Submitting Ads Electronically
Return to the ad specs page.
First off, if *any* of the below is unclear or confusing (and how can it not be?), PLEASE have whoever is actually working on the layout call Mark Moss at extension 203 and he'll be happy to walk you through it. We'd much rather have the opportunity to talk before hand than spend hours back and forth trying to fix a problem later.
THE BASICS
ACCEPTABLE FORMATS (in order of preference):
1. TIFF or Highest-resolution JPEG files are best.
2. PC InDesign / PC Quark Xpress / MS Publisher can be sent in their native formats, with all fonts and supporting graphics supplied. (Or via Acrobat/PDF, fonts embedded, no downsampling.)
3. Freehand/Illustrator files can be sent as EPS with type converted to paths, supporting scanned graphics supplied.
4. We cannot accept any native Macintosh design files. These files **MUST** be exported to Adobe Acrobat format (PDF), with fonts embedded, no downsampling. (If you need the Quark plug-in, it's available for free download at Quark's website). On the Mac, it's best to save your ad as either highest res JPEG graphics or TIFFs.
HOW TO SEND YOUR AD FILE
1. Via the Cloud: YouSendit.com ... SendBigFiles.com ... Dropbox, etc,
Send/Share with/to ads@singout.org. We will send confirmation when we have received the files, and when they have been checked and verified.
2. Attachment to e-mail
Using a compression utility, put all documents, fonts and supporting graphics into a single file. Please note that there are size limitations to sending files using this method — files larger than 3MB may not get through. We will *always* onfirm receipt of any files sent as email attachments. If you don't get a confirmation, your email did not reach us!
3. Via CD-R
Mail a PC or cross-platform formatted disc to us at Sing Out!, P.O. Box 5460, Bethlehem, PA 18015-0460
THE DETAILS
WHAT FORMAT SHOULD YOU USE?
I know it seems screwy to some of you designers out there, but we work exclusively on WinTel (PC) machines. OUR PREFERRED FORMAT for receiving electronic ad submissions is higest-resolution JPEG files or 300-dpi or greater TIFF files.
We can also handle files created in PC-Indesign. Please be *sure* your files are full pre-flighted and include *all* fonts and all embedded graphics. You can also submit Adobe Acrobat (PDF) exports (see below).
To avoid the seemingly unavoidable font problems that accompany cross-platform files, the best way, hands down, to submit MAC files (Pagemaker or Quark) is converted to a bitmapped graphic format (TIFF or JPEG) or via Adobe Acrobat (PDF). Acrobat files include full graphics and font definitions in a single cross-platform compatible format, making it a no-brainer. Plug-ins for both MAC-Pagemaker and MAC-Quark are available from their respective web sites for free download. If you don't have those plug-ins yet, I urge you to download them.
Once you've installed the plug-in, you should be able to simply export to that format. Be sure to select options that include *ALL* fonts, *AND* to make sure that you are not “downsampling” the embedded graphics for screen resolution. (Just “deselect” that toggle in the “Distiller Options” to keep full graphic resolution.)
Also, before exporting, choose PAGE SETUP from the FILE menu and create the page in the *exact* size needed. For example: a 1/12 page ad would be 2.125 inches x 2.125 inches. (This will keep the file size manageable.)
It's always a good idea to mail or fax a laser output of how you'd like your ad to look, too. (We'll send you one of our outputs to make sure everything ended up working.)
A LAST DITCH ALTERNATIVE ...
If you can't get the PDF plug-in to work, here is the step by step for creating an EPS file in MAC Quark that will be usable on the PC side. (Note that the font issue mentioned above *will* rear their heads. You need to be sure that you know how to create a MAC Binary file to make sure you can send the “Resource Fork” portion of the MAC font ... otherwise we end up with the useless, empty “Data Fork” of the font file.):
1. Again, choose PAGE SETUP from the FILE menu and create the page in the *exact* size needed. For example: a 1/12 page ad would be 2.125 inches x 2.125 inches.
2. Select SAVE PAGE AS EPS from the FILE menu.
3. In the dialog box, enter the page number you want to save and a name for the picture. (Remember that you cannot exceed 8 characters in naming the file so that it can be used in the PC-based environment! For example: guitarad.eps would be an appropriate name. No spaces. No punctuation, except for the period that comes before the EPS suffix.)
You will also need to select B&W or Color (if it's a 4-c ad) by format, ASCII by Data and INCLUDE IMAGES by OPI. If the ad has been created at the correct size, enter 100% by Scale.
4. Select SAVE, writing the file to a temporary output folder that contains (or will contain) whatever other files you need to send along to us (fonts, graphics, etc.) Use Stuff-It or Zip to compress the file(s) into one smaller, easily transportable file. Then follow one of the delivery methods described above (FTP preferred). Be sure to include a laser print reference output for the ad via fax or mail.
We can also *try* to work with native MAC PageMaker files (current version only), but be aware that all graphic and font files (*both* screen and printer fonts!) must be included.
GETTING THE FILES TO US
If you're sending stuff via one of the free Cloud resources or via e-mail attachment, please use a compression utility (like WinZip or Stuff-It) to get everything in one simple file. That's especially important when sending cross-platform (MAC to PC).
NOTE: If you are not sending the files in PDF/Acrobat format, you *must* also send any fonts and graphic files even if they are imbedded in the main file. This is simple on the PC side, a bit harder for MAC-platform. (If you have a “Pre-Flight” utility with your design software, that should be a help, but there are some basic incompatibilities between certain fonts in our little cross platform world. It’s best to stick with true Adobe or TrueType fonts. Also note that if you're using Adobe Type 1 fonts, you must send both screen AND printer fonts for Mac, and both PFM & AFM files for PC.)
Again, simply place everything you think we'll need to print the ad into a temporary folder, and use your compression utility of choice to combine all the parts into one simple to transfer archive file (e.g. “.zip” or “.sit”). To transfer the files, chose one of the following methods (listed in order of our preference):
1. Large File Delivery and/or Cloud services. (YouSendIt.com, Dropbox, etc.)
Please make sure your file is titled in some way that will be unique when we receive it (IOW, don't name it “singout.zip” ... use *your* company name, or a combination of both), and upload away. Then send an e-mail to to let us know it's on its way.
2. E-mail attachment.
You can send smaller files (like the PDFs) as an attachment. Be aware that really large files are prone to download problems, and we might be forced to ask you to retry sending the file. (For this reason, we really recommend delivery method #1.)
3. CD-R.
Simply burn all the necessary files onto a CD-R and send 'em along.
I realize that all of this is longwinded ... I'm just trying to cover all the bases in one document. If any of the above is unclear, please contact Mark Moss at 888-SING-OUT ext. 203 (or at via e-mail) for help.
