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KNeadow

About KNeadow

https://astroprinting.com

Posts by Kevin Neadow:

Close-up of a person turning the pages of an open magazine or catalog resting on a table.

How to Count Leaves, Pages, and Sides

Having trouble figuring out what you need to order? Leaves, pages, sides…it all sounds a little like pieces of your dining room table!

To get an idea of what each of these printing terms means, consider these examples:

A leaf is a single sheet of paper in a publication. Leaves are usually printed on both sides and bound together along the spine of the publication, making two pages per leaf.

Illustrated spread of an open booklet with a callout defining one leaf or sheet of paper.

A page is a single side of a sheet/leaf in a printed publication. A single sheet of paper is comprised of two pages. Each side contains a different page, so both sides are visible when the leaf is folded down the middle.

An example image of a page layout with a half flipped page and numbered page labels

A side is a single printed page. The sides refer to the two individual pages that make up a single sheet of paper or leaf. The left side is usually the odd-numbered page, while the right is the even-numbered page.

Diagram demonstrating the front side and back side of a sheet of paper being turned in a document.

How Do I Count Them In My Project?

It’s easy! Count the number of sides (pages) in your project and use this as the number to enter on your project order form.

Questions? We can help! Reach out to Astro Printing Service Company via phone at 613-932-9281 or Email Us to get started on your print project today.

Minimalist Canva icon featuring a white letter "C" inside a blue and purple gradient circle.

Canva Printing Prep

Guidelines for Bleeds, Rulers/Guides, Image Resolution, and Print Prep

Canva is a free-to-use online graphic design tool that makes it easy for the average user to create beautiful images, posters, brochures, and more.

When prepping your Canva files for professional printing, ensure success using these guidelines:

Bleed Marks

Print design diagram illustrating safety, trim, and bleed line margins on a modern home exterior image.
  1. Open Canva and create a new document
  2. To add the correct margin (1/4″ bleed) around your design, select File, then View Settings
  3. Select Show Print Bleed
  4. If you want your design or colors to extend to the edge of the page, stretch your background or images into the extended bleed margin
  5. To guarantee precise trimming, keep text and essential images out of the bleed margin (allowing 1/4″ of distance between margin and any featured elements)
  6. Remember, anything included in bleed margin (at the edges of the page) will be trimmed during the finishing process

Rulers/Guides

A screenshot of an inside layout of a Canva screen.

  1. Want picture-perfect layouts? Rulers and guides to do not print and offer a great way to align your con- tent. Put these tools to work in three easy steps:

    1. Select File, then View Settings
    2. Select Show Rulers and Guides
    3. Select Add Guides to customize your preferred columns and grids while precisely spacing design elements away from the bleed margin

Image Resolution

Comparison showing a low-resolution pixelated image labeled "Digital" next to a high-resolution image labeled "Print".

While low resolution images load quickly on digital screens, professional printing requires high resolu- tion images. For best quality results:

  1. Add custom artwork to Canva by clicking Upload, then Upload Files
  2. Custom photos or logos included in Canva templates should be uploaded at the highest resolution possible (recommendation: 300 dpi or higher)
  3. After design is complete, follow Prepare for Printing guidelines below

Prepare for Printing

After you’ve added finishing touches and your design is ready to send to the printer, follow these prompts:

  1. On the top right corner of your screen, click Share, then Download
  2. Under File Type, select PDF Print (so designs are downloaded at high resolution)
  3. Check the box labeled Crop Marks and Bleed
  4. If your file has multiple pages, select those you want to download (using Select Pages)
  5. Under Color Profile, select CMYK (this requires a Canva Pro subscription; 30 day free trials available!)
  6. Press Download, and Canva will generate a print-ready PDF

Still feeling uncertain? Contact us with questions before you print to save on time, money, and unnecessary stress!

An example image of line width going from a larger stroke to stacked smaller strokes above

Line Width

We strongly suggest setting your line thickness to at least .25 points (.003 inches) in width. A 1 or 2 point line is very popular and looks especially good around photographs.

The chart above highlights the most common line widths.

Example of font sizes going from large to small

Fonts and Text Point Sizes

Please make sure you are using a font size larger than 7 pt. Type that is smaller than 7 pt can be difficult to read.

Also, with type smaller than 22 pt, using 3 or fewer CMYK colors will help to avoid misregistration.

