TODAY'S TOPIC: Font Basics

When it comes to printing your books, fonts require just as much attention as images or paper selection. In fact, missing fonts are one of the most common oversights when preparing files for printing. To that end, here are a few tips for handling fonts:

Don’t Stylize: When using all programs, including "basic" word processing programs such as Microsoft Word as well as layout and design programs like Quark XPress and Adobe InDesign, it saves time to simply highlight and italicize or bold sections of text. This is what we call stylizing. However, fonts that are stylized won’t always properly reproduce; stylizing only changes the appearance of that font on your screen. It will print as a stylized font from your desktop or network printer, but this format will not always translate for a press plate processor. To be sure bold, italicized and other stylized fonts are reproduced correctly, select that exact font – such as Helvetica Bold Italic - and be sure to send it to us along with all other fonts you have used.

Font Collection: Missing fonts are a common problem at the prepress stage, and often cause delayed production. Using the “Collect for Output” option in layout and programs allows you to see all fonts used in your file and collect the screen and printer versions for each font. Including all font versions will help Sentinel Printing properly prepare and print your project.

Another option is to create a PDF file. A PDF file is a compressed file that contains your document with all necessary fonts and graphics embedded into it, like a suitcase with all the contents needed inside. This format is quickly becoming the preferred method of file transfer by many printers. Call us for more information on creating PDF files.

The Sentinel Advantage
Sentinel Printing makes it easy to send files – including all fonts! – through our fast FTP file transfer capabilities. We’re available to assist with layout issues as well as design suggestions to help make your projects unique and memorable.