In this article, I will discuss about the preparations in a final artwork. What is the final artwork? Those who do not know, the final artwork (FA) is a term for the final design files ready to print. There are several important points that must be considered in preparing the final artwork. These points are very important to avoid mistakes at the time of printing that may impact on the poor production results.
Bleed
When any image or element on a page touches the edge of the page, extending beyond the trim edge, leaving no margin it is said to bleed. It may bleed or extend off one or more sides. Photos, rules, clip art, and decorative text elements can bleed off the page. Elements that bleed off the page can sometimes add to the cost of printing if the printer must use a larger size of paper to accommodate the bleed allowance. To reduce costs, if possible redesign to eliminate the bleed or reduce the page size enough to fit the work on a smaller sheet of paper.
A bleed is usually an intentional design element; however, sometimes an untentional bleed can occur when the page is trimmed too much.
Implementation of this function is used to apply to brochures, business cards, books, magazines, posters, etc..
Convert Font
Fonts for the final artwork must be converted first into the shape of the curve. This is to avoid missing fonts or fonts that are not recognizable. Moreover, for fonts that are not installed by default on most common OS like Windows and Mac.
Resolution
Adjust resolution printing needs. A good standard resolution is 300 dpi. But make an exception for large prints such as billboards. For this type of outdoor print like this, good resolution is 72-150 dpi.
Color Mode
Make sure the color mode on the artwork has been converted to CMYK and not RGB. Because, the process of printing and printing can only handle CMYK mode, and usually, the printing press / print will automatically convert RGB to CMYK color mode. This certainly will affect the quality of color in design. So, make sure the color in accordance with the desired design in CMYK color mode.
Crop Mark
Crop Mark is a secant that serves as a guide when cutting. Crop Mark used to limit what parts are to be cut, folded, and so on. Some graphical applications have been provided to make the Crop Mark function automatically.
Artwork Size
Make sure the file size of your print design is the actual size (Actual Pixels). Of course we do not want the picture to pixelate as artwork file sizes smaller than actual size.
Image link
Some graphics applications such as Adobe Illustrator by default display the picture (image) with a link to a folder on your computer. This is to save the capacity of artwork files that we're working on. If the file is transferred to another computer, then the picture should appear on the design could not be found. The principle is the same as the font, we can use the embed function to insert the image in full on the file.
