Support for Desktop Publishing

Many of our customers enjoy the benefits of using desktop publishing software to create their jobs—and so do we! Of course, being mere mortals there are times we'd like to throw a brick at the screen... ;-) If you've got files to print, we'll print 'em!. And if you've got questions to ask, bring those too—we'll answer 'em!

Questions? . . .  Answers!

The DTP Support button opens Presto's DTP Support index in a new browser window. Support pages include a checklist and worksheet for “pre-flighting” your work, and six pages of FAQs on files & programs, fonts, scans & graphics, page settings, e-mail attachments, and tips. A few minutes spent reading our DTP Support FAQs can save you time & money!

Mac & PC Files Welcome

We support most popular & professional page layout and graphics programs on Mac and Windows. Deliver your files over the internet, or give us floppy, ZIP-100, or CD-ROM disks (also portable FireWire, USB, or SCSI drives). Tell us if you have an ORB drive!

Here's a basic list of Presto's DTP software (more details
are available from the DTP Support Files page).

Macintosh	Windows
Quark XPress 4  InDesign 2  PageMaker 6.5 & 7   --  Photoshop 5 & 6  FreeHand 8 & 9  Illustrator 8 & 10  CorelDraw 8  Word 5.1 & 98  WordPerfect    Quark XPress 4   --  PageMaker 6.5 & 7  MS Publisher 2000  Photoshop 4   --  Illustrator 9   Corel 7  Word 7 & 8 / Office 2000  WordPerfect
Let us know if you use Quark 5 !!

 

Does “DTP” mean Double The Price?

No! Your bid will not include any unexpected “computer” charges when we work from your files. No matter what form a job takes coming in the door, each bid reflects the same no-extra-charge standard of quality: careful handling of materials, attentive communication with the customer, and the normal technical coaxing needed to get to press.

With paste-up, this might include straightening crooked text, replacing dangling rules, or masking out smudges. With DTP files, it's normal for us to track down a missing font or two, correct a few image links, and remove unused color styles (along with many other tasks). There will be an extra charge if we have to perform extensive work on your document: replace 50 unprintable hairline rules with 0.25pt rules, override ten custom halftone values in Quark images, or resample five scans from color to grayscale, for instance.

It's not as bad as it sounds ;) We'll spend lots of time ‘tweaking’ before we'll consider adding a charge. Of course, we'll call or write you first and inform you of the problem and the fix. To be sure that your files will move smoothly through Presto's workflow, read on... and then click the DTP Support button at left to open Presto's DTP Support FAQs index.

Aiming high (resolution)

Your job is typically printed to film at 2400 or 3600 DPI; the pages are RIP'd (composed & drawn) by PostScript. These two factors—high-resolution PostScript—conspire to put a burden on desktop publishers: what you see on your printout may look nothing like what will come out of our imagesetter. That's because PostScript treats desktop-resolution printers differently than high-resolution printers. And of course, non-PostScript desktop printers such as most inkjets and Windows lasers are really just guessing what a PostScript page looks like ;)

Fortunately, a few simple practices can overcome most of these WYSIWYG limitations. That's a good thing, because some desktop habits can stop your job from printing here. When that happens, we have to go in and fix it, and that may involve a charge.

We encourage everyone to read through the Checklist page — it quickly lists the most-common “rules” you should follow when preparing files for us. Details and more information can be found in the FAQ pages. Click the DTP Support button at left to open Presto's DTP Support FAQs index.

More Questions?

Don't be afraid to ask! If you have questions we haven't answered here, please feel free to with queries or comments.