ACP

Supplying digital material

Please remember that suppliers of digital advertising are responsible for checking the quality and integrity of their files before submission to ACP Magazines.

In summary, ACP Magazines will reject digital files which contain:

• TrueType fonts
• Fonts which have not been embedded
• Elements saved in RGB or LAB colour mode instead of CMYK

and will recommend a digital file is resupplied if it contains:

• Images with an effective resolution below 150 dpi
• Remember ACP Magazines cannot take responsibility for accurate reproduction of advertisements if:
  • PDF files are created from applications other than Adobe Acrobat Distiller, or above PDF version 1.3.
  • Fonts are artificially stylised
  • Images have an effective resolution (dpi) which is less than twice the screen ruling
  • No bleed is included or the file is incorrect size
  • PDF files are compressed
  • Type size is below 8 points and reversed type below 10 points
  • When a 3DAP compliant proof made from the supplied file is not submitted, ACP Magazines cannot take responsibility for accurate colour reproduction.

If you have any questions regarding the submission of digital advertising to ACP Magazines, please contact your ACP Magazines account representative or the Production Services Department. For more detailed explanation of the main errors which occur in digital files and important points to keep in mind when preparing and submitting digital files to ACP Magazines, please read the following.

Requirements and Recommendations for Submitting Digital Advertising to ACP Magazines

ACP Magazines can only accept digital ads via Quickcut - digital files will not be accepted on disk or via email.

Quickcut -- a service provider for electronic delivery of digital files, have proven to be the most efficient method of receiving and tracking digital files at ACP Magazines. As they provide the facility to check your file for errors before it arrives, ACP Magazines recommend that you use this service so that you do not submit files which contain errors and will not print correctly. ACP Magazines do not have the resources to accept and track digital advertisements supplied by email or on disk and to repair files which have been prepared incorrectly.

For more information regarding their services please contact Quickcut:
+61 2 9467 7500 (reception) or +61 2 9467 7602 (fax)
1300 768 988 (Tech Support)
Via the Web -- www.quickcut.com

ACP Magazines can only take responsibility for accurate colour reproduction of digital advertising material if a digital file and proof is supplied in accordance with 3DAPv3 guidelines.

ACP Magazines, in conjunction with other publishers, prepress companies and printers have been working with the 3DAP committee to create new standards for digital advertising.

Most of our titles are currently set up to receive 3DAPv2 proofs, however we are currently in the process of adopting the Australian version 3DAPv3 of the international printing standard ISO 12647-2 and will incorporate the ISO 12647-7 tolerances for proofing quality control. We will be progressively migrating all titles over to 3DAPv3.

It will enable greater control and consistency in the printing process. Photoshop separation profiles are available via the www.3DAP.com.au website to suit the final printing requirements and to simplify the process of converting files to the correct colour space.

The new 3DAPv3 standard will also encompass different paper types. ACP has adopted ISO paper types 1 and 3, the majority of our titles falling into the paper type 1 category. Advertisers responsible for the management and placement of advertising should check with the relevant production controller for each title to confirm the correct paper type, profile and the issue that each title is scheduled to change over to 3DAPv3. Supplying the correct files and proofs will allow our titles to achieve consistency in material supplied from various sources, minimising colour compromises on press.

Full details of the proofing procedure and how to obtain 3DAPv3 approval are available at www.3DAP.com.au.

3DAPv3 Control Strip

In order to verify that a proof is actually a 3DAPv3 proof, each proof must have the following new 3DAP endorsed Control Strip displayed beside the advertising material. Use of the strip obligates the user to follow the QC procedures supplied by proof vendors to the user after approval of their individual device. ACP will reject a proof if the control strip is outside the specification, or if the strip does not carry all of the relevant information.

3DAPv3 Control Srip:

This wedge is only available to users of 3DAP approved proofing systems and must show:

• The proofing vendor's name /logo
• The RIP
• The proofing device used
• The proof originator's company name /logo

The control strip must be placed beside the advertising page prior to proofing as an element- ensuring that the correct simulation profile is applied to the control strip.

Material instructions - correct publication date and booking number are essential

Now that we are receiving digital files, we often do not receive material instructions and it can be difficult to track material without sufficient information. In addition to supplying material instrutions it is necessary to enter accurate details within the Quickcut software to allow us to identify your advertisement.

It is particularly important to enter the publication/run date which refers to the cover date of the title (not the on sale date) along with the unique booking reference number allocated to the advertisement.

Please also advise if you will be sending a 3DAP v2 compliant proof and what kind of proof it is (Epson or Kodak Approval etc). This information can be entered in the "Comments" field although both Quickcut are endeavouring to add a specific field for this purpose.

Digital files must be prepared to the correct size - see magazine specifications on this website. ACP Magazines require 5mm bleed on all sides of the advertisement.

For broken space ads, it may be confusing to follow the trim size. Therefore please ensure that all elements which you wish to print are kept within the type area as indicated on the website and if your ad bleeds off the page please add 5mm bleed to the trim size.

If digital files are supplied at the incorrect size, you run the risk of having a white border around the advertisement and/or having text/image being cropped - it is your responsibility to ensure that the size is correct.

Spine Allowance - what is required for double imaging

Only streamer headings or baselines of very large type can run across the gutter of a double page spread. Type or product shots should always clear the spine and should never be split.

