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Mostad Printing is a heatset web printer that specializes in printing commercial flyers. Essentially we print 4 basic formats: tabloid, half-tabloid, broadsheet, and digest. Of course there are some variations within each of these formats including size, trimming, plow-folds, pop-ups, etc, but for the purposes of this document they are not important.

Your finished product page size, number of pages and fold (e.g. quarter-fold, flat-fold) will determine which format should be used and our sales staff will work with you to determine the best format to suit your needs.

Once you and the sales department have decided on a format (and before starting the design process) it’s imperative that you have a discussion with the prepress production department so they can get you started out with the correct layout parameters and design specs to begin with. We have extensive experience in file formats, design software, image adjustment and retouching, PDF file creation, scanning, imposition, proofing, etc.

Although we can re-size pages, fix various issues, and do many other modifications after the files are sent to us, it’s always better to design the job properly the first time. Doing so saves you time ensures you get the product you wanted and also saves you money!! Education up-front is free; fixing files after they are submitted is not :)

We work almost exclusively with the PDF file format and will work with you to create the best possible files. The better the files, the better the final product. Here are some basic guidelines whendesigning for print – and more specifically, for Mostad:

Images used should not be lower than 300dpi – using lower resolution can result in reduced quality.

Design in CMYK (not RGB) – make sure the settings in your design application are set-up correctly at the beginning.

Avoid reverse (white) type smaller than 13 points – using smaller reverse type, especially with web printing on uncoated stocks can result in registration and readability issues.

Generally black type should overprint – when in doubt, set all black type to overprint – our highly advanced RIP software and prepress department will knock-out large text if appropriate for the job specifics.

Coloured type should not be made of more than 2 colours if possible. For example, is it really necessary to have that 2% black in that red type you converted from a Pantone colour? Just like with reverse type, small-multicoloured type can present registration problems – especially when printing on newsprint or other uncoated stocks. When in doubt, pick solid,primary and dark colours for type - easier to see and easier to print!

White is a colour – white space is an important component of good design. Some of the best designed and most effective pieces we print take this into account.

Use Mostad distiller settings when creating PDFs – ask your sales representative or give us a call and we will be happy to either walk you through or send you the appropriate settings tomake good PDF files.