Bleed
Due to the characteristics of the printing equipment, if any graphical elements (picture, shading, etc.) extend to the edge of the page, then these graphical elements should extend beyond the trim mark. The area outside the trim mark, which will be cut off during production, is called ‘bleed’. The size of the bleed should be at least 5 mm. (For hardcover publications, the bleed should be at least 15 mm as the cover is folded back onto the reverse side of the coverboard.)
Please specify the precise dimensions of the pages using the trim size. Please avoid using any other marks (registration marks, scale marks, etc.).
Die-cut materials (boxes)
In regard to jobs that involve die cutting as part of the book-binding process, special attention must be given to supplying the die cutting information correctly. If possible, the die line drawing should not be submitted as a separate file, rather it should be embedded into the material as vector graphics. Die line drawings may only contain 100-percent spot colors, or preferably a color that will not be printed. Never make die line drawings as part of the four-color separation.
Die lines should always be set to ‘overprint‘. This setting is available in any vector graphical or desktop publishing software. The easiest ways to check the correct settings of the die line is to use Adobe Acrobat Professional. Open the finished PDF file, and then select the Output Preview menu item in the Advanced menu. Your die line is drawn correctly if the die line is invisible when you remove the die line color, and disabling the color does not affect the graphics that should be printed.
You can download our die line drawings HERE.
File format
Ready-to-print files may only be submitted in PDF format (preferably at least in PDF X-1a format). As a rule of thumbs, the fewer times you convert the material, the better the final results will be.
Files should be created in single-page layout, which means that a single page of the completed file should be a single physical page. A file may contain multiple pages. Please do not submit spreads except if you design a jacket that includes a spine or other elements that you configured and designed yourself.
Parts of the materials that are interrelated should be saved in a single file if possible. If not, then please make sure that the file name is a clear reference to the contents of the file. In order to achieve perfect quality, please do not use low resolution images (the minimum resolution should be at least 150 dpi).
Fonts
Fonts should always be embedded into the produced PDF file or converted to splines in order to avoid issues with how the characters are rendered.
Colors
We require that the submitted materials should be made with composite colors. Please make sure that you do not send materials as pre-separated files unless the manufacturing or pre-processing technology specifically requires it.
The files should only contain the colors to be printed (except for the die line drawing).
The material should not contain colors defined in the CMYK color space (obviously, with the exception of spot colors).
Glossed shapes, embossed areas and die lines
Glossed shapes, embossed areas, die lines and any other elements that will not be printed, but are only required for creating some special tool or form should always be added as a spot colored element to the file. Such elements should not be submitted in a separate file, but as part of a composite PDF file in order to provide verifiability.