Advice needed for generating magazine adverts...

Hi

We need to produce the artwork some high quality (roughly) A4 sized adverts for a newspaper magazine using Xara.

BUT:
- Will Xara (Designer Pro X9) be sufficient for generating the art work?
- What format do newspapers & magazines normally require - .PDFs or .XARA or High resolution JPEG or what?
- Do you have any other advice, hints or tips?

Background
Previously we have only used Xara for website graphics and our adverts have been created by an external agency using Indesign running on Apple.
We now wish to take the designs in house.

With thanks

J

I've created ads in Xara for use in printed full color magazines and newspaper. So, yes, Xara certainly can generate sufficiently quality artwork. Ask the newspaper what format they prefer. Most often they ask for a high resolution JPG file (300 ppi). I barely use Xara for web, 95% of my work is intended for print.

Ask the magazine what format they need. It may be hi res jpeg or pdf. For print work you will need to keep any bitmaps (imported or generated) to a minimum of 300dpi. But yes Xara is excellent for creating advertising. I use it all the time for creating the advertisements for our publication.

If you're going to use bitmaps then I would go with a TIFF file vs. a JPEG. The quality of a TIFF is better.

But PDF/X is the way to go.

I have used Designer Pro to create full color magazine ads with no problems at all except the publications frequently demand Mac generated QuarkXPress files. I send them PDF/X files and no one has complained yet.

PDF/X but spend time checking its various settings yourself before firing it off to your printer.

Acorn

Beware of effects like shadows or FX/Live effects. Keep in mind that high quality print needs at least 180lpi (as a rule of thumb you'll be on the safe side rendering on 300dpi) So, when starting an artwork set your options for the effects&plugins (ctrl+shft+o, tab effects&plugins)

Actually 300dpi = 150 LPI.

The subject title concerns Magazine adverts. The first sentence mentions "newspaper magazine."

Which is it? Newspaper or Magazine? Meaning, what type of paper is this being printed upon? The answer makes a difference.

Most all newspapers and magazines have sections of their web sites that inform one about the criteria they expect. This includes output profiles for PDFs, color space for images (most likely), file formats accepted, etc. But what they may not include as regards images is information concerning dot gain in the case of newspapers--but it is high. Using too rich of color (not using an output intent) or not adjusting for dot gain in grayscale images, not adjusting tonal curves in color images, can and likely will result in a muddy result.

Regardless, the art itself doesn't necessarily change depending upon the answer(s) with an exception being dot gain. But the output intent does. At least as regards outputting to PDF should you desire a modicum of control over the color. And keep in mind that Xara products do not do grayscale should you need a B/W version of an ad, which is only important should you need to use a grayscale image in an ad.

There are several reasons I caution using Xara products, especially when desired output is an image, if one wants to be remotely color accurate in certain circumstances (like 100% black over a background of color).

Personally, I'll use QXP, ID or PP and output from those applications if the output has to be an image. And it will eventually hit Acrobat if I need grayscale with a certain dot gain.

For an explanation on LPI and DPI/PPI have a look at http://designertoday.com/Articles/13....Per.Inch.aspx

Oh, and Gary: you're right but it's not as straightforward as it seems ...

Look and study Mike's post #8 and please please give the ad. dept. a ring they will give you more info on the process. There're are only 2 programmes that I would trust to give me the correct output for this job Quark, which I haven't used and InDesign which I have and I worked on a Scottish national newspaper for more than 2 years doing crappy ads that you see towards the back of these once a week mags. They also have employees whose jobs are to work on colour to produce a more consistent look and know far more than I did about the job to maintain the house quality. Give the newspaper a ring and find out more.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mwenz

The subject title concerns Magazine adverts. The first sentence mentions "newspaper magazine."

Which is it? Newspaper or Magazine? Meaning, what type of paper is this being printed upon? The answer makes a difference.

