Adobe Illustrator CS4 & CS5— How to set up Adobe Illustrator CS4 & CS5 files for a printing company.

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How to set up a file for a commercial printer when using Adobe Illustrator CS4 & CS5

What appears below is just a brief description on how to prepare your Adobe Illustrator CS4 & CS5 file for printing.
The information is in three parts:

1. How to create a new document in Adobe Illustrator CS4 & CS5.
2. How to outline text in Adobe Illustrator CS4 & CS5.
3. How to create a press-ready PDF in Adobe Illustrator CS4 & CS5.

If you are using an earlier version of Adobe illustrator, then visit our how to prepare Adobe Illustrator CS3 files for printing webpage.

Create a New Document in Illustrator CS4 & CS5

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

 

You will then be presented with the New Document dialogue box (similar to the below image).
The New Document dialogue box must be filled in correctly!

 

Name your file. GIVE THE FILE A MEANINGFUL NAME. Do NOT just name it "Business Cards" or "Flyer", as your commercial printer gets many business card printing or flyer jobs. The file's name should display two important features: Describe the customer. On this page we are making a business card for "Leslie Miller" of "Printing-Online.com.au Pty Ltd". So the first part of the file's name is going to be "Miller Printing Online". Describe the type of job being printed. We are making a business card, so the last part of the file's name will be "Bus Card". Select the number of Artboards. If the New Document dialogue box does not have the Number of Artboard box, then you might be using an earlier version of Adobe Illustrator. In such an instance, we suggest you visit our how to create a file in Illustrator CS3 webpage. If your job is to be single-sided, then there will be "1" art board. If your printing job is going to be double-sided, then select "2" Artboards. Width and Height — enter the correct size of the document. A0 — 1,189mm x 841mm. B1 — 1,000mm x 700mm. A1 — 841mm 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 — DL — 210mm x 99mm — this is 1/3rd the size of a standard business letterhead. Letterhead — A4 — 297mm x 210mm. Bleeds. Each and every box in the bleeds section must be set at 3mm. Color Mode and Raster Effects. If the Color Mode and Raster Effects options do NOT appear, then click once on the Advanced button. TheOnlinePrinter prints in the CMYK colour gamut. So select CMYK from the drop-down menu. The Raster Effects (the file's resolution) must be set at 300 points per inch — High (300ppi).

You then click the blue OK button at the top right of the dialogue box.

Your screen will change to something similar to the image below (however, there will be no aqua coloured lines).
If you have a double-sided printing job, then there will be two artboards, and if your business card is to be single-sided, then only one artboard shall appear.
There should be a ruler at the top of the screen, and a second ruler on the lefthand side of the screen. If they are not there, then choose "View", then "Show Rulers" — or press "Command" + "R" on a Mac, or "Windows" + "R" on a PC.

Before you start your design, you must create some Safety Margin lines.

• Place your mouse inside the ruler at the top of the page. Hold down the mouse, and drag the mouse down until it is 5mm inside the top of the upper black box, then release the mouse. This is the top Safety Margin line of the first artboard.
• Place your mouse inside the ruler at the top of the page. Hold down the mouse, and drag the mouse down until it is 5mm inside the bottom of the upper black box, then release the mouse. This is the bottom Safety Margin line of the first artboard.
• Place your mouse inside the ruler at the top of the page. Hold down the mouse, and drag the mouse down until it is 5mm inside the top of the lower black box, then release the mouse. This is the top Safety Margin line of the second artboard.
• Place your mouse inside the ruler at the top of the page. Hold down the mouse, and drag the mouse down until it is 5mm inside the bottom of the lower black box, then release the mouse. This is the bottom Safety Margin line of the second artboard.
• Place your mouse inside the ruler at the extreme left of the page. Hold down the mouse, and drag the mouse across until it is 5mm inside the lefthand side of the black box, then release the mouse. This is the the lefthand Safety Margin line of both artboards.
• Place your mouse inside the ruler at the extreme left of the page. Hold down the mouse, and drag the mouse across until it is 5mm inside the lefthand side of the black box, then release the mouse. This is the the lefthand Safety Margin line of both artboards.
• Your screen should almost exactly match the image above.

 

OK. So, there are now lines and boxes all over the screen — you probably want to know what they all mean.

