Digital Solution Centers

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Raster File Guidelines

General guidelines

Files received at an RR Donnelley Digital Solution Center (DSC) must be accompanied by a composite laser proof. If separations are not provided, mark composite lasers for color breaks and spot color usage. Mark "for position only" (FPO) graphics with "FPO."

Accepted raster file formats include TIFF/IT-P1, CT/LW, and DCS 2.0.

Offset - File dimensions must be one inch larger than final trim size, with page trim centered within 1/2 inch border. Bleed and trim marks are contained in the 1/2 inch border area. Trim coordinates must be 1/2 inch from top and 1/2 inch from left.

Gravure - TIFF/IT-P1and CT/LW. File dimensions must be cropped to "final trim size + bleed". (Bleed should be 1/8" at head, foot, and front only)(no bleed at the fold). Physical dimensions of LW and CT should be the same size.

All components of multi-part files must be furnished in the same subdirectory. File names must include page number and must not exceed 28 characters in length (see File Naming Guidelines).

RIP vignettes to the CT layer instead of the LW layer and avoid using PDF 1.4 style transparency using layered CTs. This can create many CT-to-CT edges that may cause processing failure. RIP CT-to-CT borders to CT resolution to resolve this.

When creating TIFF/IT sets, try to avoid CT content in the LW file and avoid or simplify high-resolution contone (HC) components. If you must include HC components, try to minimize the amount of data that they contain. For example, avoid photograph-like content. Text and flat tints in the HC are acceptable.

DCS 2.0 - (For offset printing only)

• DCS file resolution must be 2400 dpi.
• Compliant DCS files contain raster data only. DCS files created directly from Quark Xpress do not meet this standard.
• Single-file DCS is recommended but both single and multi-file DCS are supported.

CT/LW and TIFF/IT-P1

• LW resolution must be 2400 dpi (94.48819 dpm). CT resolution should be 300 dpi (11.81102 dpm).
• Merge separated CT/LW pages before submitting to RR Donnelley.
• Separated CT/LW files are not supported.
• Furnish all page elements, for example, CT/ICT, LW/HC/ILW, ASSG/FP/IFP. If elements are missing, the files cannot be processed.
• Copydot content should be resampled to 2400 dpi before processing into a CT/LW or TIFF/IT file. To output CT/LW without moire artifacts, you must use 2400 dpi copydot content, RIPed to 2400 dpi LW, and output to a 2400 dpi device.
• Due to the lack of spot color support in the CT/LW and TIFF/IT file format, pages with spot colors must be furnished as DCS 2.0, PostScript, or PDF files.

Physical Media

When writing files to removable media on a Macintosh computer, select the entire job folder to copy, not just the individual page components or files. Submitting only the contents of the job folder, instead of the folder itself, will result in a page that cannot be processed because the job´s assign file will be missing. The assign file is located within the folder structure but is not visible on the Mac (or Brisque). The assign file is essential for processing the CT/LW page for print.

If using CD-burning software, enable the ISO 9660 format and Macintosh file names settings, when available.

Caution: If the file names on the final CD appear in uppercase letters and truncated, the pages on the CD will not be usable.