Create Print Ready Artwork Using Adobe Creative Suite

The Adobe Creative Suite is a designer's best friend! It is the industry standard that equips you with Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat, Flash and so much more. While most of us become a fan and highly proficient with one of the several programs, you need to be comfortable with Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign to take your work from the computer screen to print production.

Image source: Teddy-O-Ted.com

 

Photoshop
Photoshop is the most popular program, in which it has become its own verb to describe the act of modifying photographs and that's exactly the purpose of the program...to work with photographs. Photographs are pixel based and therefore need special care with resolution. When utilizing Photoshop use it for all your pixel based images and scale them to size with a minimum resolution of 300dpi. Some print vendors may specify different minimum requirements based on their printing capabilities, but good industry practice is to utilize images of 300dpi. Also, be sure to convert your image to CMYK. 

Illustrator 
Whenever possible keep illustrator files saved in an .eps format. This will flatten the image for when you place it in InDesign. If you are a Photoshop expert it can be tempting to place the artwork into Photoshop as a smart object, but refrain from this unless it is vector artwork integrated with a photograph. Remember to also convert vector files to a CMYK color mode and outline your text.

 Image source: CreativePro.com

InDesign 
Once all the image elements are ready they should be placed in InDesign. Here you have the ability to do a final inspection, allowing you to view each image individually for proper resolution, color mode, etc. without the hassle of opening each file separately. Use InDesign to layout your design and add text where needed.

The benefit this program has over the other two is its ability to package everything together. What I mean by packaging is that it will create a folder that gathers all document links and fonts, making every image and font accessible to the print vendor. The last thing you want is to forget a file or have a default font replace the one you used. This makes InDesign a critical program for file management and should always be used.

Use these three programs as they were intended and print vendors will love you for it! 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned.