OrderPrinting.com Return to BCT Arizona's Home Page
  Login:   Acct:    Password:       Request Password
Not Logged In
Website Tutorial
Company
Overview/History
Contact Info
New Dealers
Employment
Pricing
Retail Pricing
Reference
Stock Selection
Ink Colors
Foiling & Embossing
Digital Artwork
Orderprinting.com
General Info
Try Demo
Login
Welcome BCT Phoenix Dealers
We would like to welcome you to your new website. If you have not already fill out the Request Password form to access all of bctarizona.com. Click here to learn more...
Attention Dealers
With our new site design you must login to access all the "dealer only" features of the site such as downloads, order forms, and your account information.
Converting Files to Preferred Format
Illustrator
  1. Open your file in Adobe Illustrator.
  2. Hit CTL/CMD+A to select all.
  3. Hit CTL/CMD+SHIFT+O to convert all type to outlines.
  4. Select File > Save As.
  5. Change Save as Type to: Adobe PDF
  6. Name the file and direct to the folder of choice.
  7. Select Save.
  8. Select the following options in the PDF Options Box:
GENERAL
Compatibility Acrobat 6.0
Preserve Illustrator Editing Capabilities Checked
Compression
Color & Grayscale Bitmap Images: Bicubic downsampling 300 ppi for images over 300 ppi using JPG compression on Maximum.
Monochrome Bitmap Images: Bicubic downsampling 1200 ppi for images over 1200 ppi using CCITT Group 4 compression.
Compress Text and Line Art Checked
Marks & Bleeds
Bleeds .063" all sides

Your Illustrator file has been saved as a PDF and is ready to send.

Common problems to avoid:
  • Designing in RGB mode instead of CMYK mode.
    Always design in CMYK mode. Colors defined in RGB mode will shift when converted to CMYK and your printing may not come out as expected.
  • Using a black that is not actually black.
    Your black should be defined as CMYK with the values 0/0/0/100. Anything else and your black may come out sceened. This is especially common when designing in RGB mode.
  • Placing RGB or CMYK images.
    Unless you are working on a full color design your placed TIFFs should be 1 bit, black and white TIFFs and colored the appropriate color using the BCT Swatches. Scanning a blue logo in color and placing it in Illustrator with your BCT Reflex type will cause your artwork to separate CMYK plus Reflex and that will not work.
  • Placing EPS files into Illustrator.
    This can cause problems and may make the placed EPS uneditable if it was not embedded properly. Always open the EPS in Illustrator and copy/paste it into your new Illustrator document.
  • Using inconsistent color swatches.
    Always use one color swatch for each color you need. PANTONE Reflex Blue C and PANTONE Reflex Blue U will print on separate color plates. Please be consistent with your colors. If you use the BCT Swatches it will alleviate any duplicate color problems.
InDesign
  1. Open your file in Adobe InDesign.
  2. Hit CTL/CMD+A to select all.
  3. Hit CTL/CMD+SHIFT+O to convert all type to outlines.
  4. Select File > Export.
  5. Change Save as Type to: Adobe PDF
  6. Name the file and direct to the folder of choice.
  7. Select Save.
  8. Select the following options in the PDF Options Box:
GENERAL
Compatibility Acrobat 6.0
Compression
Color & Grayscale Bitmap Images: Bicubic downsampling 300 ppi for images over 300 ppi using JPG compression on Maximum.
Monochrome Bitmap Images: Bicubic downsampling 1200 ppi for images over 1200 ppi using CCITT Group 4 compression.
Compress Text and Line Art Checked
Crop Image Data to Frames Checked
Marks & Bleeds
Bleeds .0625" all sides
Advanced
Color Leave Unchanged

Your InDesign file has been exported as a PDF and is ready to send.

Common problems to avoid:
  • Converting type to outlines.
    If you are converting at text block to outlines and the frame has an outline, converting the type deletes the text block and thus the outline on that text block. You will need to make a separate box for the outline.
PhotoShop
Creating Graphics: The TIFFs you send us should be in Bitmap mode with a minimum resolution of 600 dpi and saved in TIF format with LZW compression. If your artwork is two colors you need to supply two separate, 1-bit bitmaps; one for each color used.

If you need shades of color, screens, or tints, you should design in grayscale mode at 1200 dpi. When you have your image finalized convert your file to bitmap mode at 1200 dpi using the Halftone Screen method with a Frequency of 150 lines per inch, angle of 45 degrees, and a shape of round. If you have multiple colors that will be halftoned and overlap each other you must choose a different screen angle for each color to avoid any moire patterns: 45°, 15°, 30°, and 0°.

