Creating Camera-Ready Art!

“Camera-ready” is defined as artwork that is ready to go directly to the camera department where it will be made
into a plate that can be used for printing. The term implies that no other preparation is necessary.

Paper Size
Standard paper sizes are letter (8-1/2"x11"), legal (8-1/2"x14"), and tabloid or ledger (11"x17"). These standard paper sizes provide the best value since there is no waste. Example: If you need a 7"x9" sheet, it will be printed on an 8-1/2"x11" sheet and trim it down to the proper size, this process would incur a cutting charge and waste paper.
• Use standard paper sizes for the best value.

Back to Top

Quantity
Depending of the quantity it may be economical to print your job 2-up, 3-up, 4-up or more. Example: If you need 5000 5-1/2"x8-1/2" sheets we would be printed 2-up on 2500 sheets of 8-1/2"x11" paper. The camera ready art would be 2-up on 8-1/2"x11".
• Consider paper size and quantity to determine how your job will be run and setup your artwork accordingly.

Back to Top

Margins
The printing press, unlike a copier, has a gripper bar that grips the edge of the paper and allows the rollers to feed it through the press. Nothing can be printed on this gripper edge and it needs to be at least 5/16" deep along the entire edge of the sheet. Typically a sheet is gripped on the top of the shortest edge. Example: The 8-1/2" edge of an 8-1/2"x11". The margins on the sides and bottom of the sheet may be smaller than 3/8", but ink cannot run off (bleed off) the edge of the paper unless you run the job on an oversized sheet of paper and then trim it down. This will add to the cost of your job.
• Remember to leave 3/8" non-printable, gripper margin on your artwork or your job will be run on oversized paper and trimmed to size.

Back to Top

Ink Color
When using more than one ink color you will need to provide separate artwork for each ink color with registration marks for aligning the colors.

Example: One sheet with the artwork that will be blue, and one sheet with the artwork that will be red. Also provide a composite showing how the different colors should fit together.
• Provide color separations with registration marks and a composite.

Back to Top

Artwork Color
Black images on bright white paper are best for camera ready art. Light colored images on colored paper will not reproduce well. Artwork from dot matrix and many inkjet printers do not provide a dark enough image to be reproduced well. Test your artwork on a copier. This will not be a true test of reproduction quality but will give you a general idea.
• Provide good, clean black and white artwork.

Back to Top

Screens
When placing a screen over type make sure that it is not so dark that it blocks out the type underneath. Usually 5-20% is plenty. Use a course screen setting of 70-85 lpi (lines per inch). Using a finer screen (over 85 lpi) with result in an undesirable mottling effect where the dots are so close together they begin to fill in and run together. Test your screen on a copier.
• Use screens sparingly, lightly (5-20%), and print at 70-85 lpi.

Back to Top

Photos
Preparing photographs for camera ready art is difficult and requires training and experience to be done well. The suggestions listed above for screens also apply to photos. Most scanners are able to record levels of grays in your original photograph that range from 0% black (white) to 100% black. Unfortunately most printing presses are unable to reproduce this wide range of levels. Your task is to compensate for the presses weaknesses. For newsprint your scanned image should have 10% black in the highlight areas and 85% black in the shadow areas. For uncoated paper your image should have 5% black in the highlights and 95% black in the shadows. It is best to use a course (70-85 lpi) screen when printing on uncoated paper and a finer (120-150 lpi) screen for higher-end work, as in magazines.
• Use a coarse screen and provide the correct amount of black in the highlight and shadow areas.

Back to Top

Books
Book pages should be assembled in printer's spreads. Example: For a 16-page book, page 1 should be on the same artwork as page 16. Page 2 and 15 should be together, and so on. Odd numbered pages should always be on the right-hand side. The easiest way to determine the correct placement of printer's spreads is to make a "dummy book." For a 16-page book, take 4 sheets of paper, fold them in half, and number them from 1 to 16 as a book is numbered.
• Artwork should be layed out in printer's spreads and a dummy book should be provided.

Back to Top

Cutting and Pasting
Cutting and pasting is acceptable when done properly. Art should be clean to eliminate “cut lines” or edges of paper. Rubber cement or wax adhesives usually work best.
• Never tape over artwork.

Back to Top

Electronic Artwork
Electronic artwork can be accepted when provided in the appropriate format. Consult the professionals at Modlin Printing for complete details or click here.
• Electronic artwork can be accepted in the appropriate format.

Back to Top

Summary
With the popularity of desktop publishing and word processing software we realize that many do-it-yourselfers like to create their own artwork. The information presented here is intended to serve only as a general guideline and should not be considered complete. While preparing artwork for a simple flyer or newsletter may save you money, we recommend that you seek the services and/or advise of a professional graphic designer for more complex jobs.
• Consult a profesional graphic designer for more complex jobs.

Back to Top

A Quick Recap!
• Use standard paper sizes for the best value.
• Consider paper size and quantity to determine how your job will be run and setup your artwork accordingly.
• Remember to leave 3/8" non-printable, gripper margin on your artwork or your job will be run on oversized paper and trimmed to size.
• Provide color separations with registration marks and a composite.
• Provide good, clean black and white artwork.
• Use screens sparingly, lightly (5-20%), and print at 70-85 lpi.
• Use a course screen and provide the correct amount of black in the highlight and shadow areas.
• Artwork should be layed out in printer’s spreads and a dummy book should be provided.
• Never tape over artwork.
• Electronic artwork can be accepted in the appropriate format.

Back to Top

Click here for a printer friendly version of this information.