Spending a few moments to prepare your files before bringing them to DPA can make all the difference. DPA takes pride in being able to work with just about any form of digital artwork however, applying a few simple principles when setting up your file will help simplify the process of preparing and, ultimately, delivering your job on time.

include a PDF file if possible

Today's print workflow systems are dependent on Acrobat PDF files, so there's a fair chance that we will convert your native document into PDF format for printing. You can speed up the prepress process by supplying a print ready PDF file with your job, since if it meets our requirements we will use the supplied PDF as art, rather than the native files.

PDF's should be made to the 'High Quality', 'Press Quality' or especially 'PDF/X-1a 2001' standard, and include bleeds and crops. Color Management options should be set to 'Color Unchanged', as this will preserve the document as you created it. We'll apply the necessary colour management options as part of the print process.

Even if your PDF is not to print standard, it will make a great visual reference for the integrity of the native files. Please be sure to check that the included PDF looks correct before sending it in - if there are any problems with your job they'll show up on the PDF.

It's also a good idea to set your Acrobat Pro or Reader (depending on which version you have - we recommend v8 for both) to always display using 'Overprint Preview' - some transparency features like InDesign drop shadows do not display correctly in Acrobat unless this is turned on.

Adobe Acrobat Distiller is the best method of creating PDF's if your design application can not do it natively. If you don't have Distiller, a free PDF converter is available from http://www.pdf995.com - it works like a physical printer, however it outputs to a PDF file instead of paper.