Help Center
We at MyPrintEasy.com strive to do everything we can to assure that your
experience with us is an excellent one. We know that your experience is just as
important as the next customer’s, whether you need a one-time small quantity of
product or you give us repeat bulk orders of 10,000 or more. To help ensure that the
product you receive is the product you envisioned, we’ve provided a few production tips
here that will help. As always, please feel free to contact us via e-mail at
info@myprinteasy.com or call us toll free at (866) 368-2500 if you need more information.
Prepress Department
The MyPrintEasy.com Prepress Department maintains a state-of-the-art, all-digital workflow using advanced software and equipment to deliver the finest quality products and service. We take careful steps to assure there are no mistakes; from the pre-flight stage of a digital file through the quality control analysis of a printing plate , we always check and double-check our work. Our experienced operators are on staff around the clock, 5 days a week, to assist our Customer Service Team and to offer you exceptional customer support.
Applications
While MyPrintEasy.com can accommodate a variety of platforms, please remember that our preferred file type is an Adobe Acrobat PDF . Our Graphics Department can support files from the following software applications:
For PC: Adobe Suite, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, QuarkXPress, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, MS Excel, and MS Publisher
For Mac: Adobe Suite, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and QuarkXPress
Creating a Document
We recommend that you avoid creating a custom-sized document within a default blank page. For example: MS Word’s default document size is 8.5” x 11” with a portrait page orientation. If you want a 4” x 6” postcard with a landscape page orientation, you should set up the page with those dimensions. This will help eliminate potential text reflow.
Creating a Booklet
The rules for creating a document also apply when creating a booklet—do not use a page size that is much larger than the desired product size. Booklets should also be created with printer spreads or as single pages. If any additional trims are needed for bindery purposes, such as head trim, foot trim, face trim or grind off, MyPrintEasy.com will add them to your submitted file at no additional charge.
Bleed
A bleed border or 1/8th of an inch (0.125) on all sides is recommended, with the minimum bleed being 1/16th of an inch (0.0625). For example, if a finished flyer’s dimensions are 8.5” x 11” the document bleed dimensions are 8.75” x 11.25” or a minimum of 8.650” x 11.125.”
Margins
Give your page comfortable margins. If an element is not bleeding, it should
not be any closer than .25" to the trim.
Fonts
There are two types of fonts:
1 – Postscript: Most reliable because they have separate screen and printer fonts. Consider choosing Postscript fonts when creating your document.
2 – True Type: Less predictable because they combine screen and printer fonts in one element. Try to avoid True Type fonts when creating your document.
No matter what type of font or typeface you prefer, you will need to collect the font files for output and forward them along with your document files.
File types
We prefer PDFs, and can also support the following file types: .tif, .jpg, .psd, .eps and .ps (postscript). All files should be a minimum of 300dpi for good quality printing, and colors should be created using the CMYK color model.
Colors Used
Of course we at MyPrintEasy.com don’t wish to stifle your creativity, and what better way to express yourself than to splash your presentation with bright, vivid colors. That said, we have some recommendations and tips to help ensure that what you see (on your screen) is what you get (from MyPrintEasy.com).
1 – Avoid using the standard red, green and blue colors from the color palette.
2 – Convert all spot colors to process if you want us to print in process colors.
3 – Delete unused spot colors.
4 – Pantone colors have various suffixes, such as CVU and CVC (most Pantone colors imported from Illustrator or Photoshop have different suffixes than QuarkXPress, for example). If the number is the same, but the suffix is different, the colors will not be exactly the same.
5 – Color matching will be more precise if you provide color separations for each file and a color proof whenever possible.
Creating A Print-Ready PDF...
To ensure best quality in any platform, design at a resolution of 300dpi and include bleeds in your artwork before saving.
Adobe Photoshop And Illustrator –
1. If using Illustrator, make sure to convert all your fonts to outlines first.
2. Select “Save As…” from the File menu.
3. After naming your file, select “PDF” from the dropdown box of available file types and click “Save.”
4. A PDF dialog box should appear. Select “Press Quality” from the available PDF presets in the dropdown box at the top. If “Press Quality” is not found, then choose “High Quality.”
5. Click “Save PDF.”
Adobe Indesign –
The process is the same as Photoshop and Illustrator (explained above), with the following two exceptions:
a) Choose “Preflight” from the “File” menu before exporting to PDF
b) Choose “Export to PDF” instead of “Save As…”
Corel –
For Corel it is best to export as an EPS file, and then use Adobe Acrobat Distiller to create the PDF. The embedded Corel PDF publisher is not recommended.
1. Choose “Export” from the “File” menu.
2. After naming your file, select “EPS” from the dropdown box of available file types, and then click “Export.”
3. A dialog box should appear, select the options according to the images below:
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Advanced |
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4. Now use Adobe Acrobat Distiller to convert the EPS file to a print-ready PDF. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Distiller, or know how to use it, just send us the EPS file.
Publisher 2003 and Higher –
In Publisher 2003 and higher, it is best to save your artwork as a high resolution TIFF file.
1. Select “Save As…” from the “File” menu.
2. After naming your file, select “Tag Image File Format” (TIFF) from the dropdown box of available file types. DO NOT click Save.
3. After selecting TIFF you a “Change” button should appear in the bottom right corner of the “Save As…” box. Click the “Change” button.
4. A new box will pop up; select 300dpi (commercial print) in this box and click “OK.”
5. Now you can click “Save” in the “Save As…” box.
Publisher 2002 and Lower, Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint –
For these programs you will need a PDF converter. If you are using a Mac or own the full version of Adobe Acrobat, you have one. Otherwise, you will need to purchase Adobe Acrobat software or download and install a free PDF printer to your computer, or use a free online PDF converting service. Below are some of these programs and services:
1. PDFOnline –
PDFOnline.com is a free online service that emails you a PDF of whatever file you upload to their web site. Sometimes errors may occur when using this site, so please check the PDF carefully before sending it to us. If the error continues to reoccur, we recommend that you try an alternative, such as those listed below.
2. PrimoPDF –
PrimoPDF.com is a free PDF printer that you can download from their web site and install on your computer. After installation, when you want to convert a file to PDF, you will need to select “Print” and then select the PDF Printer, rather than using the “Save As…” option. A PrimoPDF dialog box will appear, asking you how and where you want to save your file. Select the “Press” preset and save your file.
3. DoPDF –
DoPDF.com is a free PDF printer that must be installed on your computer as well. It works the same as PrimoPDF (as detailed above), but some people find it faster and easier to use because it has fewer options. For more options and a better variety of presets, we recommend PrimoPDF.