The Appalachian Production Procedures July 2005 The Production Editor is responsible for managing graphic designers and photographers, as well as all prepress preparation and file submission. Prepress for Page Submission Determining Page Count InDesign Features NOT to use with newsprint Colors - How to? Formatting Advertisements for Publication How to Layout Tabs PDF Page Submittal Instructions Formatting Photos for Newsprint Student Publications Production Graphic Designer Training Photographer Training

To understand electronic file submission, you must understand the newspaper printing process. The newspaper is printed using one "plate" or color per page, usually black. Color pages with color photos, however, are printed using four plates (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) aka "Process Color" that make up the gamut of colors found in color photos.

Submitting files digitally to the printer puts the pressure on us to ensure all grayscale pages contain no color elements. How you format graphics, images and other page elements placed in InDesign will determine the quality of your printed paper.

All newspaper pages must be created using templates that have the crop marks placed for High Country Media.

B&W pages: All elements, photos and graphics must be black or grayscale and saved as EPS, TIF, or PDF. Grayscale EPS is preferred for ads, Grayscale TIF is preferred for photos and graphics. Color on these pages may kick back at the plant or print incorrectly. The example to the right shows color swatches available on grayscale pages - only black! This is to make sure no other colors appear on your pages.

Rule of thumb: Make sure there are no colors but black on grayscale pages and all your photos saved as grayscale TIF.

4-color Process pages: All elements must be in grayscale, RGB or CMYK mode. Preferred format is RGB TIF. They may be saved as EPS, TIF, or PDF. All spot colors must be converted to a process color or 4-color process before exporting to PDF. High Country media does not support files with color swatches other than CMY or K. With process pages, any color swatch may be used.

For example: a quarter page ad (3 columns x10.4") would equal 31.2".

• Do not use any transparencies in the newspaper because they look bad on newsprint. Make sure you use “tint” to change the screen of a color, not transparency!

• When using drop shadows, make sure the shadow color is black. All other colors will look muddy on newsprint.

When using spot colors (one single color such as yellow or PMS 579, or green), you must notify the plant two (2) weeks in advance to make sure they have the color you are wanting. The spot color on the file must be converted to a process color (cyan, magenta or yellow) for correct output at the plant.

Make sure the Democrat knows what color to use on the press in place of the process color in your file. Ex. “Use PMS 579 blue in place of the magenta plate.” These colors will also appear on the side of the bradsheet document in the margin. four-color ex. "Cyan Plate Magenta Plate Yellow Plate Black Plate" Spot color example: "Green Plate Black Plate." The spot color name will appear in the process color you are using on the page. When it it printed, the press worker will substitute the correct spot color for the process color used on the PDF.

Where can I place colors in the paper?

Ads created in InDesign must be exported as an EPS file, making sure the export window looks like the following, making sure the color is “gray.” All other ads should be created as an EPS. Convert all outside ads to a grayscale EPS.

Instructions for how to arrange tabular section page layouts on broadsheet for PDF submission. Pages must face the direction and position of the numbers in the graphics.

1. Create individual pages using the "Tab Template - Individual" file.
2. When finished with the layout and ready to PDF, Group all items on each page. (Edit>Select all, Oject>Group)
3. Open the template file "Tab Template Layout."
4. Copy each individual tab page and Paste into the broadsheet-sized tab file using the page number and direction listed below.
5. PDF each page as you would a broadsheet page. Make sure your ReadMe file mentions that these files are tab-sized. Also add the word "Tab" inthe file name. ex. Tab9-9-05page3K.pdf

1. Create a new date folder under Production>PDF.
2. On each section, Preflight (File>Preflight) and look for missing fonts, missing photo links and RGB or color images on grayscale pages. Fix any problems before continuing.
3. On each page, export to PDF. (File>Export)
4. Name the file in this format: “date page color.pdf” (grayscale ex. 10.21 6 K.pdf -
color ex. 10.21 1 CMYK.pdf)
5. Make sure the format is “Adobe PDF.”
6. Change preset to “High Country Media Output,” select the page (each PDF file will contain only one page) and click “Export.” The PDF will open automatically. Check for color color errors, see below for an example. To get to this screen, press print (Fle>Print) and click "Advanced. Change color to "Separations" and Plate Control to "Custom." Uncheck "Process Black" to see if any other colors appear on the page. See below.

By unchecking the Black Plate (Process Black), all other colors will appear in the preview. The above example has two color photos and blue bars. Since it will run on a color page, it is OK. If you uncheck the Black Plate and nothing is left, that is what you want to see for a grayscale page. If no errors, repeat steps 3-6.
7. Open Fetch (Dog icon in dock) and type password “sunads.” Make sure you are in the folder "appalachian."
8. A window will appear. Drag the old PDF files from that window to the trash. Click yes to confirm deletion. Drag the PDF pages form the server folder you created to the Fetch window.
9. Create a file called “Readme” using Microsoft Word and list the pages and what colors are in them. Drag this file to Fetch as well.
10. Confirm all the files are in that window and make sure all the file sizes are above 200K. Most color PDFs will be roughly 1,500K and grayscale around 400K. If they aren't, upload the PDF file again - there may have been an error in the upload. See example below.

