Most of the time, if your file contains an image, you’ll want that image to be in bitmap mode. Otherwise your image will produce a halftone, which means your image will be made up of tiny dots instead of being solid (presenting printing challenges and a jagged image). Make sure your images are in bitmap mode by going in Photoshop and selecting Image > Mode > Grayscale. Then Image > Mode > Bitmap. When you bitmap files, use a resolution of 600-1200 dpi and a method of 50% threshold. Most likely the only time you shouldn’t bitmap your files is when printing a photographic image with numerous shades of gray (in this case, you’ll actually want the halftone!).
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Our favorite image mode is a .tiff. Or send us vector art images (made in Illustrator or Freehand) instead of raster images (made in Photoshop). Jpeg files will create low-quality letterpress plates that will make you unhappy; its file format is best intended for the web.
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The ideal LPI depends on your paper and presswork, but most printers printing on uncoated paper use a 100 LPI. It's a good balance of fine screen and easy printing. The higher the line screen, the more difficult it will be to print, because the high line-screen plate plugs up with ink in the shadows and looks murky over-all. Some printers prefer playing it safe and order 85 or 65 LPI. That way your plate will be less likely to clog when on press. Using a lower LPI does make the dots coarser and more obvious. The finest line screen that we usually process is 133 LPI, although we would even question the use of 133 LPI, except on coated or hard papers. Our plates can hold detail to 200 LPI, but such a high line screen would be very difficult to print. If you’d like a halftone for your image, you don’t adjust the LPI. Just tell us what LPI you’d like us to use, and we’ll take care of the rest.

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In Illustrator, go to File > Color mode > CMYK. Then select all the black artwork in the document. Make sure the fills and strokes are 100% CMYK black in the color palette.

Sending all your fonts packaged is not fail-safe: all needed fonts aren’t always provided, or all your fonts may not be recognized when we open your file, causing shifting and changes in your design. On the other hand, outlining fonts is fool-proof, safe, and ideal. So outline your fonts! In Illustrator, you do this by Type > Outline!
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Before sending your Illustrator files to us, embed all linked images (an option in the Links palette). If linked images aren’t embedded, we can’t output your plates! In Quark or InDesign, make sure to include the image files when you upload your layout.
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If you want crop marks, go to Filter > Create > Crop marks in Illustrator. Often, customers who want crop marks on their plates submit files that have a crop area instead of crop marks. If your file is set up this way, crop marks won’t appear on your plate! How do you tell? Crop areas can’t be edited with the select tool; crops marks can be edited. If you have a crop area instead of crop marks, first go under Edit > Crop Area > Release. This will take off the crop area. Then go to Filter > Create > Crop marks.
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We need your files and proofs to appear the way you want your final design to print – commonly called right-reading (no backward text or images). When we create your film negatives, our software does the reversing to create proper negatives, so leave that part up to us.
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When submitting your file, send us a hard copy of your file! Our favorite ways to receive files are by you sending us a press-ready PDF file (with fonts embedded) for platemaking and faxing in a hard copy for the proof. Our second favorite way is for you to send an EPS file for platemaking with a press-ready PDF for the proof. A hard copy allows us to guarantee the quality of plate, ensure that files are accurate, and that the plate will match what you are expecting to print. A hard copy allows us to avoid file problems, such as lines that don’t hold, text that has moved or been cut off.
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