As a rule-of-thumb when designing any piece to be printed by CPC Solutions all page elements that go to the trim of the piece need to extend .125" past the trim line.  Be aware of  design elements close to the edge of the page. For those elements that you do not wish to bleed, please keep .125” away from the edge on non-stitched work and .25” away on stitched work.

When building your document using a page layout program such as Quark or InDesign,please make the page size the final size of the piece.  Also be sure to extend all  elements on the page .125” off the edge to include bleed needed for trimming. Do not worry about  putting in trim marks, color bars, etc. The Prepress Department will take care of those items.

When building your document in a program such as Illustrator or Photoshop, please make the  document page size .25” larger in the height and width. This will account for the .125” bleed required on all  sides for accurate trimming by CPC. Do not worry about putting in trim marks, color bars, etc. The  Prepress Department will take care of those items.

When laying out a saddle stitch book/catalog/magazine etc., please layout pages in single page  reader-spread format. This will make both your job and the work Prepress has to do much easier.

When setting up a book/catalog/magazine etc. for wirobind please do not set up pages in spread format. We require bleed on all 4 sides to complete this type of bind.

If you are designing a job that requires folding, please make sure you are aware of any panel adjustments that may need to be made when printing on either text or cover weight stock. Contact your CSR for panel sizes. This will help ensure your job does not require any redesign when  being worked on by the Prepress Department.

Building rich blacks can add a great look to a piece. They also help during the printing process as well. Built blacks are not recommended for type under 60pts, rules under 6pts and any areas of black smaller than a quarter. The rich black build CPC Solutions recommends is 50C 30M 20Y 100K. Feel free to use a black build of your choice as long as it is under 300% total ink. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact your CSR for information

Getting your files ready to send to CPC Solutions can be done relatively easy. By using the Preflight & Package  function in InDesign or the Collect for Output option in Quark, your files can be obtained and  organized in a matter of minutes. Please make sure to include all fonts used in Illustrator and Photoshop files as well, incase changes need to be made at a later date.

Sending files to CPC Solutions can be done in a variety of ways. The traditional way of burning CDs & DVDs is reliable but time intensive. We also offer the ability to upload files directly to CPC using our FTP sites. You can get to our web-based, drag & drop FTP site, InSite, by clicking on the uploads and soft proofing link at the top right of our website. Unlike traditional FTP programs, when using InSite you do not need to compress your files. This helps to save you time and eliminate corrupt .sit and .zip files.   If you encounter problems using InSite, please contact for assistance.

Spot colors are pre-mixed inks. Colors that are built as a mix of cyan, magenta, yellow and black (process colors) are printed together on one sheet from 4 separate plates, and 4 separate ink fountains on the press. Spot colors, because they are pre-mixed inks, use one plate and one ink fountain. There are quality and cost advantages to using process colors and to using spot colors, depending on the job.