When preparing a document to send to a printer, there are several specifications and elements to include in your layout. These specs help to insure that the printer will provide your final project as intended.
Trim marks, or crop marks, show the printer where to cut the paper. For a standard layout, such as a business card or poster, trim marks are small lines located in each corner of the document. One line shows the horizontal cut, and one shows the vertical cut. Since you don’t want these lines to actually show up on your printed piece, trim marks are placed outside of the final visible, or “live,” area.
When working in graphics software such as Illustrator, you can set your trim marks to be shown on screen and automatically placed in your final document export, such as a PDF. If you have downloaded templates from a printer, the trim marks will often already be included.
Trimmed Page Size; The trimmed page size is the final intended size of your pages, after being cut along the trim marks. This size is important to supply to the printer because it will determine what machines will be used to print your job, which will affect the final cost. When starting a project, the size you create your document at in a graphics program is the trimmed page size.
Bleed; It is often necessary to have images and other design elements extend all the way to the edge of your printed page. If in your layout these elements only extended to the edge, and not beyond, you would risk a tiny bit of white space showing up on the edge of your paper if it was not cut exactly on the trim marks. For this reason, you have bleeds. Bleeds are images that extend beyond the live area of the page (and beyond the trim marks) to guarantee clean edges. Background colors are an example of a common use of a bleed. // The amount that your images need to extend beyond the trim marks is referred to as the bleed. Be sure to consult your printer at the start of a job to find out the required amount of bleed, which is often around one-eighth of an inch. In your graphics software, you can use guides to mark your bleed area, which do not need to show up in the final document that you deliver. Just make sure any image that needs to extend to the edge of the page actually extends to your bleed guides.
Margin or Safety; Just as images that should bleed should extend beyond the live area of your layout, images that you don’t want to risk getting clipped should stay within a margin, sometimes referred to as a “safety.” Again, consult your printer for these measurements. Just as with bleeds, you can set up guides to help stay within your margins.
Registration marks are the most commonly used marks in printing, because they are easy to line up accurately
Problems when Printing....
Registration Black // A black obtained from 100 per cent coverage of the four process colours. Using registration colour for text and greyscale graphics instead of black is a common error and is undesirable, as elements thus coloured appear on all colour separated films and printing plates rather than just the black film or plate, so it will print in every colour. Registration black does have its uses however.
Instead, registration black is used for printing crop marks, or "registration marks". When proofs for each color are generated on separate pieces of film, use of registration black makes crop marks visible on all channels, providing a useful reference for alignment. A thin line printed in registration black can also be used to check whether the printing plates are lined up.
Printing Imposition
The imposition shows the designer and printer how the various pages of a publication are to be arranged for print.
Planning. Information needed by the printer, such as the stock to be used for the different sections, the colours they are to print with, and how and where any spot colours are to be used, can be shown on the imposition plan. This improves the efficiency and reduces costs because it helps you calculate the colour fall so that all the pages that are to print are all a certain colour and grouped together.
Plan for colour and graphics with imposition knowledge
Knowing how commercial printers position your pages for printing can be an important planning factor when it comes to adding color and spreading graphics across a 2-page spread. As with any job, consult your printer early in the planning process to insure good results and to make sure that your job doesn't involve processes that your printer cannot handle.
Knowing how commercial printers position your pages for printing can be an important planning factor when it comes to adding color and spreading graphics across a 2-page spread. As with any job, consult your printer early in the planning process to insure good results and to make sure that your job doesn't involve processes that your printer cannot handle.
Reduce the cost of four-color process printing
If planning a publication that mixes black and white with some four-color process illustrations -- plan all colour so that it falls on one side of a press sheet.
If planning a publication that mixes black and white with some four-color process illustrations -- plan all colour so that it falls on one side of a press sheet.
This approach provides a visual key for publication planning. For example, as the sections will be folded, due to the way the pages back up, applying a special colour on one side of a sheet means it either falls on consecutive spreads or spreads with two single pages at the end.