<snip>

Personally, I'll use QXP, ID or PP and output from those applications if the output has to be an image. And it will eventually hit Acrobat if I need grayscale with a certain dot gain.

---

It will be both in a newpaper AND in a magazine (that falls out of a newspaper).

QXP = QuarkXpress?
ID = InDesign ?
PP = Portrait Professional ?

I have no idea how to "adjust tonal curves" or do "dot gain" or anything of that nature.


FWIW, the newspaper will include the Financial Times (in the UK) and I have just discovered this page:
http://www.fttoolkit.co.uk/2014rates...ec_ft_mag.html

Which says:
>>>
File Requirements: Acrobat distiller PDF-full specification can be found at www.pass4press.com.
Proof: Digital cromalin or other industry standard proof should be supplied originating
from PDF supplied.
Live matter area: Type matter or other illustrative material on a bleed page, but not intended to
bleed, must be positioned at least 5mm within specified trim size.
Ink density: Combined colour ink density should not exceed 300%
Printer marks: PDF supplied must include trim marks set to trim size of publication. Crop marks
should be positioned outside the bleed and printed area.
Printing process: Heatset Web-offset.
N.B. Trapping, Overprint & Knockout - The FT will not alter the overprint and knockout settings on your
document, beyond removing any white overprint. If inappropriate overprint is used in a document (eg a lighter
colour set to overprint a darker colour), The FT will not be held responsible for incorrect printed results.
The creator should apply any trapping requirements if necessary, but must be aware of the various application
software limitations. The printer will not apply trapping.
>>>

This sounds intimidating!

And when I click on www.pass4press.com in the PDF I am taken to
http://www.ppa.co.uk/resources/guide...on/pass4press/

Which talks about InDesign, Illustrator, Quark Xpress but makes no mention of Xara !

Pass4press v10 Complete Brochure
Pass4press v10 Workflow overview
Pass4Press v10 InDesign CS4
Pass4Press v10 InDesign CS5
Pass4Press v10 Illustrator CS4
Pass4Press v10 Illustrator CS5
Pass4Press v10 flattener
Pass4press v10 Quark Xpress 8 Export

Perhaps we can just print to PDF using say Adobe Illustrator CS5 settings and hope for the best ??

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by shiphen

It will be both in a newpaper AND in a magazine (that falls out of a newspaper).

QXP = QuarkXpress?
ID = InDesign ?
PP = Portrait Professional ?

Perhaps we can just print to PDF using say Adobe Illustrator CS5 settings and hope for the best ??

---

Yes on the others, PP = PhotoLine. That is my most used bitmap editor.

For the newspaper, this is the proper link, I believe:
http://www.fttoolkit.co.uk/2014rates...pec_print.html

Do pay attention to their details for the newspaper. They are likely way out of date on them. Welcome to the world of print design.

The insert (the fallout bit) will be printed on better paper. The PDF for the FT times is:
http://www.fttoolkit.co.uk/2014rates...specs_2013.pdf

Most of their requirements Xara is simply going to comply with by default, so no worries there when going to PDF. Xara has no control on trapping. It's crappy they don't do in-rip trapping. They ought to. Depending upon your design, it may not matter.

In short, the requirements are different for the two output intents. You may get better/more information emailing the person indicated in the PDF. I would inquire whether that have a profile for PDFs, for both the news rag and the magazine. I have done several ads for a company in England that specify a profile for all their newspaper outlets (specifically, ISOnewspaper26v4).

If you are going to be preparing print work regularly, I recommend you picking up Adobe Acrobat. I cannot imagine doing print work without it. It has a small learning curve as regards what you would be using it for--like checking TAC (Total Area Coverage), overprint preview, ensuring anything set to overprint really is, etc.

Be ready to ask questions as you go. It isn't rocket science but lessons are best learned when doing either a dry-run design or the real thing. But early enough that you don't have to redesign. There are a few people here that likely would be happy to check your PDF.

Mike