11. You’re done.

PLAN “B”
If you can’t access the FTP site (try it on multiple computers), burn all the PDFs to a CD-R. Immediately e-mail Sandy at shook@wataugademocrat.com and say “We could not access the FTP site to upload our PDFs and a CD with the files is in your mailbox.” leave your contact info and drive the CD out to the Democrat and leave it in their mailbox, labeled of course! If you can’t send email, leave a large note taped to their front door with that information.

Student Publications Production is a separate and autonomous division of Student Publications and is responsible for the page design of student newspaper advertising and preparing the layout in anticipation of completion by the editorial staff.

The first stage of the layout procedure calls for the business/advertising manager to provide the news and production divisions with “dummy” layouts which show ad placement. These "dummy" layouts are to be provided no later than 8 a.m. on Friday for a Tuesday newspaper, and 8 a.m. Tuesday for a Thursday newspaper.

Student Publications Production is responsible for only ad layout and the layout boards with all ads placed where shown on the "dummy" layout. The editorial division of The Appalachian is responsible for the computer layout of the news hole, and the completed layout boards. It is the responsibility of the editor-in-chief, or his/her designee, to deliver the completed layout boards, all artwork and photographs to the contracted printing company. At no time, unless for equipment or electrical failure, will this be accomplished after midnight on production day.

Student Publications Production is a support service of the newspaper and any future student publications at Appalachian State University. Student Publication production is outside the area of control of the editor in chief and the business manager of The Appalachian. It is under the direct control of the Director of Student Publications and/or his designated graduate assistant.

The Student Publications production staff will complete advertising design and production, and layout the boards by 2 p.m. each production day. After that time, the editorial division will assume responsibility for page design and completion of the layouts. No writers or editors are allowed to work on stories after 2 p.m. without the permission of the editor in chief and the Director of Student Publications.

All production activities must be completed by 11 p.m. on production days. At no time will the newspaper staff be allowed to remain in the Plemmons Student Union beyond normal closing hours (midnight on production day), unless the newspaper has suffered equipment failure or a total loss of electrical power at some point during the day. It is the responsibility of the editor in chief and all editors to practice sound management techniques and planning to meet deadlines.

It is the responsibility of the editor in chief to notify the Plemmons Student Union manager prior to 5:00 p.m. on production day of any need for an extension on remaining in the building. The editor in chief should maintain an appropriate after-hours phone list of Student Union managers to use should the newspaper suffer equipment or power failures after 5 p.m. on production day.

Student Publications production manager
The Student Publications Production Manager is a full-time student appointed by the Director of Student Publications. The Production Manager is responsible for oversight of the production area. Assisting the Production Manger is a student assistant. These two individuals will hire and train a staff of graphic designers in numbers sufficient to efficiently produce the student newspaper, other Student Publications and projects undertaken by the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership.

The Associate Editor for Production Operations
The primary responsibilities of the Associate Editor for Production are to supervise page design and layout of the completed boards for the editorial division of the student newspaper. He/she is to enforce deadlines to facilitate a coordinated copy flow. The function of page design is to express the content of the editorial division. Effective page design first makes the reader want to read and then makes it easy for him/her to do so. The Associate Editor for Production is responsible for taking the articles, photographs, captions and headlines, along with any special instructions to compose a graphically pleasing page which aids in printed communication.

Production Schedules
Production schedules for The Appalachian are reviewed and ultimately approved by the Director of Student Publications. The Director of Student Publications is to see that all production deadlines are met. The day-to-day oversight of the production process of the student newspaper is the responsibility of the editor in chief and advertising/Business Manager, except in those areas which deal with the Student Publications Production, which is the responsibility of the graduate assistant manager. The final arbiter of all disputes is the Director of Student Publications, except in those areas which are specifically the responsibility of the student media board.

Production Hours
It is the responsibility of the Student Publications Production manager to hire a staff of typesetters and production personnel adequate in size to produce the student newspaper. The production coordinator must keep in mind that student publications includes any future student publications, the ASU Telephone Directory, the Student Handbook of Rights and Responsibilities, Harambee, freshman orientation materials, and any future publications which are produced by student workers for the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership in the division of Student Development. These publications are produced under the guidance of the Director of Student Publications and a graduate assistant assigned oversight and supervisory responsibilities for the production facilities and staffs.

Training
Student Publications will conduct several workshops, starting with the editor in chief's pre-fall staff development workshop and including workshops on news writing, news editing, photography, ad sales, production and computer use. These workshops are mandatory for Student Publications employees. These workshops are part of each employee's employment contract and no exceptions will be allowed.