5 tips from our prepress department

16 April 2024

3 min

1 | Order correctly, prepare correctly

When placing an order, it is important first of all to select the correct features, whether that be partial white printing, UV varnish or contour cutting. Then ensure that the print files are set up correctly so that the production team can implement your chosen features accurately. Our information sheets and templates provide guidance and help you prepare the files in accordance with the requirements. To do this, select the product you want, scroll down below the price table and look out for the terms ‘Data preparation/Downloads’. Here you’ll find all the important information you need to create your own print data, such as safety margins, print format, final format, bleed and much more. If you want to save time, simply use the relevant template with pre-set settings in the downloads section. Don’t forget to check this section regularly for updates and download new information sheets and templates to stay up to date and avoid errors.

2 | Vector graphics for selected products

Vector graphics consist of points, lines and curves, the distances between which are defined as fixed values within the file. This means they can be scaled freely for any application without resulting in pixelated print output. So if you want to print your logo on Postcards and Billboards whatever you wish to display, it will look perfectly sharp in both cases. Due to these great advantages, some products require this file type for optimal results, such as Sunglasses, Glasses, Caps, Bags or USB sticks. Please check our information sheets to ensure you are using the correct file formats and preparing your files accordingly.

druck.de tip: We’ve put together everything you need to know about vector graphics in our blog post on this topic In summary!

3 | Ensure finishing options are correctly taken into account

If you require finishes such as coloured foils or 3D varnish, specific guidelines must be followed to achieve the best results. If the safety margin, font size, line thickness or other settings are incorrect, production is unfortunately often not possible. So if you Business card If you wish to order with gold foil, you should bear in mind a tolerance of up to 1 mm when designing. As the foil is applied using heat, the paper may warp slightly, resulting in a certain degree of tolerance. We therefore recommend not positioning the CMYK print and the coloured foil elements too precisely, or using a coloured outline around the coloured foil.

4 | Special requirements

For products such as Brochures, magazines, newspapers, Envelopes or Folder Special requirements often apply to ensure an ideal print result. Here are a few examples:

Brochures, magazines, newspapers: If you select 36 pages on the website, please note that the four cover pages are not included in this total. You should then save your content as a single PDF document and arrange the individual pages in the order they appear. In addition, the single-fold brochure must be sent to us in assembled form, either as two pages (the outer and inner pages) or as four individual pages in reading order. Please do not place the last page of your brochure at the very beginning of the PDF.

Envelopes: As the machine at the Leobersdorf site needs to grip the envelopes by the top edge to produce them, a 10mm margin at the top cannot be custom-printed. Please therefore position your design accordingly within the printable area.

Folder: By Single fold about Wrap fold up to Zigzag fold – Our range includes a wide variety of folding types. To ensure these are printed exactly as you wish, please check the dimensions of the fold spacing in the relevant information sheet to prepare your print files correctly.

5 | Exporting print files correctly

A wide range of graphics programmes, software or online tools can be used to create print files. Ultimately, however, it is important to send us the correct file format; otherwise, problems may arise during verification or subsequently during printing. You should therefore avoid open file formats such as Adobe InDesign, Illustrator or Publisher, as these often fail to open correctly and cannot therefore be used. Adobe Photoshop, Word, PowerPoint or Excel files can be opened, but they may not display correctly. Instead, it is best to submit your print files in PDF format. Alternatively, SVG, PostScript or JPG files can also be used, but please ensure that they are created correctly and do not contain any errors.