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What is the
best way to send a file?
How do I create
a pdf file?
What applications
do you support?
How do I email my
file to you?
What do I need to
include when I send my files?
Can I use pictures
from the internet?
What is the best way
to scan logos and photographs?
What is the best
way to send files?
The preferred way to send files is by creating a pdf or eps
file.
How do I create a pdf or eps
file?
For instructions on creating pdf files from your application,
refer to the list below
| Quark
Xpress |
After completing a document in Quark
XPress, save the file as an EPS graphic (ctl+opt+shift+S).
Open the eps file in llustrator. Choose Select All from
the Edit menu. Make sure that every part of the document
(graphics and type) is selected. Now go to the Type
menu and select Create Outlines. This should convert
everything in the document to outlines so that all text
is treated as a graphic rather than type To save the
file as a pdf or eps, go to the File menu and click
on Save As and select either eps or pdf as the file
type.
|
| Adobe Pagemaker |
After finishing a document in PageMaker, print it
to a postscript file. This allows the file to be imported
into other applications as if it were a graphic.
To do this, make sure there is a properly installed
postscript printer driver and that it can be accessed
through PageMaker. In the paper options be sure to turn
on crop marks and page information. Under the printing
options button, send the image data as normal with
data encoding in ASCII format.
It is recommended that the page be sized accordingly
and that crop marks are used to maintain proper margins.
To save the resulting postscript file s a pdf , open
the eps file in llustrator. Choose Select All from the
Edit menu. Make sure that every part of the document
(graphics and type) is selected. Now go to the Type
menu and select Create Outlines. This should convert
everything in the document to outlines so that all text
is treated as a graphic rather than type. To save the
file as a pdf or eps, go to the File menu and click
on Save As and select either eps or pdf as the file
type.
|
| Adobe Indesign |
After completing your document in InDesign, select
all copy by choosing Select All (Ctrl-A) from the Edit
menu. Then, choose Create Outlines (Ctrl Shift O) from
the Type menu. Now you are ready to export the file
as an EPS graphic. To do this, select Export from the
File menu and select EPS in the formats section of the
Export dialog box.
|
| Corel Draw |
Go to the File menu and choose Export. A "save"
screen will appear, and the "file type" to
be saved should be "Encapsulated PostScript."
Give the file a name and click on Export. Another window
will pop up with more options. On the "Export text
as" option, choose Curves. No other check boxes
in this window should be selected except "Convert
color bitmaps to grayscale." Note: All color bitmaps
will be converted to grayscale. Make sure you have color
separated artwork correctly and have created separate
bitmap images for each color. Now click on OK.
|
| Adobe Illustrator |
When a document is finished, go to the top of the screen
and choose Select All from the Edit menu. Make sure that
every part of the document (graphics and type) is selected.
Now go to the Type menu and select Create Outlines. This
should convert everything in the document to outlines
so that all text is treated as a graphic rather than type.
To save the file as a pdf or eps, go to the File menu
and click on Save As and select either eps or pdf as the
file type.
|
| Adobe Photoshop |
If all the artwork in the document is composed of
bitmaps or grayscale images, the file can be saved in
an eps format. Be sure to flatten layers before saving
and that resolution is 1200 dpi at actual size. If there
is no other artwork but bitmaps or grayscale images,
go to the File menu and choose Save As. In the "Save"
window that comes up, find the option box beside "Save
as." Choose "Photoshop EPS." If EPS is
not an option, then the artwork is not bitmap or grayscale—RGB,
for example—and cannot be saved in EPS format.
If that is the case, color separate the file and send
two files, one for each color, in grayscale or bitmap,
in eps format.
|
| Macromedia Freehand |
The first step is to convert all text
into artwork. To do this, first select all copy and then
go to the Text menu at the top of the screen. Under Text,
click on Convert to Paths. To save as EPS, select Save
As in the File menu. In the window that comes up, find
the option box beside "Save as type." Choose
"Encapsulated Postscript (*.eps)." Now give
the file a name in the "file name" box and click
on Save. |
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What applications do you
support?
If you prefer to send native files, we support Adobe Pagemaker,
Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, and Macromedia
Freehand.
Please note we DO NOT support Corel Draw, Microsoft Word,
Microsoft Publisher, or Paint Shop Pro.
How do I email my file to you?
You can mail your files to:
mail@flash-cards.com
Emailed files will not be processed until a faxed order form
and composite has been received to assure our output matches
yours. Please fax all order forms and composites on email
orders to 331-9119 or (800) 245-5135.