Proofing/ Pre-flight.
A general term for a variety of options for seeing what your file will look like when printed is a proof. Think of it as evidence (proof) that what you put into your digital file will all come out on the printed page exactly as you intend: the right fonts, graphics, colors, margins, and overall positioning.
Printing proofs are used for checking that all text and graphics and colors come out as expected before going to press. It is a good practice to print a proof from your desktop printer and send along with your digital files to your service bureau or commercial printer. They can be black and white or in color but a good PostScript laser proof is ideal. If the file won't print properly to a desktop printer, chances are it won't come out on the printer press correctly either.
Proofing your work comes at various stages but there are specific types of proofs created during prepress and printing that allow the designer to see if their piece will come out as intended in the final printing. Different types of printing proofs are more accurate than others but with increased accuracy comes increased costs.
Pre-Flight should become a standard procedure for yourself before you print, Preflight checks (preflighting) for print documents have a similar idea in mind. They run through all the files you used in the document to see if they're missing, changed or anything else that might have happened to the file. A (modern) preflight check checks all used images and fonts in the file, if the files can be found at their indicated locations, if they're in CMYK and if fonts are used and load correct. On occasion copyrighted fonts cause problems with being embedded in the PDF file. This also is checked in the preflight check.
Preflight check in InDesign
Click File > Preflight… in the menu to open the Preflight Check dialog screen. Here you'll find categorized sections to check your documents on errors and missing files.
A small warning icon 
indicates problem areas.
indicates problem areas.
If there are any files missing you can replace those from the Preflight Check dialog screen. If - for any reason - you can't send a packaged PDF to your printer, there's also the option to package all external files in one directory to send those separately with your layout document.
Sign off
1. Step back and wait before sending
It's tempting to act on the euphoria that comes with completing a draft design by sending it to the client straight away. You're proud of it and you can't wait to see if they approve. However you might benefit from taking a step back and waiting. You've had your head buried in that same project for some time and by taking a break and revisiting it later you might spot something that you missed in the haze of the creative process. This is a good time to spot silly mistakes that could end up embarrassing you.
2. Get a second opinion
Before the client has a chance to give their feedback, send your draft to a selection of trusted peers for a constructive second opinion. If you trust their opinion, their feedback will likely improve the design and create a stronger initial draft. It might also help to get feedback from someone in the target audience to correct any oversights.
3. Prevent extra work by predicting obvious questions
Maybe you're a design renegade and you just came up with something wild and unconventional. Be aware that your risky design choices might require you to do a little more to convince the client that it's such a great idea. Don't be afraid to go with your instincts, but prepare answers to counteract the obvious questions from the client. If you feel like an idea isn't going to be approved easily, create alternate drafts to illustrate how the obvious method doesn't work as well as your idea.
Usually when the client has strong feelings about their ideas you need to humour them with another draft, "just to see how it looks". By putting alternate ideas side-by-side at the proposal stage, you can prevent costly redrafting time and hopefully steer them in the right direction first time round. Every draft you have to create sparks a further potential debate, and subsequently eats in to the project time.
4. Don't assume the client will get it
Remember you've been staring at your work for a lot longer than the client has and not everyone knows it inside out like you do. Think about how your pitch will look on first glance with a fresh pair of eyes, perhaps by putting it aside and coming back to it later. This is particularly applicable when presenting work that requires the client to use their imagination. Start from the beginning and cover every little detail. It's easy to jump in to a pitch and enthusiastically show off the awesome parts first, forgetting to explain the core features and intricacies.
If you present every detail in a logical order, saving the best for last, the client is more likely to have their questions answered before they get a chance. When you have to retroactively explain core functionality or present things in the wrong order you risk confusing the client, and that's not conducive to a happy sign-off process. The client should feel on board with the design every step of the way, and not made to feel inferior or stupid for not understanding something you've clearly got your head wrapped around. Time invested in extra diagrams or prototypes to illustrate how even basic concepts will work is time well spent.