Scanning Graphics: Scan graphics in Black & White Line Art mode with a minimum resolution of 600 DPI and saved in .TIF format with LZW compression.
CorelDRAW 11
  1. Open your file in Corel Draw.
  2. Select File > Export.
  3. Change Save as Type to: (Encapsulated Postscript) .EPS
  4. Name the file and direct to the folder of choice.
  5. Select Export.
  6. Select the following options in the EPS Export Box:
General
Include Header Checked
Format TIFF 8 bit color
Export text as Curves
Advanced
Compatibility PostScript 3
Bounding Box Objects
Preserve document overprint settings Checked

Your Corel file has been exported as an EPS and is ready to send.

Common problems to avoid:
  • Transparency and bitmap color masks
    CorelDRAW handles transparency differently than Adobe's suite of products and it can cause problems when using complex operations like their Bitmap Color Mask. It is suggested that any drop shadows and bitmap color masks be separated and ungrouped and then converted into bitmaps. This makes things much easier for Illustrator to understand and easier for us to edit in the event we need to do so.
PageMaker 7
You can print a PostScript file. You must be printing to a PostScript printer in order to make a PostScript file. If you do not have a PostScript printer installed you may alternately print to the installed Acrobat Printer and make a PDF file.
  1. Open your file in Pagemaker and select File > Print.
  2. Under the Document button select your PostScript printer and it's corresponding PPD file.
  3. Under the Paper button, place a check next to Printer's Marks and Page Information.
  4. Click on the Options button and set Send Image Data to Normal, and Data Encoding as ASCII and place a check next to Write Postscript to File. Choose Normal for file type.
  5. Type in a file name including the .ps file extension.
  6. Click on the browse button to select the folder where the file will be saved.
  7. Click on the Color button, then click on Composite and then click Color.
  8. Finally, click on the Save button in the top right corner.
  9. Open the saved file in Adobe Acrobat and create a .pdf file.
Alternately, you may print to an Adobe PDF printer which should be installed. You may need to properly set the defaults on your Acrobat printer in order to make a high resolution PDF.
  1. Go to your Printers and Faxes.
  2. Select your Adobe PDF printer and pull down File > Properties.
  3. Select Printing Preferences.
  4. Select the Adobe PDF Settings tab.
  5. Change the Default Settings to Press Quality.
  6. Hit OK and OK.
Now back to PageMaker...
  1. Open your file in Pagemaker and select File > Print.
  2. Under the Document button choose your Adobe PDF printer and select an Acrobat PPD.
  3. Under the Paper button, place a check next to Printer's Marks and Page Information.
  4. Click on the Options button and set Send Image Data to Normal and Data encoding as ASCII.
  5. Click on the Color button, then click on Composite and then click Color.
  6. Hit the Print button.
  7. Select the folder where the file will be saved and name the file.
  8. Finally, click on the Save button.
QuarkXPress 6.5
You can save your Quark Xpress page as an EPS.
  1. Open your file in Quark and select File > Save Page as EPS.
  2. Name the file and direct to the folder of choice.
  3. If your art bleeds select the Bleed tab and apply a symmetrical bleed of .125".
  4. Hit the Save button.
  5. Now find the EPS file you just made and open it in Illustrator and follow the Illustrator guidelines for making a PDF to finish the process.
You can also print a PostScript file. You must be printing to a PostScript printer in order to make a PostScript file. If you do not have a PostScript printer installed you may alternately print to the installed Acrobat Printer and make a PDF file.
  1. Open your file in Quark and select File > Print.
  2. Choose your PostScript printer.
  3. Under the Layout tab the Registration should be Centered.
  4. Under the Setup tab the Printer Description should be Adobe PDF.
  5. Under the Options tab the Picture Output should be set to Normal and the Data set to ASCII.
  6. If your art bleeds add a .125" symmetrical bleed under the Bleed tab.
  7. Hit the Print button.
  8. Name the file and direct to the folder of choice.
  9. Finally, click on the Save button.
Alternately, you may print to an Adobe PDF printer which should be installed. You may need to properly set the defaults on your Acrobat printer in order to make a high resolution PDF.
  1. Go to your Printers and Faxes.
  2. Select your Adobe PDF printer and pull down File > Properties.
  3. Select Printing Preferences.
  4. Select the Adobe PDF Settings tab.
  5. Change the Default Settings to Press Quality.
  6. Hit OK and OK.
Now back to QuarkXpress...
  1. Open your file in Quark and select File > Print.
  2. Choose your Adobe PDF printer.
  3. Under the Layout tab the Registration should be Centered.
  4. Under the Setup tab the Printer Description should be Adobe PDF.
  5. Under the Options tab the Picture Output should be set to Normal and the Data set to ASCII.
  6. If your art bleeds add a .125" symmetrical bleed under the Bleed tab.
  7. Hit the Print button.
  8. Name the file and direct to the folder of choice.
  9. Finally, click on the Save button.
BCT Southwest BCT • 1130 West Geneva Drive • Tempe, AZ 85282 • 480-829-8890 • Fax 480-921-1231
Questions, comments, concerns or to report broken links - Contact Us