Graphics Simplified – Graphic Production
By: Kelly Clarke
This is the second entry in a series dedicated to explaining some graphic design terms and practices to exhibit managers. Producing graphics for their trade shows is only one small aspect that they need to be concerned with, but it can be confusing. Hope this helps!
Formats and File Types
Generally, Adobe products, such as Illustrator (.ai extension), Photoshop (.psd extension), and InDesign (.indd extension) are the most common products to create trade show graphics. If you are trying to match specific colors, a raw/unflattened file is best to send. Make sure these are sent with the appropriate linked photos and fonts.
Some notes for sending unflattened files:
If you’re using InDesign, you can choose File > Package and it will save all the correct links in a convenient folder.
In Illustrator, outlining the text can save you from having to hunt down font files.
But these large graphics can sometimes have huge file sizes. If you’re certain the file is being sent to print ‘as is,’ then you may want to consider sending a flattened version in the form of a .pdf, .jpg, or .tiff.
File types that can’t translate for decent printing are: Word (.doc), PowerPoint (.ppt), and Executables (.exe or .sea). Also, anything saved from a web page, while it might have the .jpg extension, is not going to be printable, because the file size will be much too small.
Submitting Art
First, no matter how you’re sending your art, compress it if possible. This will help minimalize corrupt files when sending. There are programs like DropStuff that work best, but you don’t necessarily need software. On a PC, right click on the file, select Send To, then select Compressed (zipped) folder. On a Mac, control click and choose Archive. The extension should be .zip or .sit.
In days past, we used to send media via snail mail, on zip discs and cds. This is still happens on occasion, but the most popular way to upload files is via ftp. Using a File Transfer Protocol usually demands software. I personally use Transmit, but the good folks at Mozilla offer Filezilla for free. Once you install the ftp software of your choice, you’ll need three things to connect to someone’s ftp: the address (a url that starts with ftp, like ftp.mysite.com), a username, and a password. From there, you can upload your art to their server.
Sometimes, if the file is small – which it can be for vector (Illustrator) files, you can email it. Don’t try to email anything over 10 MB, because most email servers can’t handle more than that. To find the file size, right click (control-click on a mac) on the file and choose ‘Properties’ or ‘Info.’
That’s it! Any questions?
Tags: trade show graphic