A screenshot of an open illustrator file with a view of a dropdown menu

Fonts and Transparency

If your artwork contains vector-based graphics with transparency or other special effects, you’ll need to make sure to provide us with a copy of your files with flattened images and all fonts converted to outlines. Transparent, unflattened artwork and non-outlined fonts may not print properly, resulting in costly delays and reprints. Below are instructions for flattening your artwork and converting fonts to outlines in Adobe Illustrator and InDesign.

Adobe Illustrator

Create a copy of your file and save the original in a safe place (in case you need to make changes later). Once you’ve flattened your images and converted your text to outlines, you will not be able to edit those elements again.

  1. Working from your copied file, select all the layers in your document (Ctrl-A or Cmd-A).

  2. Choose Flatten Transparency from the Object menu.

  3. Check “Convert All Text to Outlines” and “Convert All Strokes to Outlines” in the Flatten Transparency dialog box.
  4. Uncheck “Preserve Alpha Transparency” and “Preserve Overprints and Spot Colors.”

  5. Save Adobe PDF Preset as “Illustrator Default” and select Acrobat 6 (PDF 1.5) from the Compatibility drop-down menu.

Screenshot of Adobe Illustrator displaying the Save Adobe PDF dialog box over a vector logo project.

Adobe InDesign

Create a copy of your file and save the original in a safe place (in case you need to make changes later). Once you’ve flattened your images and converted your text to outlines, you will not be able to edit those elements again.

  1. Working from your copied file, select all the layers in your document (Ctrl-A or Cmd-A).

  2. Choose Create Outlines from the Type menu to convert your text to outlines.

Screenshot of Adobe InDesign showing the Type menu with "Create Outlines" selected over a promotional flyer design.

3. Select Export from the File menu to create a PDF.

4. Save Adobe PDF Preset as “Press Quality” and select Acrobat 5 (PDF 1.4) from the Compatibility drop-down menu.

Screenshot of Adobe InDesign displaying the Export Adobe PDF settings window over a seafood restaurant advertisement design.
An image example showing bleed line, cut line, and 1/4" border.

Borders With Bleeds

The actual edge of a trimmed piece can vary by as much as 1/16″ from the planned edge of the page. A “bleed” area is used to compensate for this variation.

If your printed piece calls for a border along its edge, you will need to extend that border 1/8″ beyond the outside cut line, in order to ensure that it prints properly. Otherwise, you might run into issues when the piece is cut to its finished size.

Good File

We recommend a minimum border width of ¼” inside the cut line, plus 1/8” of extra thickness beyond the cut line for a total width of 3/8”. A ¼” border with a 1/8” bleed will ensure that the print piece looks clean, sharp, and symmetrical when it is trimmed.

Bad Files

An image example showing improper bleed line, cut line, and 1/8" border.

A thinner border (1/8”) inside the cut line may look good on your proof, but once it is printed and trimmed, variations in the trimming process may cause it to lose its symmetry and appear crooked. Increasing the thickness to ¼” (plus an 1/8” bleed) will help to compensate for these slight differences.

Example of an image with bleed, cut, and safety margins

Bleeds, Cut Line, and Safety Margin

Good Files

For best printing results, keep these in mind:

  • Bleed Line: Artwork is extended to the solid, green line.
  • Cut Line: The orange line indicates the edge of the finished, printed document.
  • Safety Margin: Remember to not place text into the beyond the blue line because it could get cut off in the trimming process.

Bad Files

Example of an image with improper art cropping to bleed, cut, and safety margins

Watch out for these signs of bad files:

  • Bleed Line: The bleed does not extend to the green line.
  • Cut Line and Safety Margin: Watch for text that extends into the safety margin as it could be trimmed off during cutting.
Two Venn diagrams comparing the additive RGB color model with a white center and the subtractive CMYK color model with a black center.

Importance of CMYK Color Mode

CMYK (or process color) is the color mode used in commercial printing to create full-color graphics and images.

The process involves combining varying amounts of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K – for “key”) ink to produce the full spectrum of color.

The other color mode you’re probably familiar with is RGB color. RGB uses three colors: red (R), green (G), and blue (B) to create a full-color effect.

For best results, when designing your artwork for print, start with CMYK color mode. This will help ensure your images and background colors look great from the start. Of course, you can create your artwork in RGB, but then it will have to be converted to CMYK after the fact.

While most colors translate pretty well from one color mode to the other, subtle color shifting is common when converting from RBG to CMYK (and vice versa), requiring some manual adjustments to get things just right.

A side by side image of a ladybug in RGB and CMYK colour mode comparison

Take a look at the image above. Do you notice the slight variations from RGB to CMYK color modes?