[Download
order form here]
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What do I need to include when
I send my files?
 |
Layout Files/Page Assembly Files. |
These are your QuarkXpress
and Adobe Pagemaker, InDesign, etc. documents. |
|
Screen Fonts & Printer Fonts |
There are a lot of different
versions of the same fonts, so always include your fonts.
Macintosh users, please include both screen and printer
fonts |
|
Illustrations and Vector Graphics |
While it may seem they have been placed in your layouts,
they exist as separate documents that need to be sent
as well. Even if you choose to save your graphic files
within Pagemaker, please send them along since we can't
alter embedded graphics. If your Illustration program
supports it, please convert all your fonts into outlines
or curves. This could help to reduce the number of files
you need to send us. |
Important! Please do not send files that are not needed
for the specific production of your current job. Send only
the files used in the job you want to produce.
In addition to these files, please take time to
give us supporting documentation including: Laser
Proofs printed at 100%.
Laser output makes it easy to ensure your line breaks
have been maintained, all fonts have rendered correctly, and
all placed graphics have printed. While you're at it, mark
up your laser proofs for special instructions just like you
would with a tissue overlay on a mechanical artboard. Marked
up lasers help us understand what you intended, and give us
a tool to compare our work against.
Flashcards Order Form.
In order for us to properly produce your job, please complete
all information needed on the appropriate order form. Use
the Layout Instructions/Special Instructions area on the order
forms for any added information. We must have special instructions
written on your order form.This may sound like a lot to do
with every job, but we'd like to encourage you to follow these
industry standard guidelines in order to eliminate costly
surprises. Of course, when using the My Order Desk website,
the electronic order form is ready to be filled in and checked
off right on your screen.
Avoid compressing your files if you
can. Flashcards prefers to receive your files in
an uncompressed state, since it makes the files quicker to
package for you, and quicker to output for us. Decompression
adds anywhere from 3 to 30 minutes or more to the time it
takes to complete your job; we'd rather keep our prices low
by saving time wherever we can.
Use LZW compression for your TIFF
files. Since TIFF scans can take up so much space,
we understand why you might want to compress them to fit on
your disks. The most efficient way: LZW compression. If you
generate or edit TIFF files in Photoshop, feel free to use
the LZW compression option when saving the files. It may save
up to 50% of the image file size. It also decompresses as
it prints from programs such as Quark Xpress, so there's no
need to spend valuable time compressing files on your side,
or decompressing them on ours. We'd much rather receive an
LZW-compressed TIFF than the same image compressed using a
utility.
No need to compress when using our
My Order Desk website. My Order Desk will compress
your files as you send them. If you are sending your files
by disk, and you need to compress, make your archives self-extracting.
If you rely on a compression utility such as StuffIt or Zip,
make sure you choose the self-extracting archive option when
compressing your files. While we have these tools available,
sometimes the software version used to create the archive
can be incompatible with the version we have to decompress
it. The self-extracting option takes care of this potential
problem.
Create Clean Documents.
The cleaner and simpler you make your files, the faster and
more successful your job will be produced. Just because you
can see something on your screen doesn't mean it will output
successfully. And just because you can't see something on
your screen doesn't mean it won't print. If your file refuses
to print on a laser printer, odds are good it won't print
on our imagesetter. Don't scale down graphics by large amounts.
Scan or resize to the approximate size they will be used.
Rotate images and graphics before placing in your page layout
program.
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Can I use pictures from the internet?
Graphics taken from the web or optimized for the web are
generally too low of a resolution to reproduce well when printed.
Redrawing or cleaning up the artwork will result in an art
charge. If the artwork is more than one color, it also will
need to be color separated, incurring an additional charge.
What is the best way to scan logos
and photographs?
Line Art
Line Art may include black and white text, logos, or clip-art
images. To ensure image quality, it is important that line
art be scanned at a higher resolution than what is required
for photographs. We recommend that line art be scanned at
a minimum of 600 dpi at actual finish size, but better results
can be achieved by scanning at 1200 dpi.
Photographs
Photographs should be scanned as grayscale images, and they
need to be scanned separately from line art. We recommend
that photographs be scanned at a minimum of 300 dpi and saved
as grayscale.
If an image needs to be enlarged, it should not be scanned
at its original size and then enlarged. When this is done,
resolution and image quality are poor. Scan the image at 100%
or more of the intended enlarged size. For example, if the
image is an inch wide and it needs to be three inches, scan
at 300%. It's always better to scan too large than to scan
too small. We can reduce an image with no loss in quality,
but quality will be lost when enlarging a lower-resolution
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