Best way to prepare for small Kinkos print job

[atsbayn]

Working on full-color poster that has seen time in both Photoshop and Illustrator. Planning to take it to Kinkos to do a very small run and wondering what the best way to prepare it for this kind of print job. Any advice on file type, etc. would be most helpful.

[PrintDriver]

Calling them before you started and getting their printing specs would have been ideal.

Calling them now and getting their printing specs means you have a chance of getting the file to print to your liking.

Just sending them the file based on our advice here, without knowing the output device and the skill of the tech would be pure whimsy.

[resdog]

I've found that with dealing with Kinko's, I always make print-ready pdfs, so there's no hassle wth dealing with font/image issues in a native file. Call Kinko's and see what their requirements are for a poster (bleeds, layout, etc.). As PD says, it's always better to contact the printer directly and get their specs. They are more than willing to help you out, as it will save them time and hassle on their end.

[atsbayn]

Luckly, this is a low-key, pro bono, bocce ball promo poster 12 print job for a drinking buddy. Dumped this same type of poster a year ago in their laps and they pulled it off. Trying to remember if I gave them a .psd file or a .jpg. I seem to recall that they had nothing higher than Photoshop 7 on their machines. A bit tricky since this is in Japan and trying to get specs is a bit tricky since my Japanese sucks, but with a little time can get the info out of them. Thanks for the advice.

[budafist]

I wouldn't send a jpg for print.