QuarkXPress

QuarkXPress is the most commonly used application for building working files to be sent to Sunset Printing. Because we deal with a large volume of Quark files, we have developed solutions for many of the issues which arise with this program, and they generally go very smoothly.

Be careful in suppressing printout of objects. If there are objects which have been suppressed, they will not print, and many times we will not be familiar enough with the artwork to notice their absence before a proof is printed. This can be costly if we have to generate multiple proofs, especially if we have to duplicate prepress work.

Do not use Multi-Ink colors. We print working files in composite CMYK, and Quark does not tag multi-ink colors correctly for this type of workflow. If you need to have an area of the page printed in a combination of inks, you must do this by using multiple objects and the overprint settings in the trapping palette.

If your job is going to be printed in process color (CMYK), please be sure to change the model of the ink to CMYK and uncheck the spot color box. These settings are available in the Edit menu under Colors. If you print to process with spot colors in tact, there is a chance that they will be given different values than you anticipated, shifting the hues slightly.

Colorizing tiff images and/or using colored picture box fills in Quark is ok, however, using monotone eps images is a more reliable method of putting raster data onto spot color plates. See the EPS section of the Linked Graphic Files section for information on the options available when working with this file format.

Use collect for output to gather your files to send to us. Newer versions of Quark allow you to collect fonts, however it is a good idea to compare the Usage dialog box to the folders Quark creates during collection to make sure all elements were collected. Since we do not use color management except in simulating our press on the proofs we give you, there is no need to include the profiles. Please see the Color Management page for details on color in our workflow.