Illustrator — How to set up an envelope file for a commercial printing company

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This page has some information on how to set up an envelope printing file in Adobe Illustrator. Whilst the images are from an Apple-Mac, the principle and the system is the same as a PC.

 

• How to set up an envelope printing file in Adobe Illustrator.
• How to outline text in an Adobe Illustrator envelope file.
• How to convert colours to greyscale on your Adobe Illustrator envelope file.
• How to convert your Adobe Illustrator envelope file into a press-ready PDF.

 

How to set up an envelope printing file in Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator is a fantastic program, and it is easy to set up your envelope printing file. Choose: File > New (see the image to the right)

Your screen should now have a New Document dialogue box that is similar to the below image.

1. Give your file a name. Please make the name meaningful, as TheOnlinePrinter uses the file's name during the production process to:
   • Recognise the person for whom the job is being made (in the below example, the job is being made for AUS Trading); and
   • Identify what type of job is being mahe (in the below example, the job is a DL envelope).
2. Enter the Size of the job. The best way to do this is to enter the Width and the Height.
   • DL envelopes are 220mm wide x 110mm high.
   • C5 envelopes are 229mm wide x 162mm high.
   • C4 envelopes are 324mm wide x 229mm high.
3. Color Mode — this is NOT important, as we only print in black and white (and all shades of grey in between), and you shall convert all colours into greyscale (i.e.: black and white), so have the Color Mode as either RGB or CMYK.
4. Raster Effects — this MUST be set at High (300ppi). You can have the file set at a higher resolution (e.g.: 450ppi), but you must not ever have it set at anything lower (e.g.: 280ppi).
5. Click the OK button.

 

If your file has a ruler at the top and on the left-hand side, then all is well and good. If there are no rulers, then choose View > Show Rulers.

 

You should now have a blank file that is similar to the right-hand image.

 

You now have to place the Safety Margin lines onto the file. Place your mouse on the top ruler, hold down the mouse, drag the mouse down until it is 10mm below the top black line, then release the mouse. Place your mouse onto the top ruler a second time, hold down the mouse, drag the mouse down until it is 10mm above the bottom black line. You then do the same thing on the left-hand ruller, by dragging the mouse across to 10mm the first time and to 210mm the second time. The picture on the right attempts to graphically show what will happen.

 

You can now start creating your envelope file in Illustrator. However, all text and images MUST remain inside the Safety Margin lines. In the below image, you will see that the address is either right on, or inside, the top and left-hand Safety Margin lines.

 

When you have finished designing your envelope, save the file.
 

How to convert colours to greyscale on your Adobe Illustrator envelope file

TheOnlinePrinter prints envelopes in black and white (and every shade of grey in between). So, before you send your Illustrator envelope printing file to TheOnlinePrinter, you must convert the text and images to Greyscale (i.e.: black and white and every shade of grey in between).

Choose: Select > All.

 The text boxes and image boxes should be outlined in a manner similar to the below image.

 Now choose: Edit > Edit Colors > Convert to Greyscale. 

All your images and text will now be in Greyscale, so you can save your envelope printing file.

 

Whilst commercial printing companies, including TheOnlinePrinter, readily accept Adobe Illustrator envelope files, you should note that Adobe Illustrator envelope files are not foolproof, and they can present some problems. Specifically:

• Your commercial printer might not be licensed to use the fonts that you have used, and this can create problems when your commercial printer tries to create a press-ready file from your Adobe Illustrator envelope file.
• Adobe Illustrator envelope files are normally quite stable when they are sent over the Internet or via E-mail to a printing company, but the stability of an Adobe Illustrator envelope file is not guaranteed.
• Adobe Illustrator envelope files can be quite large.

To overcome the above mentioned issues, TheOnlinePrinter suggests that you convert all the text to outlines, and convert your Adobe Illustrator envelope file to a PDF.

 

 

How to outline text in an Adobe Illustrator envelope file

Outlining text is simple.

First, choose: Select > All.

All the text, image and colour boxes should become highlighted. In the below image, the text box has been highlighted in blue. 

Now choose: Type > Create Outlines.

The text should now have a blue mottled line around it, similar to the below screen shot.  

Save your file.

 

How to convert your Adobe Illustrator envelope file into a press-ready PDF

Converting your Illustrator envelope file into a PDF is easy.

Choose: File > Save As.

You will then be presented with the Save As dialogue box (see the below image).

• Make sure that the Format drop-down menu is set at Adobe PDF (see the red arrow in the below image).
• Click the blue Save button.

 

 

You will then be transfered to the Save Adobe PDF dialogue box, and the left-hand tab should have the General tab shaded in blue (see the lower-left red outlined in the image immediately on the right. Make sure that the Adobe PDF Preset drop-down menu is set on Press Quality. Click on the Compression tab that is immediately below the General tab.

The Save Adobe PDF dialogue box should change, and the Compression tab should be highlighted in light blue (see the red outline immediately on the right). Ensure you have the following selection: Colour Bitmap Images: Bicubic Downsampling to in the drop-down menu. 300 ppi for images above 450 ppi Compression is set at Automatic (JPEG). Image quality is set at Maximum. Greyscale Bitmap Images: Bicubic Downsampling to in the drop-down menu. 300 ppi for images above 450 ppi Compression is set at Automatic (JPEG). Image quality is set at Maximum. Monochrome Bitmap Images: Bicubic Downsampling to in the drop-down menu. 1200 ppi for images above 1800 ppi Compression is set at CCITT group 4. Click the Marks and Bleeds tab (immediately under the Compression tab that is shaded light blue).

The Save Adobe PDF dialogue box should change, and the Marks and Bleeds tab should be highlighted in light blue (see the red outline immediately on the right). Ensure that: None of the boxes are ticked in the Marks area of the dialogue box. The Bleeds are set at zero (0). Click the blue Save PDF button. You can now send your press-ready PDF to your printing company, and we hope that you use TheOnlinePrinter.