Upload File

Document Prep Tips

Preparing Your Electronic Files For Printing

Vista Copy Service can accept files from any electronic media or via email.

Is the file complete? The most common problem in preparing files for printing is font mismatching. To properly print a document, we require the same fonts used to create the file. Improper fonts affect the layout, causing the file to format incorrectly. We accept both Truetype and Adobe type fonts. Please include fonts and graphics files as separate attachments with your artwork.

Scanning & Picture Files

When scanning picture files, there are many different filetypes that can be created. We recommend the use of TIFF files, which easily produces the best raster image reproduction..

TIFF files may be organized in two different color models, specifically RGB and CMYK. RGB indicates that the picture is coded using red, green and blue, and is used for viewing the image on the computer screen.

Full color printing requires CMYK encoded files. This allows the file to be color separated into the Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black component, which are then use to generate the plates for offset printing.

Scanners generally create an RGB files, which can be converted to CMYK in photo editing software such as Photoshop. Consult your scanner and software manuals for details.

Minumum image resolution for quality printing is 300 dpi.

Sending Files Via Email

When sending an email order, Internet mail servers place restrictions on email size. Total email size cannot exceed 10 Mbs (megabytes), thus files must be kept under this size restriction. This is normally not a problem. For large attachments, we recommend the use of a file compression utility such as Winzip. A compressed file will transmit faster, and enable larger (uncompressed) files to be sent without problems.

When providing a digital file, follow these steps:

We accept files on floppy discs, Zip discs, CDs, DVDs and USB devices. When saving your file to a disk, please do not compress the file. Label your disks with file names, program name and version, your name, your company name, your phone number and the date. We also appreciate a printed copy of your file (if available) for comparison.

Embedded picture or graphic files should be provided as separate files, should these files require any modification.

What Software Does Vista Copy Service Support?

Files from the following software packages are accepted:

Page Layout Programs

Adobe InDesign CS4
Microsoft Publisher 2007

Drawing Programs

Adobe Illustration CS4 (convert all fonts to outlines)
Adobe Photoshop CS4

Recommended file types are tiff, jpg, EPS, AI & PDFs.

Other Programs

Adobe Acrobat
Microsoft Powerpoint
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Word

Other program files may be acceptable, but may require modification.