Digital file problems and solutions

Digital Files - problems and solutions

How to Send files
How fast should my Internet access be?
File size limitations of email providers
What is FTP? When should I use it?
I am having trouble emailing you a file. How do I do it?
What is "binhex" and "mime" encoding?
Macintosh or PC? Can't they speak the same language?

The wrong way to create PDF files
Why can't you use a PDF file that is created for use on the Internet?
Why can't you use our logo from our web site?
Why is it important to "manage" color in digital files?
I use Microsoft Word and Excel a lot. Can you use these types of files?
Why can't you edit my file yourself?
I use Quark. Do you still want a PDF or EPS file?

Problem: How to Send files
Email is a tremendous tool you can use to send us digital files for your print job. However, there are some issues you may encounter that may cause a few problems. Once you know what these issues are, you can be prepared to overcome these problems. Other file transmission methods available are FTP, or the standard storage disk, whether it be a CD-R, Jazz or Zip, to name but a few.
Solution: Figure out the best method for your needs, and make sure your Internet Provider can meet those needs.

Problem: How fast should my Internet access be?
You really need a high speed connection to be able to send graphic files over the Internet. A typical dial up connection might reach speeds of 56kbps, while you can get speeds around 25 times faster with a DSL or Cable Internet connection. At 56kbps, a 5 meg file would take over 90 minutes to send, while over a typical DSL connection the same file would take only 4 minutes.
Solution: Get a high speed Internet connection or send large files on a CD. Also, compress files with WinZip or other compression programs to decrease their size.

Problem: File size limitations of email providers
Many commercial Internet Service Providers (ISP) limit the size of the emails you can send - providers like AOL and others simply cannot handle the large files that are common in the printing industry.
Solution: Either send files on a CD-R, Jazz or Zip disk, or use FTP to transfer large files. Use a compression program to decrease the size of your file.

Problem: What is FTP? When should I use it?
FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol, and it is used to transfer files over the Internet direct to a server. While using FTP will not speed up the time it takes to transfer your file to us, it will allow you to send larger files that your ISP will not allow. Also, from time to time an email may be "floating" around in cyberspace before it actually reaches its intended recipient. FTP bypasses that - using FTP is just like copying your file from one computer to another.
Solution: If you plan on sending a lot of graphic files over the Internet, use an FTP program. However, if you do use it, you have to let us know that you submitted a file to the FTP site - most FTP servers do not automatically send the owner a notification every time a new file is uploaded.

Problem: I am having trouble emailing you a file. How do I do it?
Any graphic files sent via email must be "attached" to your email message. You cannot simply cut and paste your print piece into an email and expect it to work.
Solution: Most email programs allow you to attach a file. You may have to experiment with some encoding settings though, to make sure your emails are transferred correctly.

Problem: What are these encoding settings? What is "binhex" and "mime"?
Every email gets broken up into little packets as it travels over the Internet. The way these packets are encoded depends on how you have your email program set up. For example, if you use Netscape, it is almost impossible to change this setting from its default setting of "binhex". This may cause certain file attachments to either be corrupted or to become pasted into the text of the email message, regardless of how you attached the file. It has been our experience that mime encoding works better with PDF file attachments, however, we have seen problems with mime encoded emails coming from a PC to a Mac environment.
Solution: Test your file type before you get into a pinch. Or better yet, compress your file using a common compression program like WinZip or StuffIt. These types of files have very few problems when attached to emailed messages.

Problem: Macintosh or PC? Can't they speak the same language?
No, they don't speak the same language. Windows knows which program to open up a file with because of the filename extensions - .doc, .jpg, .tiff, and so on. Macintosh computers do not use this extension - they use an internal part of the file known as the resource fork. Therefore, a Mac user may not know which program to open a PC file with, and vice versa for a PC user. When you name a file on a Macintosh that is going to a PC, add the appropriate file extension. However, we see many more PC created files sent to us that we need to open on our Mac system. That is why it is imperative that we know what software was used to create the file - we might not be able to tell what kind of file it is just by the name.
Solution: The best way to avoid cross-platform issues is to use PDF files. PDF files, when correctly created, will give you a consistent print image regardless of what type of system is being used. They also are easily recognized by both PC's and Mac's.

