1. Preparing text documents

Documents should be sent as "text" files (also known as "ASCII" or "ASCII Text" files) if possible. This option can be selected in the "Save As..." feature on most word processors in both Macintosh and Windows systems. By saving your documents in this format, it best prepares your document for safe transmittal to us, either by diskette or e-mail (see 2. Sending documents). Saving a document in other formats increases the possibility that information will become lost or corrupted when transferred from one computer to another.

However, saving a file in "text" format will cause your document to lose all formatting codes, such as boldface, italics, centering or other justification, tab settings, and so on. These formatting codes are not recognized by graphic design programs anyway, and would be translated by the design program as random text, thus allowing errors to creep into your document. To insure that certain formatting codes are replaced in the design of your project, it is suggested that you provide us with a printed copy of your document that contains the boldface, italics, etc., and we will replace those features manually in the design stage.

If it is not possible to send a file in "text" format, please send the document either as a ClarisWorks, Apple Works, WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, or Microsoft Excel document. We can then make the appropriate adjustments in our office.

2. Sending text documents

You may send your computer files to us by either diskette or email. Both PC and Apple Macintosh formats are acceptable. If sending files by diskette, we can accept 3.5" floppy diskettes, Zip disks, and Syquest cartridges. If sending files by email, please paste the document directly into the email before sending; in other words, try to avoid "attaching" your document file to the email. This works only if you are sending a "text"-formatted file; documents such as Microsoft Word files will lose special formatting such as boldface and italicization. The reason for trying not to send "attached" files is that many email programs use different systems and conventions for sending and receiving attached files; as a result, they often do not arrive at their destinations intact. By "copying and pasting" the file into the "body" of the email message, the file bypasses the unique conventions of various email programs, virtually insuring that the file will be received safely.

3. Preparing artwork

Artwork can be scanned into the computer from originals, such as book jackets, photographs, etc. for a small per-item charge. However, if the artwork is already digitized into computer form, we can accept virtually all of the widely-used (and even the not-so-widely-used) formats:

BMP (Bitmap--Windows and OS/2)
EPS
Filmstrip (Adobe Premiere)
Gif89a
IFF (Amiga)
Illustrator (Adobe)
JPEG
MacPaint
Macromedia Freehand
PCX (Z-Soft)
PDF (Adobe Acrobat Files)
Photoshop 2.0, 3.0, 4.0
Photoshop EPS
PICT
Pixar
PixelPaint
PNG
PostScript Levels 1-2
Quicktime (Apple)
Quark
Raw
Scitex Continuous Tone (CT)
TGA (Targa)
TIFF

4. What to do if all of this seems confusing...

If you are unsure about any of the above requirements or specifications, don't worry--just give us a call, and we'll walk you through everything, step by step. Remember, these specifications are intended to make life easier for you; if you find the opposite to be true, just ignore everything written above, and let us worry about it! That's what we do for a living, so we don't mind.