Camera-ready Art Requirements

These are the general guidelines you should follow when submitting art to Lion Graphics for print or evaluation.

LINE ART:

Please submit black line art even if it is going to be colorized -- we will add the color later electronically. The way the art is drawn is the way that it will be scanned, so if you need us to recreate art for sharper lines and images, additional fees will be added.

PHOTOS:

If you are sending us a print, a color photo works best. We will convert the photo to black & white if necessary.

We recommend that you submit black and white bitmap images scanned at least at 600 dpi, grayscale images at 300 dpi, and full-color photos at 300 dpi for the best possible quality. We output to our imagesetter at 1200 dpi. If your files were submitted at a different dpi than what we recommend and that resolution has been approved, that is what will print. Also, be sure that you are scanning at the size we are going to print. Enlarging and/or reducing scans will affect how they look. If you know the scan is low-resolution and you want us to use it, please indicate somewhere on your order blank that you are aware of and will take responsibility for the relatively low quality and that you want us to proceed without calling you.

If you are sending a digital photo, please send a TIF, JPG, or PhotoShop image. If you are emailing the image, please try to keep it under 1MB. Otherwise we ask that you send it to us on a disk or CD.

APPLICATIONS:

We accept files created in the following native applications (subject to a processing charge if we need to fix items in order to open the files). Note that most of these are acceptable from Macintosh or IBM-PC systems. We use PC systems, so make sure that your files are using the correct file extensions (.pm6, .fh, .tif) so that we know what program will open your files:

Freehand®

- Be sure to “convert to paths” all text characters in your document.

- If you are using an imported graphic in your Freehand® document, be sure to include the original graphic file. Place graphics at 100%.

Photoshop®

- Files must be saved as a TIFF with LZW compression.

- Do not color an image in Photoshop®

- We recommend that you submit black and white bitmap images at 600 dpi and grayscale images at 300 dpi for standard spot printing. For full-color printing, CMYK images need to be submitted at 300 dpi. Images that come to Lion Graphics / Cherry Lane at lower resolutions than what is recommended will be output as submitted.

- All files need to be submitted at the final print size or larger.

- If bleeds are needed, allow 1/8" on each applicable side. Please make sure that any text in your layout still maintains the required margin even when the graphic bleeds.

- Reminder for full-color printing: Color all text and graphics using Process CMYK color only. If RGB or other non-CMYK colors are used in your files, the necessary conversion to CMYK will change the appearance of the colors when we print, sometimes dramatically.

Adobe Illustrator®

- Change all text into “outlines” in your document.

- If you are using an imported graphic in your Illustrator® document, be sure to include the original graphic file. Place graphics at 100%.

Other file types: PDF, TIF, JPG, EPS

Email if you have any other questions. We look forward to working with you!