The cover and inside pages have predetermined resolution and canvas size, though they are not the exact size of the book as we must allow space for the gutter area and trim lines around the edges. Please do not change either the resolution or canvas size, as this will cause problems with File Checker processing your files. Simply paste your images onto the blank templates and design your page.
The templates have the correct dimension, resolution and color space already set up. You only have to focus on the design portion.
The blank templates allow you to be as creative as possible with your design. You can add as many images, color blocks and other graphic elements to the layout.
The standard process requires that the files are designed in Photoshop and saved as JPEGs with the predetermined document size and resolution provided in the templates. This is the only format File Checker will accept and we can only send PDFs created by our File Checker program to our production department. Nevertheless we can provide you InDesign templates as a reference for some of our most popular books. Please ask our customer service for more information about InDesign.
Turning Guides On:View > Show > Guides or Command + ; (semicolon)
Cover:The outer guidelines represent the area where the cover will be folded of the board material.The center guidelines represent the spine of the book.
Pages:The outer guidelines represent the area where the pages will be trimmed.The center guidelines represent the center or gutter of the book.
- Place your image at least 6.5 mm away from the trim lines to avoid any undesired trimming (see Understanding the Templates).
- Place image to the edge of the canvas to get a "Full Bleed" (see Understanding the Templates).
- Place important parts of an image (such as a face) away from the gutter area. (see Understanding the Templates).
You may place as many images as you would like.
You may add text anywhere on the design. Keep in mind the gutter and bar code areas as any text and image information placed there will be lost.
It is Skia (Mac OS standard font). Up to 30 characters may be used (including spaces).
Approximate point sizes:
Once you have selected your book size, including the number of pages, open up template file 000000.psd, (be sure to View/Show/Guides). You can have an image wrap around to the back, a single image or multiple images on the front and/or the back, leave it blank (the color of your canvas will be the printed color), add text, or even add text on the spine... The design is totally up to you.
You can place your logo anywhere on your design. Remember that there are specific logo placement requirements on Studio Samples only.
Currently, we only accept your completed PDF that File Checker has created. However, our partner company, ART PHOTOGRAPHY, Frank Luger, can assist you with designing your ASUKABOOK using digital images.
We do not retouch or color correct any of the files provided. It is your responsibility to make any corrections ahead of time. We print exactly what is submitted.
ASUKABOOK and ART PHOTOGRAPHY, Frank Luger have partnered to offer a turn-key album solution. Please contact ART PHOTOGRAPHY, Frank Luger for more detailed information.
Yes. You can now download the printer profile and install to the following locations:
In Windows, right-click a profile and select Install Profile. Alternatively, copy the profiles into the
WINDOWS\system32\spool\drivers\color folder (Windows XP) or the WINNT\system32\spool\drivers\color folder (Windows 2000).
In Mac OS, copy profiles into the /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Color/Profiles/Recommended folder. You can also copy profiles into the /Users/username/Library/ColorSync/Profiles folder.
After installing color profiles, be sure to restart Adobe applications.
You should calibrate your monitor regularly to avoid any color differences. Keep in mind that you can see a close approximation of what the printed page will look like by following these steps, however you can't literally make a print match what you see on your monitor exactly as the CMYK printing space is much different than the RGB color space of your images. By following these steps, however, you can make your Photoshop preview what the printed book will look like so you can make any adjustments to the files if needed before sending them. We find the soft proofing process here usually provides about 95% accurate matching:
You can save this setup so that each page you build can be viewed with the proofing. Generally, it should be very close to your original image. Having a properly profiled monitor is key to a good color match.
This process is for soft proofing your images on screen only. DO NOT SAVE YOUR FILES WITH THE SOFT PROOF SETTING APPLIED.
In other words, when saving the files, simply keep them in sRGB or Adobe RGB color spaces.
No. Submit your files in either Adobe RGB or sRGB. The production center will convert the files to CMYK for you.
No. But we can mail you a flyer printed on the press with the type of paper used. You can also download the digital file that matches the image on the flyer from the Calibration page. All you need to do is to load the digital file into Photoshop, use the proof preview method mentioned above, and you should see an approximation to what will be printed. This is a good indication of your monitor calibration.
We recommend the image quality be set to 12 (Maximum) with "Baseline Optimized".
ASUKABOOK requires that you have copyright permission for all images included in your order. Additionally, your files will not be sent into production if they contain illegal and/or immoral content, or if the subject may be offensive to the public. We are unable to print books with exposed genitalia.
You don't have to redesign the entire book into the smaller templates. You may simply drag and drop or use the "place" option (under "file" in Photoshop?) to move your layouts into the smaller template. The layouts will transfer to the smaller template easily.
Be sure to still double check your bleeds and gutters.
Use one of the following method to create a low resolution PDF to send your clients:
