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Last week at the annual CreativePro Week conference, James Wamser, Walsworth’s Adobe Certified Instructor, presented a session titled “Getting it Right, Right From the Start.” This session focused on helping creative professionals avoid common pitfalls during the document setup phase, ensuring a smooth and efficient printing process.

About CreativePro Week

CreativePro Week was hosted from July 8-12 in Washington D.C. this year. The conference is planned for and hosted by creative professionals who design, create or edit in Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat or Microsoft PowerPoint. This year featured 30+ expert speakers and over 75 informative sessions.

About James Wamser

James Wamser is an Adobe Certified Expert and Instructor. Wamser serves as a Customer Education Specialist at Walsworth’s Ripon, Wisconsin, facility. Since 2004, he has also taught InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop at Milwaukee Area Technical College and chairs the Milwaukee InDesign User Group. Wamser is widely recognized for his expertise and regularly presents at seminars and workshops, sharing his knowledge and insights.

Getting It Right, Right From the Start

James presented his session over best practices for setting up your print design files at 9:15 A.M. Wednesday, July 10. Here are some of the key takeaways from James’ presentation:

  • Utilize Quick Start Guides: Walsworth offers a variety of downloadable guides covering essential topics like exporting PDFs, creating perfect bound covers and setting drill hole allowances. These guides can be found at com/quick-start.
  • Setting Up Your Document: Always build your document to the final trim size. If you’re updating an existing document, double-check the trim size, margins and bleed settings. James recommends using a minimum margin of ⅛ inch and setting the bleed to ⅛ inch as well. If your project involves drilling, be sure to factor in enough margin space. Additionally, only use CMYK colors unless your project specifically requires Pantone inks.
  • The Power of Templates: Templates can be a huge time-saver and can help you achieve a flawless layout from the get-go. While some templates can be found online, it’s preferable to obtain them from your commercial printer. These templates will have the correct specifications tailored to your specific project. Templates are especially helpful for letterfold prints (where all three sides shouldn’t be identical) and perfect bound covers (which require reserving space for the spine).
  • Optimizing PDF Exports: Always consult your commercial printing partner for recommended PDF export settings. These settings ensure your design files function properly within their printing system and typically encompass factors like margins, bleed and marks, color conversion and more.
  • Double-Checking with Acrobat Pro: If you’re using Adobe Acrobat Pro, you can use the preflighting features to verify your document’s setup. Key areas to check include trim size (set page boxes), bleeds and margins, image resolution, font embedding and ink usage (using the output preview function).
  • New Feature Guides: James has compiled extensive New Feature Guides for Adobe InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop.

James’ session also included live demonstrations of these InDesign best practices, as well as a short Q&A session. If you weren’t able to attend, you can watch the recorded session on the CreativePro Week website.

About Walsworth

Walsworth is a commercial printing company that specializes in books, magazines and catalogs. With a team of experts just like James on our side, we’re dedicated to providing publishers and creative minds with the tools they need to produce high-quality, beautifully designed printed products. For more information about what Walsworth can do for you, get in touch with us today.

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