Illustrator — How to set up a notepad or desktop pad file for a commercial printing company

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This page will provide you with some assistance if you are using Adobe Illustrator to create a notepad or desktop pad printing file. The images are for those using Apple-Mac computors, but the principle is the same should you have a PC.

 

How to set-up a notepad or desktop pad printing file in Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator is a superb program, and TheOnlinePrinter cannot praise the program enough. If this is the program that you are going to use, then you have chosen well.

To set-up a notepad file in Adobe Illustrator, choose File > New (see below).

You will then be presented with one of the below New Document dialogue boxes. Take care to fill in the details correctly:

  • If you have the smaller New Document dialogue box, then click the Advanced button, and the larger New Document dialogue box will appear.
  • Name your file. Printing companies use the file's name to identify the actual job, and the type of job, during the production process; so please make the name meaningful. We are making an A4 notepad file, and the A4 notepads will be for TheOnlinePrinter. So, the file name will be TheOnlinePrinter A4 Notepad.
  • Choose the Size of the notepad or desktop pad. You can choose the Size from the dropdown menu, or you can manually enter the Width and the Height. If you manually enter the Width and the Height, then the Size drop-down menu will adjust automatically. The sizes of the notepads and desktop pads that TheOnlinePrinter produces are:
    • A6 notepads — Width 105mm x Height 148mm — ¼qtr the size of an A4 sheet
    • A5 notepads — Width 148mm x Height 210mm — ½ the size of an A4 sheet
    • A4 notepads — Width 210mm x Height 297mm — the same size as an A4 sheet
    • A3 desktop pads — Width 420mm x Height 297mm — the size and shape of two A4 sheets placed side-by-side.
  • The Units drop-down menu next to the Width and Height boxes should be in Millimeters.
  • The Color Mode should be CMYK. TheOnlinePrinter prints in CMYK. If you are getting your job printed by another printing company, then you should ask that printing company what Color Mode is used by the printing company.
  • Raster Effects MUST be at least 300 ppi (i.e.: 300 point per inch, or 300 dots per inch).
  • If the above information is filled in correctly, click the OK button.

 

You will now be presented with a screen similar to the below image — please note that if you are designing a desktop pad, then the desktop pad file will be wider than it is high.

Now choose View > Show Rulers (see below image). You will now see a ruler at the top of the page, and another ruler at the left-hand side of the page.

 

The Bleed and Safety Margin lines must now be placed in the notepad file (more about the reason for Bleed and Safety Margin lines later).

Below is an image of the top lefthand corner of the notepad file:

  • Place your mouse in the top ruler, hold down the mouse, and drag the mouse down until the aqua coloured line is 3mm outside the top black notepad line. You can measure the 3mm on the left hand ruler. This is the top Bleed line.
  • Place your mouse in the top ruler, hold down the mouse, and drag the mouse down until the aqua coloured line is 5mm inside the top black notepad line. You can measure the 5mm on the left hand ruler. This is the top Safety Margin line.
  • Place your mouse in the lefthand ruler, hold down the mouse, and drag the mouse across until the aqua coloured line is 3mm outside the lefthand black notepad line. You can measure the 3mm on the top ruler. This is the lefthand Bleed line.
  • Place your mouse in the lefthand ruler, hold down the mouse, and drag the mouse across until the aqua coloured line is 5mm inside the lefthandblack notepad line. You can measure the 5mm on the top ruler. This is the left Safety Margin line.
  • Now, go and do the same at the bottom right of the notepad file.

Your Adobe Illustrator notepad or desktop file should end up looking like the below image

You can now start designing your notepad or desktop pad.

Start designing your notepad or desktop pad file. However:

  • Make sure that all vital text and images are kept inside the Safety Margin lines — you will notice in the below screen shot that the company logo and all the text is within the Safety Margin lines.
  • If you have background colours or images that are to print right to the edge of the finished desktop pad or notepad, then make sure that those background colours or images continue all the way to the Bleed lines — you will notice that the green and yellow background colours in the below file continue all the way to the bleed lines.

Once you have finished designing your notpad or desktop pad, you can save the file.

The file you have just created is suitable to be sent to your printing company (and we hope you will use TheOnlinePrinter), and you will most likely obtain the quality notepad or desktop pad that you want. However, you might want to consider the following:

  • Fonts can be a problem with Adobe Illustrator, especially if your file needs to be adjusted before it goes to the presses. Specifically: your printing company might not have the fonts that you used on your notepad or desktop pad, or your printing company might have the fonts, but not be licensed to use those fonts. The easilest way to completely sove the fonts issue is to outline the fonts in your Adobe Illustrator notepad or desktop pad file.
  • Whilst Adobe Illustrator notepad and desktop pad printing files are very stable (i.e.; they do not normally become corrupted) when they travel over the Internet, Adobe Illustrator notepad and desktop pad printing files do (on some occasions) travel badly. PDFs, however, travel very well across the Internet, so you might consider converting your Adobe Illustrator notepad printing file to a PDF.
  • PDFs are almost always significantly smaller than Adobe Illustrator files, so PDFs are easier to E-mail or easier to upload. So, again, you might consider converting your Adobe Illustrator notepad or desktop pad printing file to a PDF.

 

How to outline text in an Adobe Illustrator notepad or desktop pad printing file

Adobe Illustrator is a great program when it comes to outlining fonts. It is just so easy.

Choose Select > All (see the below image).

 

Your file will now look a bit like the below image. Every thing will be highlighted by a light blue line, and many of the light blue lines will have tiny boxes attached to them.

 

No choose Type > Create Outlines.

 

Your file will now be highlighted by light blue lines that seem to trace the text. This means your text has been converted to outlines.

Save your file — all the text has been outlines, and you will NOT have any trouble with the fonts.

 

How to convert an Adobe Illustrator notepad or desktop pad file into a PDF

Choose File > Save As.

You will be presented with the below Save As dialogue box.

  • Click on the Format drop-down menu near the bottom of the dialogue box, and select Adobe PDF.
  • Make sure the document is going to be saved in the correct place, and then click the Save button.

 

The Save Adobe PDF dialogue box will appear, and the General tab in the left-hand menu should be highlighted in light blue (see below).

  • Make sure the Adobe PDF Preset drop-down menu is set at Press Quality.
  • Then click the Compression tab in the left-hand menu.

 

The Save Adobe PDF dialogue box will alter, and the Compression tab in the left-hand menu should be highlighted in light blue (see below). 

  • Make sure the Color Bitmap Images and Greyscale Bitmap Images boxes are set at 300ppi and 450ppi.
  • Make sure the Monochrome Bitmap Images box is set at 1200ppi and 1800ppi.
  • Then click the Marks and Bleeds tab in the left-hand menu

The Save Adobe PDF dialogue box will alter, and the Marks and Bleeds tab in the left-hand menu should be highlighted in light blue (see below).

  • The only item in the Marks box that should be ticked is the Trim Marks.
  • Make sure that each and every item in the Bleeds box is set at 3mm.

Click the Save PDF button.

You now have a PDF that is press-ready, and you can send it to your printing company. Also, given you have outlined all the text, you can be confident that your notepad or desktop pad will go to the presses quickly, as yhere will be not font problems.