K-State Printing Services supports the following —

"Printers Choice" programs and software we suport:
Macintosh OSX files
Adobe In-Design CS4
Adobe Illustrator CS4
Adobe Photoshop CS4
Adobe Acrobat 7
Quark Xpress 7

Non-Standard software programs we support:
Microsoft Publisher
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Power Point
Corel Word Perfect

We can work with .pdf, .eps, .tif, .jpg, .wpd, .qxd, and .doc files.

To get the best print quality for your projects, it is best to use a high quality page layout program. Printing Services uses two primary layout programs, Quark Xpress and Adobe In-Design. Both are excellent pieces of software that allow for single page documents all the way to multiple paged complicated books. Although we are able to work with Microsoft Office software, we do not recommend its use for high quality offset (printing press) printing. Publisher and Word work best when the piece is to be printed on a digital printer, or if you are planning on having us do the actual layout for you. We understand that some of our clients do not have access to our preferred layout programs. KSPS has established ways of working with other files when needed to make them press ready, so please call if you have a concern about your file format. When submitting text for our designers to use in creating a layout for your project, do not format it.

• Avoid centering and justification as these will be set in the page layout
  program. Just indicate if they need to be centered or justified.
• Never put a hard return where it seems a sentence should break.
• Always let text automatically flow from line to line. Generally, use two hard
  returns between paragraphs. You only need to type one space after periods. Most typefaces on computers today use variable fonts, in which each letter and mark take up just the space they need in contrast to the equal spacing of letters on a typewriter, so two spaces are unnecessary and create too large a gap.

What is the problem with using Microsoft software to build my design?

You are always more then welcome to design and layout what you would like your project to look like and bring it to us for assistance in making it press ready. While MS software such as Word, is great for word processing, it was not created for use as a layout program. We understand that many of our clients have MS software and we do try to accommodate them. However, when it comes time to bring your files to Printing Services, programs such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint often have problems re-wrapping text and substituting fonts. In turn this will add composition time and thus more money. So what can be done? We can still take your word files and use it to create the publication you desire. Here’s how you can help to keep your cost down. When you are ready to submit your project remember to include:

• Fonts—remember to include them along with your file.
• Graphics— include any photos, clipart, or graphics you placed into your file
  along with your file.
• A printed copy of your file—this is very important. If we open your file and text reflows we need to know what it is you are expecting to see when you get your proof. We can only guess at what it is supposed to look like if we do not have a hard copy to look at—even if it is only in black and white.

The Problem with Publisher

Microsoft Publisher is a great desktop publishing software program that many offices on campus use to create forms, cards, flyers, posters and sometimes newsletters. The program has a variety of templates available to get you started and done quickly. These qualities are great for small in house digitally printed jobs. But when you are printing these types of jobs in larger quantities and on an offset press, things start to get a little more complicated. Here we will try to explain the challenges faced by Printing Services when we get a Publisher file from our clients. Items in italic are ways to help lessen the problems faced.

• Publisher is only a PC program. KSPS composition department is primarily MAC based.
• Most files are built in RGB (standard for PC’s) and our presses print in CMYK. Pick colors in CMYK mode or a Pantone color for your spot colors.
• Many fonts do not transfer to the MAC environment. Be sure to include fonts on your disk so we can work around missing font issues or use fonts that are “standard” or “common” to both platforms such as Helvetica, Garamond, or Palatino.
• Images embed into the document. ALWAYS include original image files so you are assured high quality reproduction.This means all photos AND clipart that you place in the document. Printing Services has found ways to circumvent the crossplatform issues that we have encountered, nonetheless the finished product may not look exactly the same as your sample but will look very close. When we have to adjust a publisher file it could add an extra 2-3 days to your project, but Printing Services will gladly work with you to print your projects that you bring to us.

We are willing to help you understand the printing process by giving you tours of our facilities and letting you know what programs will help your projects flow through the system faster and with fewer problems. You are always able to call and ask questions about what we need from you, or you need from us.