First print job. Need some help with resolutions

[SleepJunkie]

Hello. I have not printed many things before, and now I have to design a magazine ad! I have no problem with the design, I already have six or seven comps done. The only things I am worried about are the details.

These are the requirements I got in an e-mail:
Electronic Requirements:
Software capabilities: QuarkXPress, Pagemaker, Illustrator and Photoshop. Please be certain that all fonts and linked graphics are provided for all software native files suplied in the event that alterations need to be made.

Photo file requirements: TIFF or JPEG. Color files as CMYK. Resolution: 300 dpi at actual size in publication.

Line art file requirements: TIFF or EPS. Resolution: TIFFs should be 1,200 dpi at actual size in publication.

Black and white ads:
133-line screen preferred, 100-line screen accepted.
What I don't understand is how I can have two different resolutions. When I send the ad over, will it all be in one file? I'm starting to think I'll send them one file with my copy and graphics (without photos), and one more file with only the photos in the correct spot.

If that is the case, I'd have one 1,200 dpi file and one 266 dpi file, correct? With the 1,200 dpi file being everything but the images, and the images being at 266 dpi.

Any help is appreciated, because I'm lost. Tips are also greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Riya]

Do you have both photos and line art in your ad? I'm assuming the answer is yes. In that case, what you should have is a Quark or Pagemaker document. Inside that document all line art should be placed as 1200 dpi files at actual size and everything else should be 300 dpi (not 266).

If that doesn't help, call the printer. Most would much rather point you in the right direction before they get the job, than have to fix the files later.

[SleepJunkie]

Thanks a lot. The person that I need to get in contact with is out of the office for a week, so I'll double check everything with him. The files don't need to be in their hands until early February, so I have some time. Thanks again.

[upekkharich]

I hope you aren't using pagemaker, because few printers still support it and many will open the file in InDesign

but, to be most precise you would need to know what line screen your printer uses when halftoning and then double that for raster images (grayscale or process color) so if they use 175 line screen your images should be 350 dpi to give you 4 square pixels per halftone dot resolved at the RIP

make sure you place or import your images into your page layour program instead of pasting them from another application

supply your printer with your page layout file (Quark/InDesign/pagemaker), your supporting files (tiffs, eps, jpeg) and all fonts used in the document, as well as a printed sample or pdf file of what it should look like. Many printers can also use just a high-res pdf file, but be sure all of your fonts are embedded, the resolution is correct, that any spot colors used are mapped appropriately, that you have included bleeds, and that the file is NOT in printer spreads.
Most page layout programs have a "Package" or "Collect for Output" function in the file menu which will grab all the files for you to send to your service provider.

Best of fortune to you

[budafist]

Yes, the package option is a godsend.

[urstwile]

Provided you're doing the ad in either InDesign, Quark, or Illustrator, you don't need to worry about making two files with different resolutions.

Think of those programs as being containers for different types of images with different resolutions. So you can have a logo at 1200 dpi and a 4-color photographic image at 300 dpi within the same layout. The page layout program will use the resolution that is in the graphics, it doesn't determine the resolution of the graphics.

You are doing the ad in a page layout program of some sort, I hope, and not all in Photoshop? :o

[SleepJunkie]

I was mocking stuff up in Photoshop because it is easier for me. I originally planned on doing it in Illustrator, but now I see how much more sense it does to do it in a layout app. We have Quark and possibly InDesign, I'll have to take a look. I tried out quark a while back and wasn't too comfortable, but I guess I have to get used to it.

Thanks everyone. This information is helping me a lot.

[urstwile]

You should get used to some type of page layout application (I recommend InDesign if you have it over Quark) if you're going to be doing a lot of print work.

I understand that for many, it's easier to mock things up in Photoshop...sort of. I myself find it easier to mock things up in a layout program (type controls are easier, as one example), but I've been using layout programs for years, so perhaps that's why. InDesign gives you a great deal of flexibility for doing this. So does Quark, and to a certain extent, Illustrator, although I rarely use Illustrator for page layout. I know quite a few who do, however.

[PrintDriver]

upekkharich, if the printer is saying to send 300dpi files (or 1200dpi files), that's what you should send. Over-resolution just wastes your time.