command.
Colour separation means converting an image from the RGB colour system used by scanners, digital cameras and similar input devices into a colour system suitable for the printing device: CMYK in the case of four-colour printing. Colour separation is often mistakenly understood to mean producing printing films or plates. In fact, the conversion from RGB to CMYK takes place during image editing in Adobe Photoshop or when outputting from a page layout program. The colour separation software takes into account the known printing process parameters, specified through Photoshop settings or an ICC profile, and tries to reproduce the original as closely as the output device allows. It is therefore important to remember that a separation prepared for one device may not produce the same result on another. For example, printing a separation intended for coated paper on newsprint can cause significant technical problems. We recommend carrying out most image editing in RGB and then separating the image in Adobe Photoshop using the ICC profile appropriate to each specific use. Alternatively, newer page layout programs, such as Adobe InDesign CS and CC, can use RGB images in the layout, provided that the RGB and CMYK profiles are correctly assigned and the output is a composite PDF containing CMYK, or CMYK and spot colours.
Brand colours are usually specified using PANTONE® colour codes, which refer to the formula for mixing each ink colour. It is important to remember that the same ink mixture can produce significantly different results on different papers. For example, compare the samples of colour 123 on coated and uncoated paper in the PANTONE® Solid Coated and Solid Uncoated guides. To achieve a visually similar result, it is advisable to specify separate brand colours for different papers and printing methods. For example, PANTONE® 115U (uncoated paper) could be used as an equivalent to PANTONE® 123C (coated paper) when printing business cards or letterheads. This is often overlooked. Since the printer mixes the ink according to its number and checks the result against the guide for the specified paper, the result may differ from what was intended. Bear in mind that many PANTONE® spot colours cannot be reproduced in four-colour printing, and equivalents selected using a computer or colour guide may not give the desired result. In addition, older guides and software are based on printing inks used in the United States.
FTP server: ftp.paar.ee
By email: repro[at]paar.ee (files up to 10 MB)
On a USB flash drive
Via file transfer services (such as WeTransfer.com, Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.)
If you have any questions, please contact us:
Email: repro@paar.ee
Mobile: 557 5050