5. Sell your work to the client
Make the client think they're dealing with something exciting. Without creeping into arrogant designer mode (because nobody wants to be that guy), if you present your work positively and with pride the client will feed off your mood and hopefully go along with your ideas. Always explain your thought process, but try not to accompany the design with detailed reams of explanation for every decision you made. They probably won't read it. Instead carefully break down the advantages of the design to promote your ideas without losing their attention. Oh and always remember to kiss with the client. What? Of course I'm referring to that cheesy acronym "Keep It Simple, Stupid". It's an old one but it still works.
6. Present drafts using the optimal medium
I know a few designers who bought an iPad just to showcase their work to clients. This might sound like the height of douchebaggery to some, but the concept is worth remembering. The more impressive something looks the more the client wants it, and the easier it is to get approval. Don't think of it as using smoke and mirrors, it's about adding that new car smell. When a company I worked for outsourced a logo revamp, we saw concepts from two designers; one designer sent a link to a screen grab of their opened Illustrator document (toolbars and all) hosted on an image sharing service, the other designer compiled a PDF with headed pages and a bespoke layout for the concept logos. They both produced a similar amount of work but one was much more to impressive to receive than the other. (The PDF guy got the gig.) Sometimes when I need to present something that requires a little more explanation I sit face to face with the client and showcase it on an iPad or big screen, when other times it feels perfectly acceptable to send a JPG in an email with a small written summary.
7. Learn how to take criticism
I hate to say it but although you're an awesome designer you might also get things wrong. Most of the time you probably won't, because you're awesome, but nobody's perfect.
When you invest a lot of creative energy into something it's natural to feel proud and protective of your work. However, when you show this work to other people they see it through a different pair of eyes. Their view is not clouded by the investment of time and energy that went into creating the product, and unfortunately they might not appreciate exactly how difficult it was to arrive at that point. It can be hard to swallow feedback that may come across as thoughtless, but the way you react will not only determine how easy it is to continue working on the product, it may also improve it. You might not always have it right first time, but by acting professionally and acknowledging feedback constructively you're more likely to refine your creations.
When you invest a lot of creative energy into something it's natural to feel proud and protective of your work. However, when you show this work to other people they see it through a different pair of eyes. Their view is not clouded by the investment of time and energy that went into creating the product, and unfortunately they might not appreciate exactly how difficult it was to arrive at that point. It can be hard to swallow feedback that may come across as thoughtless, but the way you react will not only determine how easy it is to continue working on the product, it may also improve it. You might not always have it right first time, but by acting professionally and acknowledging feedback constructively you're more likely to refine your creations.
8. Let the client think they got their way
The client might not always offer you pearls of wisdom. After all, you're the expert. But if the client thinks they got their way they're more likely to sign off on a design. By acknowledging their feedback you can be clever about how you incorporate it in to your design. Avoid saying "no" by offering a variation on their suggestion that's closer to your ideas. By compromising or offering constructive reasoning to your direction, the client will feel like they're involved in the process instead of being ignored.
9. Avoid being defensive or confrontational
By staying calm and swallowing your rage into a tiny repressed ball you'll communicate better with the client and avoid getting their back up. Take your time before replying to their feedback; it's easy to react quickly without thinking. When you come across as negative or confrontational towards any feedback you receive your client is going to react defensively. If this happens they're more likely to dig their heels in and push for what they want. By avoiding any struggle, you continue moving in the right direction.
10. Never present unfinished work
Whenever I'm developing prototype functionality for a website I notice there's always a “crazy inventor” period. Like in Honey I Shrunk The Kids or Flubber, it's when you've created something awesome and you can't wait to show everyone but haven't quite worked out all the bugs. As the inventor you can look past the impurities because you know they're easy to fix later. Unfortunately if you present the project at this stage to anyone outside the development process they just see a semi-functional mess, and your big bang becomes an anticlimactic fizz. Likewise with a draft design. If you try and pitch it to the client during the crazy inventor period they won't look past the messy, unfinished parts.
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