Problem: There is a wrong way to create PDF files
The three most common ways to create PDF files are as follows:

Acrobat Distiller - The best way to create a print-ready PDF is to use Acrobat Distiller, which is part of the Adobe Acrobat suite of PDF products. It is a stand alone software program that "distills" an EPS or PostScript file into a PDF file. It allows you to embed the fonts, which is one of the most common problems associated with graphic files. We strongly recommend that you use the Distiller setting we have provided on this web site. After downloading the file, place it in the settings folder of Distiller, which can be found in the Application folder for Acrobat.
PDF Writer - This is launched from within applications such as Microsoft Word or Excel, or as an add-in in Macintosh workstations accessed through the Chooser. DO NOT USE PDF WRITER! It gives you no control over the settings and will only create PDF files that are good for viewing on your computer or printing on a personal printer.
PDF Maker - This method is almost like PDF Writer except that it actually uses Acrobat Distiller to create the PDF file. It will allow you to embed your fonts, and it seems to work well with Microsoft Office Applications. Do not confuse this with PDF Writer - while they both are Adobe "plug-ins", they give widely varying results. Once again, we strongly recommend using the Distiller settings we have provided.

Solution: Use Acrobat Distiller to create PDF files, and be sure to use the correct print-ready settings.

Problem: Why can't you use a PDF file that is created for use on the Internet?
While anyone can create a PDF file that looks good on the Internet, printers require a much more detailed PDF file in order for it to reproduce correctly on commercial presses - whether they are digital or conventional. As always, the most common problem is font substitution - if your file does not have the fonts embedded, anyone else who views your file might see fonts other than the ones you intended. Also, while the Internet is fine if you only want to see 256 different colors, your file may look vastly different when it is imaged on an offset web press that produces literally several million different color gradations. Just remember that the image you see on your screen or coming out of your desktop color printer will not be the same as one coming off the end of a commercial-grade offset press.
Solution: Use the correct job option settings when creating PDF files, and be sure to only use high resolution graphic files when designing print documents.

Problem: Why can't you use our logo from our web site?
Web sites are designed to load fast, and any graphic images on them need to be just good enough to look fine on a computer screen. Printers need files that have a much greater resolution than what is common on the web. While you may be able to print a decent quality image of a web site on your ink jet, if you try to print that same file on a typical high resolution offset or digital press, you will likely have a poor print job on your hands.
Solution: Don't use web images in the print world - when designing graphic images for your web site, have your graphics designer create high resolution versions for printing. Typically jpeg files will not have the resolution a printer requires - get high resolution tiff files instead.

Problem: Why is it important to "manage" color in digital files?
Another recurring problem with digital files submitted to printers is spot color vs. process color. We have seen jobs submitted that include 7 spot colors in addition to process color images - that means this four color job would have to be printed on an 11 color press! The designer of this piece did not set up the color management parameters correctly when it was first created in Adobe's Photoshop, and these color settings were carried all the way through the PDF creation process. The correct procedure would have been to change all spot colors to process color within Photoshop. We have also seen the opposite scenario to be somewhat common - colors intended to be spot PMS colors are sent to us as process colors.
Solution: Be sure that spot colors are truly spot colors, and process colors should not be mixed with spot colors within the same job.

Problem: I use Microsoft Word and Excel a lot. Can you use these types of files?
Most printers cringe when they hear that question. These standard office programs were never intended to act as graphic design programs. If you give us a Word file, we can't be sure that what we see when we open it up on our computer is exactly what you see when you open it up on yours. Many "native application" files will look different on different systems because of varying software versions, installed fonts, and printer set-ups (a native application file is one that can only be opened up with the same program that created it). Therefore, we have no idea if our version of Microsoft Word is changing your margins or page breaks, or is substituting fonts unless we see a hard copy to compare it to.
Solution: Create an EPS file right from your Word or Excel program by printing to a file using a Postscript printer driver. Then you can either send us the EPS file, or you could go one step further and distill your EPS into a PDF file and send us the PDF file. To see how easy it is to create an EPS file, click here.

Problem: Why can't you edit my file yourself?
We finally got you to send us a PDF or EPS file, and now you want us to make some modifications to it. The fact is that the editing of these types of files is extremely limited. The reason for this is that EPS and PDF files are created to insure uniformity over any type of computer system. This uniformity comes with a price, and that is editability.
Solution: Make a choice between reliability (EPS or PDF files) or editability (a native application file). Just be sure that if you send us a native application file, it is created with a high quality graphic design program, like Quark or Photoshop. Any lesser programs will sacrifice resolution and print quality.

Problem: I use Quark. Do you still want a PDF or EPS file?
Quark, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe Photoshop are the 3 most common graphic design programs in use by the printing industry. If you use any of these programs, you could send us native application files as long as you include any fonts and high resolution graphic images - also be sure that your color Management settings are correct.
Solution: If you can send us a complete native application file in one of these three most common formats, then do so. Otherwise, stick with a PDF or EPS file.