 

• The black boxes are the size that your printing job will be — they are the trim lines — this is where TheInternetPrinter will cut your job down to the correct size. You can enlarge the boxes on your screen, and you can reduce them, but the black lines will always remain the place where the business card will finish.
• The outer red boxes are the bleed lines.— click here to find out more about bleeds. Bleed lines are important, and you must ensure that all background colours and images that you want to print to the very edge of your printing job file MUST go all the way out to the bleeds lines. The gold and green background colours in the below image of a printing job file go all the way out to the red bleed lines.
• All important text and images MUST stay inside the Safety Margin lines. In the below picture, all the text and the company logo are inside the Safety Margin lines.

 

So, you can go ahead and create your printing job file using the Adobe Illustrator CS4 software program.

 

What appears below is more information. It relates to what you should do once your file has been designed, and your are ready to send the file to your printing company.

 

   

How to prepare an Illustrator CS4 & CS5 file for a commercial printer

You have now created your Illustrator CS4 & CS5 file, and you want to send it to your commercial printing company. If you want, you can simply send your Illustrator CS4 file, and your job should proceed through the printing process simply.

However, there are three very good reasons why you should do a little more work on the file — outline the fonts and concovert the file to a PDF.

1. Illustrator CS4 & CS5 files do not always travel well across the Internet. They can sometimes be unstable. PDF's however, are amazingly stable.
2. Illustrator CS4 & CS5 files can be quite large, and this can cause troubles when sending them by way of E-mail or uploading them to a server. PDF's, however, are almost always smaller than Illustrator CS4 and CS5 files, so they are easier to E-mail or upload.
3. Your commercial printing company might not have the fonts that you use, or might not be licensed to use those fonts. If you outline the text, then your commercial printer will be able to make any necessary adjustments to your file without the need to use your fonts.

So, the best way to send your file to almost any commercial printing company is to send a PDF that has ALL the text outlined.

 

  

How to outline text in Adobe Illustrator CS4 & CS5

It only takes two steps to outline text in Adobe Illustraor CS4 & CS5.

First, choose Select, then choose All.

Second, choose Type, then choose Create Outlines.

All the text should now have a blue mottled outline, similar to the below image. If only one of the two artboards has the mottled appearance, then simply click on the relevant artboard, and go through the proceedure a second time.

You should now save your file — BUT SAVE THE FILE WITH A NEW NAME (e.g.: add the word Outlined to the end of the file's name).
The NEW NAME will enable you to keep the old 'non-outlined' file, and alter that old 'non-outlined' file at some later date (e.g.: change a telephone number).

 

How to convert an Adobe Illustrator CS4 and CS5 file into a press-ready PDF

Converting your Illustrator CS4 or CS5 file into a PDF is easy.

First, choose File, then select Save As.

You will be taken to the Save As dialogue box (see image below).

1. Make sure the file is named correctly. Have the person and company for whom the card is being made form part of the name. Also, please mention the type of product being mage — in this instance, a business card.
2. Make sure that you select the Adobe PDF format in the drop-down menu.
   Click the blue Save button.

 

You will be taken to the Save Adobe PDF dialogue box (see below), and the General tab should be highlighted (see the blue box at the left of the mage below).

1. Select Press Quality from the drop-down menu.
2. Ensure that the Preserve Illustrator Editing Capabilities box is ticked. Whether the remaining boxes are ticked is not important.
3. Click once on the compression tab at the left of the Save Adobe PDF dialogue box.

The Compression tab should now be highlighted (see below image).

1. Ensure that the Color Bitmap Images details are set out as below. The resolution must never be below 300ppi.
2. Ensure that the Greyscale Bitmap Images details are set out as below. The resolution must never be below 300ppi.
3. Ensure that the Monochrome Bitmap Images details are set out as below. The resolution must never be below 1200ppi.
4. Click once on the Marks and Bleeds tab.

The Marks and Bleeds tab should now be highlighted (see below image).

1. Ensure that the Trim Marks box is the ONLY box that is ticked in the "Marks" section of the dialogue box.
2. Ensure that each and every Bleed is set at 3mm.
3. Click the blue Save PDF button.

Your Illustrator CS4 or CS5 file is now ready to be sent to your commercial printer.
It should proceed without any problems whatsoever.