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We are one of the few--printers who will accept Microsoft files.
Most printers will not because of the amount of work they must do
to prepare the files for printing to film or plates.
The Short of it is: Yes we will accept files that have been
prepared in Microsoft applications. We cannot print directly from
these files ( See below ) . There will be
a service charge for converting these files to a format that can
be used and it is done on a job by job basis. Depending on what
amount of work that needs to be done on the files.
Second Detailed Long explanation is:
Microsoft applications such as Word and Publisher do not produce
PostScript code. They produce ".prn" ("print") files.
The offset printing industry is based on a PostScript workflow,
so any printer that will accept a MS Word or MS Publisher powerpoint
file must either redraw the artwork into a program like Freehand
that produces PostScript code or import the file into Acrobat for
distilling into PDF format. This PDF document will then include
the font and graphic information in what is essentially a subset
of PostScript code. If you are serious about doing you own design
, you can avoid the extra charges and opportunity for error in the
conversion process --by starting with a Freehand or Photoshop document.
In addition, Microsoft Programs deal within a gray-scale and
RGB color gamut exclusively. Even though the PostScript
RIP that drives the platesetter or imagesetter can translate the
colour from RGB to CMYK (RGB is only used for documents created
with light, EG a Computer screen, not for offset printing),
Microsoft applications do not process spot colors.
To process spot colors, you would not only need to distill the document
in Acrobat, you would also need to use a plug-in program like PitStop
to edit the PDF and apply spot colors to places in the file. Again,
you could avoid this entirely by starting with a Freehand or Photoshop
Another drawback of MS Word and MS Publisher files is that they
may not support the level of resolution your images need for quality
printing. At 100 percent size, a 150-line halftone would need a
resolution of approximately 266 to 300 dpi for high-quality
reproduction on press.
So, yes, we are among the small minority of printers who will accept
Microsoft files, but we will need to do substantial work on the
files to make them usable for high-quality offset printing. Therefore,
consider starting with the applications specifically created for
print publications work. We will love you for it.
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