How to create Adobe Illustrator CS3 files for printing

Digital printing services,postcard,business cards,poster,flyers,letterhead,fridge magnet,docket book > Preparing files, help & links > How to prepare Illustrator CS3 files for printing

What appears below is just a brief description on how to prepare your Adobe Illustrator CS3 file for printing. This page is the 'quick fix'.

If you want to ensure that your printed product will be the exact item that you want, then have a read of our How to Prepare Your Files page — that page has a lot more information on what to do (e.g.: grammar, folding, etc).

How to create a new file in Adobe Illustrator CS3
Bleeds — why you needs bleeds in Adobe Illustrator CS3
Borders and safe aeras in Adobe Illustrator CS3
Outlining text and fonts in Adobe Illustrator CS3

Create a New Document in Illustrator CS3

Click on "File", then click on "New" (File > New)

You will then be presented with an image similar to the one below.

Create the document with the correct size:

A1 — 840mm x 594mm.
A2 — 594mm x 420mm.
A3 — 420mm x 297mm.
A4 — 297mm x 210mm — this is the same size of a standard business letterhead.
A5 — 210mm x 148mm.
A6 — 148mm x 105mm.
A7 — 105mm x 74mm.
DL — 148mm x 105mm — this is 1/3rd the size of a standard business letterhead.
Double-DL — 148mm x 105mm — this is 2/3rd the size of a standard business letterhead.
Business cards — 54mm x 89mm.
Appointment cards — 54mm x 89mm.
With Compliments Slips — double-DL — 148mm x 105mm — this is 2/3rd the size of a standard business letterhead.
Letterhead — A4 — 297mm x 210mm.

Choose "CMYK Color" mode - DO NOT choose RGB — and don't be lazy, have a look and check that the colour mode is correct.

Bleeds for Adobe Illustrator CS3 Explained

Please keep bleeds in mind when you are designing your artwork. If your artwork has a white border, then bleeds are not required. However, if your artwork is NOT white on all four sides, then you MUST include bleeds in your files, and those bleeds MUST be included on all four sides. In Illustrator CS3, this area should be extended past the page borders, as indicated by the black page lines. The bleeds MUST extend AT LEAST 3mm past the edge of the printed page.

Bleeds are important for one very good reason, and it is best explained by way of an example. Imagine the following:

You have a business cards printed, and the card measures exactly 54mm x 89mm;
The commercial printer prints your business card and about 40 or 50 other business cards on one hugh sheet of paper;
The commercial printer then cuts all the business cards out on a guillotine; and
When the cutting is done on a guillotine, the cutting is 1mm out of line.

If this was to occur, then what you will end up with is a business card that has a white stripe down one side. This can be seen in the image below.

Bleeds stop this happening by having the ink printed on paper 'well past the trim line'.

So, how are bleeds created in Adobe Illustrator CS3?

First, set up the document as the size that it must be when the job is finished. For example, business cards are normally 54mm x 89mm. It is shown as a black box on the below image, and this will be the size of your business card when it is trimmed down to size.

Second, have all background colours on your file go past the edge of the finished size by at least 3mm. On the above image, the back-ground colours go 3mm past the edge of the business card card to the outside aqua lines. So, when this card is printed, it is printed on a huge sheet of paper, the background colours will be printed 'well-past' the trim line; and, when the business card is trimmed down to the correct size, there will be no white stripe.

The subject of bleeds is so important that we have written a separate page devoted to it. Click here to read all about bleeds, why you may need them. Click here to see how to place bleeds onto Adobe Illustrator CS3 files.

Borders and Safe Areas

The printing and cutting processes has a mechanical tolerance of up to 2mm. So, if you have a border in your artwork, it is essential that your design has at least 5mm of space from your border to the trim line. If your border is less than the 5mm, then your job might lose its symmetrical appearance.

On the below image, the inner aqua coloured lines are the same area, and no important text or images should be placed outside that inner aqua line. You will notice that the company logo, and all text, remains inside the safety area. Click here to see how to place safety margin lines ionto an Adobe Illustrator file.

If your job is bigger than a business card, then we suggest your border is about 7mm.

Resolution

Do not use images that you have found on the worldwide web. Almost all of those images have a resolution of 72 dots per inch (72dpi or 72 pixles per inch), and they result in blurred or 'pixilated' images being printed.

If you want your printed product to look professional, then all of your images must be at least 300dpi at the final output size.

DO NOT attempt to change a low resolution image to a higher one by changing the dpi in your imaging software — you cannot change a 72dpi image into a crisp and clear 300DPI, all you will get is a blurred image that is set at 300dpi.

If you want to know why high resolution images are important, then read our High Resolution Images — Why they are important page.

Be careful with Rich Black

If you are going to have your job printed digitally, then do not use "Rich Black", as it can produce a somewhat mottled appearance. We suggest that 100% "K" (i.e.: 100% back) should be sufficient if you order a Fast Digital product.

If you are ordering a Discount Priced product, then we suggest you do use "Rich Black", and your setting for Rick Black should be:

Cyan 70%
Magenta 40%
Yellow 15%
"K" (Black) 100%.

Outline Fonts in Illustrator CS3

You can embed your fonts, however, if we are not licenced to use the relevant font, then we cannot make your file press-ready.

It is best if you 'outline your text', as this makes the 'fonts' issue irrelevant.

The first step in 'outlining fonts' is to select ALL the objects that are in your document: "Select" > "ALL".

Once you have selected ALL of the objects, then choose 'Create Outlines' ('Type' > 'Create Outlines').

The above 'outlining' process has converted all text to 'pictures', so we will not need to worry about fonts at all.

There is a 'down-side' to outlining text; we cannot edit your file if a mistake has been made. Our experience, however, has shown that the problems caused by customers supplying 'bad' fonts, or fonts that we are not licensed to use, far outweighs any other 'editing' issues.

If the above information does not help, then click here for a detailed explanation on how to outline text in Adobe Illustrator files.

The next thing to do is save your file.

Save Illustrator CS3 File

Please save you file with another name — if you do not use another file name, then you cannot edit your text at a later time.

Please save your file as an 'eps' file.

OK. So you have now clicked 'Save'. Great, it is all done and finished.

TheOnlinePrinter prefers to receive press-ready PDFs, and we always appreciate it if files are presented in the PDF format. Click here to see how to convert an Adobe Illustrator CS3 file into a press-ready PDF (there are plenty of pictures to assist you on this linked page).

Zip or Stuff your file and send it to us with your order.

Is this the wrong page? Are you using different software? Try the links below: