Top 10 problems with Customer Files

In a study conducted last year, eight printing companies agreed to track the problems they encountered on disks submitted to their prepress departments. Nearly 1,000 files were examined, and following is a list of the "Infamous Top Ten."

1. Missing or incorrect fonts (22.2%)
2. Incorrect trapping (11.5%)
3. RGB vs. CMYK color defined incorrectly (10.9%)
4. Scans supplied in the wrong file format (7.8%)
5. Incorrect page settings or page set up (7.4%)
6. Graphics not linked (5.3%)
7. Incorrectly defined or undefined bleeds (5.2%)
8. No laser proof supplied (4.6%)
9. Missing graphics (4.5%)
10. Resolution too high or low in supplied scans (3.2%)

Because problems like these directly affect how smoothly your project moves toward completion, it is good to ask yourself if you have been careful about them as you prepare your files for submission.