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Mechanicals for Printing

8a Setting Up Files for Professional Printing

  • Using the document set-up dialog box for simple graphics (business card)
  • Get rid of any graphics from your document that are not supposed to print
  • Setting the same business card up for the printer inside of a larger document
  • Adding a bleed to simple rectangular job
  • Adding Crop Marks (Effect>Crop Marks), turn of the stroke and/or fill
  • Complex objects (envelope that need a die-cut, 2 types of glue, a foil stamp, folds, and a bleed)
  • Reflecting the envelope
  • Making a spot color and name it something like “Do Not Print – Mechanicals” so there can be no confusion with the printer. Use this spot color on anything that a mechanical needs to be set up, such as die-lines, glues, foil stamps, emboss, and so on.

8b Setting Up Files for Professional Printing

  • Die Line: (1) use spot color – Die Line – Do Not Print (2) Set the stroke to 0.5 points in the Stroke Panel (3) In the Attributes Panel (with the stroke selected) check the box “Overprint Stroke” (4) Put the die lines on their own layer named “Die Line – Do Not Print” (5) Set crop marks around the entire object
  • Creating a bleed on irregular shapes (copy the shape, paste in front, make it a stroke only and set the stroke to 2x the bleed, expand the stroke, combine it with the original shape)
  • Mechanicals other than die lines (I’ll use example of emboss they are all pretty close to the same) (1) use spot color – Emboss – Do Not Print (2) Fill the items to be embossed with the spot color (3) In the Attributes Panel (with the object selected) check the box “Overprint Fill” (3) Put the die lines on their own layer named “Die Line – Do Not Print”
  • Making fold marks (0.5 pt stroke that is 0.5 inches long, dashed stroke set to 7 points, use the correct box in the stroke panel so you get 3 dashed, set the fold marks 1/8 away from the bleeds, in this class make them very uniform)

8c Setting Up Files for Professional Printing

  • Using a temporary 0.25 inch stroke to help place the fold marks
  • Speeding up multiple fold line production with the Reflection Tool
  • Make sure that all the areas that use your non-printing spot colors are set to either Overprint Fill or Overprint Stroke in the Attributes Panel
  • No ink under most glues, so use the Pathfinder to punch the shapes of the glue from the ink
  • Get rid of any layers and any graphics that are not needed by the printer

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