Illustrator CS2 — How to set up a postcard file for a commercial printing company

Digital printing services,postcard,business cards,poster,flyers,letterhead,fridge magnet,docket book > Product information > Information — postcard printing > Illustrator CS2 — How to set up a postcard file

  

Below is some help on how to set up your press-ready postcard file when you are using Adobe Illustrator. Whilst the images are from an Apple-Mac, the process is all but identical when you use a PC.

 

How to correctly set up a postcard file in Adobe Illustrator

First, open a new file by choosing File > New... (see below).

 

You witll then be presented with a New Document dialogue box (see below).  You must be sure to fill in the details correctly:

  • Give your file a name, and have the name describe who the job is for and what type of job it is. In the below example, the job is for Roslyn House, and the job is a DL-sized postcard.
  • The size of the postcard you are going to creat must be entered accurately.
    • DL postcards (1/3rd the size of A4) are 210mm wide and 99mm high.
    • A7 postcards are (1/8th the size of A4) 105mm x 74mm.
    • A6 postcards are (¼ the size of A4) 148mm x 105mm.
    • A5 postcards are (½ the size of A4) 210mm x 148mm.
  • TheOnlinePrinter prints in the CMYK Color Mode. Make sure you select CMYK from the Color Mode drop-down menu.
  • The Raster Effects (the resolution of your file) MUST be 300 points per inch, so select 300ppi from the Raster Effects drop-down menu.

You can now click the "OK" button on the New Document dialogue box.

 

You will most probably be presented with a blank document similar to the one below.

 

Now is NOT the time to start designing your postcard file, as you need to place rulers at the top and lefthand side of the file — choose View > Show Rulers (or hold down the Windows key on a PC and press "R"; or hold down the Apple key on an Apple-Mac and press "R").

 

The Bleed and Safety Margin lines must now be placed onto the file. Below is a zoomed-in shot of the top lefthand side of the file.

  • Place your mouse on the TOP ruler and hold down the mouse button. Now drag the mouse down until the mouse is 3mm OUTSIDE the file (the measurement can be seen on the left hand ruler). This is the top bleed line.
  • Place your mouse on the TOP ruler again, and hold down the mouse button. Now drag the mouse down until the mouse is 5mm INSIDE the file (the measurement can be seen on the left hand ruler). This is the top safety margin line.
  • Place your mouse on the LEFTHAND ruler and hold down the mouse button. Now drag the mouse across until the mouse is 3mm OUTSIDE the file (the measurement can be seen on the top ruler). This is the lefthand bleed line.
  • Place your mouse on the LEFTHAND ruler again, and hold down the mouse button. Now drag the mouse across until the mouse is 5mm INSIDE the file (the measurement can be seen on the top ruler). This is the lefthand safety margin line.
  • Now go down to the bottom right-hand corner, and do the same for that corner.

 

Your file should now resemble the below screen shot. Start your design. However:

  • If you are going to have any background colours or images or text that will go right to the edge of your postcard, then make sure that those background colours or images or text go past the edge, all the way to the bleed line.
  • Make sure that all vital text and images stay within the 5mm Safety Margin line.
  • If you are going to have a white or coloured border on your postcard, then mage sure that everything is inside the 5mm Safety Margin line.

 

 

Below is a finished DL postcard. As you can see, the person wasnted a white border, so everything has been kept within the 5mm Saftey Margin line. However, if the images were meant to go to the edge of the finished postcard, then the images would have been taken to the outside bleed lines.

You can save your file (although you have probably saved it many times.

 

The postcard file that you have created in Adobe Illustrator can now be sent to your printer, and it will almost assuredly be printed. However, there might be issues with transmitting your file, so TheOnlinePrinter suggests that you:

  1. Convert all fonts to outlines; and
  2. Convert the Adobe Illustrator postcard file into a PDF.

The reason we suggest this is simple: First, PDFs are normally smaller than Adobe Illustrator files, so they travel faster on the Internet; Second, PDFs are normally more stable than Adobe Illustrator files, so there is less chance that your postcard file will become corrupted on its travels to your commercial printing company; and, Last, your printing company may not be licenced to use the fonts that you use, and outlining the fonts solves this matter completely.

 

How to convert text to outlines in Adobe Illustrator postcard files

Choose Select > All (see below)

 

Everything on the Adobe illustrator postcard fiile should now be outlined in blue (and it will all look a little bit messy, as shown below). Choose Type > Create Outlines (also see below).

 

Your Abobe Illustrator postcard file should look very measy now, as all the ext will have a series of blue lines and smudges surrounding it (again, see below).

You can now save your file.

 

How to convert Adobe Illustrator postcard files to PDFs

To convert your Adobe illustrator postcard file to a PDF, choose File > Save As. You will be presented with a dialogue box similar to the one below. Name your file and make sure that the bottom Format drop-down menu is set at Adobe PDF (pdf).  Click the Save button.

 

You will then be presented with a Save Adobe PDF dialogue box, and the tab box on the left should have the General tab highlighted (below).  Set the Adobe PDF Preset drop-down menu at Press Quality.

The click the Compression tag in the lefthand box.

The Save Adobe PDF dialogue box will change to the below screen shot. Make sure the Color Bitmap Images and Greyscale Bitmap Images boxes are set at 300 and 450 ppi. And make sure the Monochrome Bitmap Image box is set at 1200 and 18  ppi. 

The click the Compression tag in the lefthand box. 

The Save Adobe PDF dialogue box will change to the below screen shot. The only marks that TheOnlinePrinter wants are the trim marks. So, tick the Trim Marks box, and set the bleeds at 3mm.

You are now done, so click the Save PDF button.

 

Your file is ready to go to the printers.