Margie Dana

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When I have conversations with printers about customer file issues, I go all French, comme ça: Plus ca change, plus ca meme chose.*

So far, I've written at least three Print Tips on this subject. And while many things in this industry do change, some things do not. Like customers' files. They're always a little funky. Mon Dieu!

I asked a few printer-subscribers to tell me what common file problems they're seeing nowadays. Here's what I learned.

Ken Cicalo of Allegra Print & Imaging in San Diego, CA, wrote:

• Customers too often send images that are 72 dpi, because they copy them from a website, or use clip art images that were never intended for offset printing.

• Customers' files often have a mix of color spaces - some images are in PMS colors, some are CMYK, some are RGB. Then they want their file to print in two spot colors.

• Many times, files have an image right to the edge of a page, but not extended to create a bleed. If this is in a PDF or a highly complex image that doesn’t have bleeds, it can be time-consuming to try to correct the problem.

• Some customers think if they use a font frequently it must be very common - and therefore there's no need to send that font to the printer with their files.

• Customers figure if the file printed for them, it should work for the printer, not realizing that it worked for them because all of the images and fonts reside on their system, but without those support files, the printer can’t get the same results.

• Often customers create extra work for themselves by not communicating with the printer prior to starting their work. For instance, making 12 different files for a job that could be a single 12-page document, or trying to do sophisticated page design in programs like Word or Photoshop - which really are not intended for that purpose, by the way. Often artwork can be created by a printer's pre-press department quicker, cheaper and more efficiently in the right software than having someone with limited software options try to do it.

• Customers make PDF files that are not high enough resolution for printing, because "it looks good on my screen," even though fonts aren’t embedded, images are 72 dpi, etc.

• Some customers don't understand proportions and can't understand why their 3.5 x 2" business card can't be enlarged to 8.5" x 11" and still look the same.

• Customers don't always understand the difference between vector artwork and bitmap artwork. If they have a logo that needs to be enlarged 300% and they look the same at original size, what's the difference whether they send a TIFF or an EPS?

I also heard from Mark Reid of SEPsprint in Australia who prefaced his remarks by saying that his list probably only applies to Australian print customers - not to Americans. Mais non, Mark.

He wrote -

• The number one problem (80%) with customer files has to do with fonts – missing or corrupt.

• Next up? Missing links, such as a low-res picture without a link to the hi-res image we need.

• Then there's color. For instance, when a 5-color job is presented as 12 colors in a file.

• Finally, we occasionally have to deal with cross-platform issues where, despite the widespread adoption of OSX, a font or an application won't work.

Nobody said creating great print-ready files was easy. Anyone with a computer can create a file. Doing it well is another story.

High marks go to printing companies that offer educational sessions (even a PDF on their web site) about creating good files. Higher marks go to print customers who recognize they need assistance with their files, admit this to their printers, and seek and accept advice early on.

I wonder: will fonts forever be the bane of printers? I'm reminded of something Frank Romano once said: "Fonts were a problem when the desktop revolution started. When the world ends, it will not be with a bang or a whimper; it will be with a bad font message. 'Font not found. Substituting Courier. World ending.' And that will be it."

*The more things change, the more they stay the same.

©2007 Margie Dana. All rights reserved. You're free to forward this email to friends and colleagues: please do! However, no part of this column may be reprinted without permission from the author.

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