Perfect Bound Magazines

Type must be designed to clear the spine by a minimum of 10mm each side of the spine (total 20mm) due to this space being optically lost in the spine of the magazine and therefore must be in addition to any word or letter space already present.

Any critical image cross over should be double imaged across the gutter. Double image allowance is 3mm each side of the centre which is to be included within the trim not additional to the trim size, i.e., the spread will carry a 6mm common image through the centre of the spread. ACP cannot take responsibility for any optical loss of an image in the gutter of a double page spread without the supply of a double imaged PDF file and accompanied digital proof.

Saddle Stitched Magazines

When titles bound by this method require type to clear the spine by 3mm, this space may include any word or letter space already present.

PDF Files

PDF files must only be created using Adobe Acrobat Distiller - no other applications.

Some applications such as Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and Macromedia Freehand allow you to create PDF files from directly within the program, but due to the extremely complex nature of image/plate setters and greater control with pre-flighting, it is recommended that a postscript file is first created and that file then distilled with Adobe Acrobat Distiller. We have had problems with text and other elements dropping off PDF files where they are created in other applications.

All files should be prepared for process colour (CMYK) separations - spot colours will be automatically converted to equivalent CMYK process colours at ACP Magazines.

Special arrangements need to be made when advertisements are booked with spot colours - please contact ACP Magazines Production Services if this situation arises.

Your digital file will be rejected by ACP Magazines if it contains TrueType fonts.

To print a TrueType font it must be converted to Postscript outlines which may affect the visual quality of the resulting font. TrueType fonts are not supported by our printers and therefore we will continue to check files and reject those which contain TrueType fonts. Type 1 Postscript fonts are the only acceptable fonts.

Your digital file will be rejected by ACP Magazines if fonts are not embedded.

Fonts must be embedded in the final file and should therefore be active on your system at the time of creating the PDF file.

It is recommended that you do not use artificially stylised fonts.

ACP Magazines Production Services have found that the most common problem is fonts which are artificially bolded, italicised or outlined in the PDF file or within an EPS embedded in the PDF file. This occurs for certain fonts which contain only characters in a single style (that is roman or regular, but not bold, italic or bold-italic). Some applications simulate the bold, italic and outline characters that do not actually exist. The print quality of fonts that use artificial styles is not always good.

Although we have taken the decision to no longer reject your file if it contains fonts which use artificial styles, ACP Magazines cannot guarantee printing of an acceptable standard and we strongly recommend that you do not artificially stylise your fonts.

Choose type size carefully.

ACP Magazines recommend that you do not use type size smaller than 8 points as this is difficult to read. Reverse type smaller than 12 points may not reproduce well and serif and non-bold fonts smaller than 10 points may disappear into reverse areas.

It is recommended that maximum total ink coverage should be between 280-310%.

Images and graphics must be Grayscale or CMYK. Your file will be rejected by ACP Magazines if it contains elements saved in the RGB or LAB colour mode.

Images with an effective resolution below 240 dpi are not recommended.

ACP Magazines will check files and advise clients if their file contains an image with an effective resolution below 150 dpi. However, ACP Magazines can not take responsibility for quality reproduction of an image with lower than optimum resolution which is twice the screen ruling (lines per inch) of the target publication. For example, 133 screen ruling would require a resolution of 266 dpi (dots per inch).

Sometimes when an image has been enlarged in the application, the effective resolution of the file reduces. If you are aware that you are supplying a low resolution image and wish to proceed, please advise ACP Magazines at the time of submission - this will save valuable time.

ACP Magazines currently do not support compression in PDF files.

We understand that many advertisers are keen to compress files which will reduce the cost and time of transmitting their files. Compressing files would of course also benefit ACP Magazines and we will continue to test compression to resolve current concerns regarding quality. We hope to introduce compression for advertisements for selected ACP Magazines publications in the future and this will be done in a controlled fashion, title by title. When applying compression it will be even more crucial that the client sees and approves a proof of the supplied file.

Please read the following document preparation tips for trouble-free reproduction of your ad:

• Images should be TIFF or composite EPS and should not be compressed. Other formats such as JPEG, PICT and GIF may cause either a loss of quality or errors that make the advertisement unprintable.
• When saving images in Photoshop, delete any extra channels and flatten the image. EPS files should be saved with No Halftone screen and do not include transfer function. For optimum results, do not enlarge images more than 30%.
• When placing images in the document, round off enlargement/reduction percentages.
• Images should not be rotated within the picture box although picture boxes may be rotated. Rotations should also be rounded off. Don't create complex clipping paths in Adobe Photoshop or complex paths in Adobe Illustrator. Doing so will make your job hard or sometimes impossible to image. A complex path is one that has many control points.
• Ensure picture boxes are coloured white except for deep etched images. Don't use the "none" background colour for Quark XPress picture boxes which contain TIFF images. Doing so can cause jagged edges on the picture in the final printed job.
• Coloured text with a black drop shadow should be set to "Knockout". Otherwise, the black drop shadow may overprint the coloured text.
• To avoid black overprints when not required, make a custom black and add 1% in cyan, magenta and yellow channels.
• Ensure white text/elements are set to "Knockout".