SOFTWARE

DISCRIPTION

Adobe Illustrator® (.ai)

Macromedia Freehand® (.fh__*)
*version number

Corel Draw ® (.cdr)

Vector Drawing Programs

These programs are vector-based drawing applications used for creating "Line Art". Such as logos, icons, and text that are resolution independent and can be printed at any resolution the output device is capable of, maintaining crisp clean lines to film, plates, and press, making them the ideal choice for your labeling projects. Give us the artwork in its native file format along with any placed images (even if embedded). Adobe Illustrator for Mac is preferred.

Quark Xpress® (.qxd)

Adobe PageMaker® (p__*)
*version number

Adobe Indesign® (.ind)

Desktop Publishing Programs

This software is generally used to format large amounts of text in brochures, books, etc. where the graphic images are created in another program and placed into windows of the document layout. They are not well suited for jobs that require tight "print to cut" tolerances such as front panel overlays. Submit the native file format along with all placed images and fonts used to help ensure that the label can be easily incorporated into our Illustrator work flow.

Adobe Photoshop® (.psd)

Corel Photo Paint® 12 (.cpt)

Raster Image Editing

Scanning or creating and editing "Photograph type" images that cannot be drawn with vector drawing programs are done with this type of software and will usually be printed as a halftone, duotone, or 4-color process. These types of images are resolution dependent and can appear jagged and lose detail if enlarged or printed at a higher resolution. Scan or create this image type at 300 dpi or higher and provide the native file format at 1 to 1 size or larger.

Vector Works® (.mcd)

Auto Cad Lt.® (.dwg, .dxf)

CAD Drawing

This software is used for creating technical drawings, blueprints, and die drawings in an engineering environment. Although vector based, they are not native postscript files and importing them for artwork can yield poor results. Also, AutoCAD fonts (.shx) are not usable in graphics programs. .dxf, .dwg files are preferred. Use TrueType fonts if possible.

Barcode Pro® (.eps)

Bartender® (.btw)
Will be used with the Thermal
Printing Process.

Barcode Applications

Barcodes can be created several different ways. Barcode Pro saves files as .eps files that work well for importing into your artwork. If a barcode font is used, you will need to provide the font or convert the font to curves in order to be sure that your barcode reader scans it properly.

Microsoft Word® (.doc)

Microsoft Excel® (.xls)

Apple Works®

Microsoft Power Point® (.ppt)

Word Processing

Documents of this type are used for distributing to a wide variety of users because the software is commonly used. Word documents can be a reference to layouts, color breaks, and the general appearance of the label. however they are not considered as artwork files.

NON-NATIVE FILE FORMATS

Encapsulated Postscript (.eps)

Postscript (.ps)

These formats can be saved or exported from a variety of programs and their usability depends on the application used to create the file. When supplying these file formats please indicate the software used to create the artwork.

Portable Document Format (.pdf)

This is a versatile format that can be distributed and viewed predictably by many users with Acrobat Reader. Its usability for artwork not only depends on the application used to create the file, but also on how the PDF was generated. It is suggested Acrobat Distiller be used to create a PDF file in order to maintain all the postscript qualities of the original. Please indicate the software used to create the original file when sending files in PDF format.

(.gif, & .jpg)

These are rasterized image formats generally used for online presentation such as the web. These files take advantage of built-in file compression that keeps file size small. Because of this there may be unexpected results when printing, therefore not preferred.

(.tif, & .bmp)

These are rasterized image formats that can be used for photographic type images. If you cannot supply us with a native Photoshop, or Corel Paint file, save as .tif, .bmp. (Note that the file should be created at 300 dpi or higher.)