Solid Impressions

The JPEG file format has gained prominence over the past few years, in large part due to its ability to provide a fairly high-quality image at a fraction of the size of other formats, such as TIFF. Of course, that benefit comes at a cost. JPEGs save disk space by eliminating some of the subtle color changes not readily apparent to the human eye. At a minimal compression setting, those changes are fairly hard to see. The higher the compression, however, the more of those changes are lost, and the blurrier the image becomes. Here are some tips to remember when working with JPEG images: • Start at the top. If you’re taking your own digital photos, set your camera to its highest-quality JPEG setting. The images will come out larger, but the quality will look sharp. For photos when print quality is especially important, set the camera to save images as TIFF files, if that option is available. • When editing an image, consider saving it as a TIFF, instead of a JPEG file. TIFF files are large...

If you design your own marketing materials, successfully preparing your files for print production can not only save you time and money, but will also ensure your final product is exactly what you envision. Here are a few tips on how to prepare your files for print: Include a listing of all contents used in your file, such as fonts and images. Save your files with explicit, useful names. Include high resolution (300 dpi) images and make sure the images are linked to the images used in the document. Modify images in a photo editing program before placing them in a layout file. For example, if you rotate an image, rotate it in Photoshop before you place it in Quark or InDesign. Check your printout for text flow issues and bad text breaks. Include all font styles (bold, italic, etc.) for every typeface used in the project, not just the individual font. Use exact measurements and guidelines to ensure accuracy. Include registration marks for bleed trims. Define the size of the document to m...