Other examples of this include how many software programs will translate a 100% blue RGB value into a CMYK color that looks more purple than blue. Such changes will need to be accounted for if you start with an RGB color mode and then convert to CMYK later on.

If you send us files that use RGB color, we will convert your files to CMYK before printing them. In such cases, we recommend you view a printed proof before we complete your order, so you can see how the converted colors will appear in print.

For information on setting up your files to use CMYK color, visit our application-specific instruction pages.

Converting Images in Adobe Photoshop

If you’re using images from a digital camera or your phone, those photos are most likely using RGB color. Here are the steps to convert an RGB image to CMYK color using Adobe Photoshop.

1. Create a copy of your original image and open both in Photoshop. This will provide you with a point of reference to look back on once you’ve converted your image to CMYK.

2. Choose the copy you want to convert and select Image > Mode > CMYK Color from the main toolbar at the top of the screen. This will convert the image to CMYK.

Screenshot of Adobe Photoshop displaying the Image Mode menu selected over a high-resolution photo of a ladybug on a plant stem.

3. Referring back to your original image (still in RGB mode), adjust the colors as needed. In most cases, Photoshop will do a good job converting the file, but subtle adjustments may be needed.

A side by side of the same image of a woman smiling comparison of a higher and lower resolution

Image Resolution

Ever wonder why the image you pulled from your website doesn’t look good in print? It all comes down to correct image resolution.

To ensure your printed images look clear and crisp, your image resolution should be at least 300 dots per inch (DPI) at the final output size.

Take a look at the example above.

The image on the left is an example of a low-resolution photo or 72 DPI. This is how an image from your website would look printed. The image on the right is a high-solution photo or 300 DPI. This is the image resolution you want for printing.

Caution: You cannot simply convert a low-resolution photo to a higher resolution by increasing the DPI in your imaging program. The printed result will be a blurry image.

Resolution is also known as PPI or pixels per inch. It is a measurement of the number of squares (or pixels) of color information available in an inch of space. The more squares, the better the image quality. Below is an illustration of how the same image might appear at different pixel resolutions.

Three-stage graphic demonstrating the difference between low-pixel grid resolution and a sharp, high-resolution vector logo for Arrow.
Abstract graphic design featuring dynamic, flowing blue liquid waves framed by a thin square outline with the word "DESIGN".

Unlocking Design Flow Secrets: Expert Advice for Print Projects

When it comes to designing a book, booklet, or catalog, achieving the perfect “flow” is paramount.

In the words of the renowned book, “Design Basics Index,” flow is what separates successful layouts from the rest. Similar to music, a layout must possess a seamless flow to truly captivate its audience.

To help you achieve exceptional flow in your designs, here are five key considerations. 

1. Consistency is key.

In design, even the smallest details matter.

Something as simple as tapering a line or skillfully distributing elements of interest can significantly impact flow. Conversely, any disruptions in flow will grab attention for the wrong reasons.

2. The significance of the gutter.

The space between two adjoining pages, known as the gutter, plays a vital role in your design. How you utilize this space can make or break the overall impact.

Editorial page layout titled "How to Create a Relaxing Garden" featuring text alongside a full-bleed photo of a lush lawn and flower bed.

To direct attention effectively, ensure that images face the intended page. For instance, if featuring a running subject, position the photo towards the inside of the page rather than at the edge. Consider crossing the gutter with an image to maintain cohesiveness and entice readers to continue reading.

3. Direction matters.

If you’re accustomed to reading from left to right and top to bottom, you’ll naturally expect the same flow in your design.

Make it a priority to align the visual flow of your design with this expectation.

4. Cohesion is crucial.

When designing both the cover and the interior of a book, it’s essential to maintain a cohesive visual experience.

Establish connections between these two elements to demonstrate thoughtful and professional design. Consistent typography, well-defined margins or grid systems, repeated imagery, and complementary visuals all contribute to this cohesion.

Be mindful of avoiding overwhelming visual elements that hinder the eye’s movement and instead strive for a harmonious integration.

5. Building a visual bridge.

Efficiently guiding the viewer’s eyes from one design element to another is essential.

Consider creating a bridge that seamlessly connects different areas of the layout. For example, overlapping the headline into the image area can establish a vertical connection, ensuring continuity and cohesion throughout the ad.

As you wrap up your design process, ask yourself key questions, such as:

  • Where do my eyes naturally travel?
  • Does the design feel balanced?
  • How can I further enhance the visual flow?

Dedicate your efforts to address these queries efficiently within your design. For more valuable design tips and tricks, check out more articles from our Ideas Collection or contact us for a free consultation.

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