Preferred File Formats
PDF, Quark Xpress or Indesign are the preferred choices for fast turnaround work. Freehand and Illustrator files are also acceptable if saved in EPS format..
Maximum Print Areas
For the Xeikon: Imaging width 465mm to 8m (restrictions come from front end programmes). Build bleeds into a documents by extending the image at 3mm onto the pasteboard.
For Giclée/Fine Art Printing/Large Format: 1100mm wide and limited to the length of the roll long.
Document Construction
Jobs should be constructed to be printed at 100% of constructed size.
The Xeikon 500D will allow document resizing on the press, however this will delay job output and incur a charge for Ocean to action.
Multi Page Documents
Should be constructed as single pages in reader’s spreads to allow the Xeikon to automatically impose the job. Crossovers are permitted and blank pages should be inserted to make up complete signatures. Page 1 of document to be the full cover of the job (front and back cover) would ensure speed of turnaround.
Fonts
Type 1, 2 or 3 standard postscript fonts, True type and Open type all work best with most applications on the Xeikon. Fine type and multiple mailer fonts are something compatible; however multiple master fonts used in PC documents should have equivalents on the Macintosh. Actual typefaces should always be utilised rather than “styles”.
Colour in General
It should be remembered when designing a job for digital output that bright, rich, colour varied designs are the strength of Xeikon technology. Subtle, small colour variations in the neutral palette really do not play to the technology.
Scans
It is very important to ensure you save all scanned images in CMYK, TIFF, EPS or JPG format. Scans should be used at 100% final size with a resolution of 300dpi. You can only scale if the final effective resolution is close to 300dpi. Clipping paths are supported.
Hints and Tips on Colour and Your Design
Flat colours and blends; flat areas of solid colours and bleeds (especially with greens and oranges) will print better if noise or a texture is introduced in Photoshop. For large areas of solid colours or blends, try a noise level in Photoshop to suit your design. This will look much noisier on screen than the final print!
It is recommended blends should be built in Quark Xpress. Ensure you save Adobe Illustrator graphics with compatible blends checked in Document Setup.
Pantone Colours
Pantone colours will be automatically converted into CMYK. You should be aware that CMYK interpretations of Pantone inks can be very similar and some may be quite different. Matches to process colours will be very close.
4 Colour “Rich” Blacks
Blacks will print superbly if a rich black is utilised. We would suggest 40C, 40M, 40Y, 100K for a very dense black, a mixture of 80C, 60M, 60Y, 100K may be used. When reversing out small white or light coloured type, the mixture should be reduced to 35C, 20M, 100K. Avoid using reverse type smaller than 8 point.
4 Colour Greys
A pantone grey results in a 4 colour grey on press, and has always been a challenge in printing. We recommend that greys be a percentage of pure process black.
Trapping
The Xeikon overprints all black elements. Apply trapping to fine white text if it is on a rich black background. If you do NOT want black to overprint please state this explicitly. Traps and overprints built in Adobe Illustrator work fine between Illustrator elements. Quark or Pagemaker traps are not supported. Quark trapping works if it is switched on in the page set up. This is usually not an issue, since registration is held to about 84 micron (slightly less than 1/4 point). If you require us to use your trapping setup please specify or we will decide an appropriate trap set up.
Personalisation
This is an outstanding value-added benefit of the Xeikon 500D, as graphic files (text and images) are linked with database files to deliver a completely personalised printed document. You may design each side of your document* with as many as 240 text or image fields.
Database files for use with Datamerge include:
• Any “flat file”, desk top database or ASCII file acceptable such as:
• Word, Excel etc.
• Filemaker Pro, Access etc
• Informix, Oracle and other relational databases that export flat files
• Perform programming functions in database before exporting “if, then else”.
• Export database file and submit with Quark Xpress document.
Note:The best format for data submitted for personalisation is tab delimited text files.
* It is also important to note, 4 colour personalisation on both sides of the sheet is only possible on the Xeikon 500D due to the process of printing both sides at the same time. This gives predictable, reliable results which cannot be guaranteed with sheet fed digital presses. This is the perfect press for personalisation.
