Double Page Spread Best Practice and Settings

[Artyboots]

Hi all,

Have a very nice client who liked his downloadable brochure so much that he has asked me to make a version he can send to the print shop.

I DONT DO PRINT. OMG. However, I used to do print, so perhaps with a lot of hand holding I can cope.

I understand print terms, I think, but don't quite get how things work in Xara, even though I have read the Xara help.

The brochure is 16 pages double sized A4 with a cover (colour photo, front and back), and internal colour for infographics. There may be other photos. The client likes photos. I haven't done print since PDFs came in (yes, that long). Are print shops pretty gung-ho, now, or will I have to do all the traditional things? IE can I just send colour pages over, or will I have to think about things like spot or tints etc?

I understand about bleeds. It looks like Xara's is 3mm?

My main question is do you guys use the double page spread setting, or do you make your own custom pages and draw in guides, for some reason. And if you do use the double page spread, can you explain the Xara help graphic to me please. The help file says the outer margin relates to the area OUTSIDE of your page, but in every help graphic I've seen of this process (and when you open the dialog box itself), the number for the outer margin appears to be smaller than the number for the page itself. Shouldn't it be larger?

What am I missing?

Also, from the olden days I am used to text's flowing in Quark Express. Should I bother in Xara - certainly any more than over the 2 page spreads? Do you find it helpful, or does it slow you down?

Recommended settings, advice, sympathy, flowers, sedatives all welcome.

All help, and quick help really really welcome. I don't have time to experiment.

So many thanks.

Ali

[mwenz]

Hello Ali,

I don't do 16-page brochures in XDP. I have done more than a few double-sided tri-folds. But longer work I use the layout application of choice. But there's no reason that as it is in your Xara application it cannot remain there.

I have played with the page spreads but more as a curiosity, Gary P uses them for books in XDP. For your project likely you don't need them as the brochure is going to need to be single pages and you probably set the original file up that way? If so, leave it that way.

The outer margin is just the pasteboard area around a page. Just leave it as is.

One issue you may face is image resolution. Unless you know they are of sufficient resolution, click on them and look at the information...at least in XDP the resolution will appear on the status bar area. I cannot recaLl whether you are using XDP or P&GD. The resolution will be in parentheses on the status bar at the bottom left. You will likely be printing digitally (instead of offset) and so ideally the images are of 244 dpi or higher.

You don't need threaded frames. It's already created without them.

What you will / may need to need to pay attention to is the output profile when creating the PDF. Ideally you would know who is going to print this and what they expect as regards PDF type/level and the output profile.

I haven't seen the brochure, and as it is for web use, you should upload it here so we all can discuss this apples to apples.

[Artyboots]

Hi Mwenz,

Thanks for this. Now I am even more puzzled.

It's a double paged brochure. Are you saying the printer will put the pages back to back, ie print on both sides?

Thanks.

Ali

PS can't post the brochure here. It's not on his site yet.

[mwenz]

Yes, the printer will do what is called Imposing. That arranges the pages in the proper print order. Single pages are what has always been required by nearly all print establishments, whether back when we all created PostScript files or later when PDFs became a thing.

There are a couple print establishments I use that desire for me to impose them, but that's only because these people are quite old and have never really modernized their workflows and need to go direct to film without using prepress software.

If you wanted, you could upload the brochure and PM me a download link. Or not. Your choice. I destroy all copies once no longer needed for communication. It does help in giving actual advice.

[Artyboots]

It's the best!

http://www.toptenreviews.com/softwar...hing-software/

[Big Frank]

yes but that doesn't mean its text-handling features couldn't do with a massive shake-up
quarkxpress had stuff 15 years ago that xara still doesn't have
mind you i'm still on xdpx11 so maybe with the all-singing new 365 version we finally have a decent dtp program

[digitalphaser]

It's the best!

http://www.toptenreviews.com/softwar...hing-software/

Sites like this are monetized on marketing of products. This is a kind of virtual reality. Thank God that InDesign took second place and not at the end of the list. ))