Frequently Asked Questions

•  Why can't I use or alter the work you have done for us on my office PC?

Just like every other industry, print and design has it's standards. The vast majority of page-layout and design is done in software called Quark XPress or Adobe Indesign on Apple Macintosh computers. This is what all printers are tooled-up to accept. The reasons for this are historic (and a little controversial), but it means that unless you have this software you will not be able to take the files I have produced for your printing and make changes or print them on your office PC.

Similarly, if you have specifically asked me to produce work that you can use on your PC, it will be unsuitable for professional printing because printers usually can't accept work prepared in PC office applications, like Word or Publisher etc.

•  Why can't you get my logo or photo from my web site?

On-screen graphics are unsuitable for printing because the quality is too low and will look very bad and grainy in the finished printed job. In preparing an image for use on a web site or screen presentation, much of it's resolution, colours and quality is thrown away to make the file small enough to be moved over the internet very quickly.

Logos should be in eps vector format (vector graphics can not be used on the internet at all, and require special software to see and edit them).

•  What kind of files should I supply for my job?

This is a minefield area, but ideally I need files in the following formats...

  • Logos

    These should be vector graphic files, either Illustrator or Freehand EPS files or (less desirable), WMF files. If you want to supply some one else's logo, for example an accreditation mark, please telephone the organisation concerned and ask them to send me the logo in "eps, Illustrator or any other professional print-ready format".

    Note that you must legally own or have permission to use any logo, symbol or accreditation mark in any way. See the note on copyright below.

  • Photos and images

    Photos and scanned illustrations should be high resolution TIFF (.tif), PhotoShop (.psd) or .eps files.

    For printing, I need files that are very high resolution, have not been "optimised" for the internet or had their colours reduced, and have not been compressed.

    Please avoid PPM, PGM, PBM, PNM, CGM, SVG, BMP, PNG, GIF and JPEG (unless they are first-generation JPEGs, as explained below). Do not supply graphics in Word files - I must make a charge for extracting graphics files from Word documents.

    Digital Cameras and Phones

    Digital cameras usually store images in the form of JPEG files. The JPEGs produced directly by your camera are OK in many cases as long as the image has not been opened and re-saved on your computer. In other words, I need the actual file or data your camera made when the shutter was pressed.

    Images from camera-phones can not be used because camera-phone lenses mean the image quality is too low, and extreme compression is used to make the files very small.

  • Text

    Text files can be Word files (reasonably recent versions only, including .xml), ASCII/plain text (.txt) or Rich Text (.rtf). Do not supply text in spreadsheet or MS Excel format.

    When supplying text, it would help enormously if you followed these simple guidelines...

    • Do press return twice after paragraphs, headlines and subheads
    • Do check the spelling in all text supplied, especially for scientific words or terms and phrases specific to your industry
    • Do not use double spaces after full stops
    • Do not use bold, italic, underlines or odd and unusual fonts. If you want to include bold or italic etc, please use easy to understand instructions in the text, like...

      "this is <bold>bold<bold> text, and this is <ital>italicised<ital> text"

  • Generally

    Please do not supply anything in MS Powerpoint or MS Publisher format. Powerpoint images are converted for on-screen use and are unsuitable for print. There is no Apple Macintosh equivalent of Publisher. Please don't do the work yourself in MS Publisher because I won't be able to use the files.

    Please do not supply PDF files. I can not extract text, images or logos etc from PDF files unless they have been created in a special way. Only "editable PDFs", saved by specialist software, are of any use.

    If you need to supply any other file format please get in touch.

    Note that you must legally own or have permission to use any logo, symbol, accreditation mark, illustration, animation, photograph or text in any way. See the note on copyright below.

•  Can I supply prints, negatives or transparencies?

Please give me the original print, negative or transparency. I will scan and return it to you.

•  What if I don't have my logo in the correct format?

I can usually convert your logo to the correct vector graphics format. Please ask for a price. Once I've done this it's yours to keep and you can supply it to any designer, sign maker, advertiser etc and see superior printed results. I can also convert your logo into a font enabling you to easily put your logo on any printed matter you produce in-house by simply hitting a key on your keyboard.

•  Can I convert the files I have to the format you need?

I'd much rather you didn't. Conversion is a minefield area and will often make matters worse. For example, converting JPEGs is a waste of time because the damage to the image quality has already been done and can not be reversed. Please speak to me before spending any time converting files.

•  Why can't you give me the fonts you used for my designs?

In the vast majority of cases you will not need any extra fonts. Fonts are copyright and represent a lot of time and work on behalf of the font designer. Distributing fonts to people who have not paid for them is illegal and unethical.

If I know beforehand that you require work you can use on your PC, I will only use standard PC fonts you already have. This does not affect work you have professionally printed because there are ways to legally supply designs to printers along with fonts in the unlikely event he does not have a particular font.

•  Copyright in proofs, images and work I supply to you

Copyright, unless otherwise stated, in all images supplied remains with Kevin Simpson. No images, layouts, designs, design elements or derivatives thereof may be used unless they have been paid for. In most cases payment of your final invoice will mean you can use the works detailed in the invoice as you see fit.

Work supplied in the form of visuals, proofs or interims must not be used for any purpose whatsoever: again, the copyright in the work remains with me. If you want to use any work supplied to you as visuals, proofs or interims then you must contact me for permission and to arrange payment.

Copyright in all photography supplied as part of other work (brochures, leaflets, sales material etc) remains with me. This photography may only be used for the purposes for which it was supplied.

Specially commissioned photographs usually have an extended licence, meaning you can use them for any purpose other than selling them in their own right or as pieces of art, (posters, prints, tee-shirts, mugs etc). You may not make the photos publicly available for free or for a fee (for example by supplying them to an image library).

Please be fair, respect my copyright and pay for the work I have done.

•  Copyright in images, logos and text you supply to me

You must have permission before using any logo, symbol, accreditation mark, illustration, animation, photograph or text in any way. It is not my responsibility to ensure you have permission to use copyright, trademarked or registered material.

Do not simply assume you can use images, photographs, logos, text etc that you have found. I will not be held responsible if I use someone else's property on your behalf, on your word, if the owner sues for unpaid royalties, improper use or theft of the material. I will assume you have the correct permissions and clearances for all material you ask me to use. This is a very important issue and failing take it seriously could result in serious legal and financial consequences.
 
 

Kevin Simpson BA(Hons)
grafix@kevinsimpson.co.uk
© all rights reserved