Chapter 30: Preparing for Printing

Overview

Once your document is created and all elements are perfectly in place, with the right colors, frame strokes, kerning, and so on, it's time to make tangible all that work you've done on-screen. You're ready to print the document.

Well, not quite. You may in fact be ready to just print your document, but if your document is at all complex or will be output at a service bureau or via your company's creative services group or print shop, you should take a few minutes and dot your i 's and cross your t 's. Little things can go wrong as you or your team work on a document ‚ a font might deactivate, a picture might move or be renamed , or a new output device might be acquired .

That's where InDesign's Preflight and Package tools come into play. The Preflight tool checks your document to make sure that all elements are available, while the Package tool copies all required elements ‚ from fonts to graphics ‚ to a folder so you can give your service bureau all the pieces needed to print your document accurately.