Information Guide to Digital Ads and Electronic Transfers
Current Application Software
GUIDON will accept ads prepared using the following software applications:
- Multi-Ad Creator – 4.0.3, 6.0, 6.5, & 7.0
- QuarkXPress – 4.3 & 5.0
- Adobe InDesign – 1.5 & CS version 3.0
- Adobe PageMaker – 6.0 – 7.0
- Adobe PhotoShop – 7 & CS version 8.0
- Adobe Acrobat – 5.0 & 6.0
- Adobe Illustrator – 10 & CS
- Macromedia Freehand – 9.0
- TypeStyler – 3.5.8
- Transverter Pro – 3.2.5
Note: If you use another software package, the file must be converted and saved as a PDF or EPS file with fonts & graphics embedded. (Please confirm current software version (numbers) with the GUIDON Electronic Ad Services Dept., as updates can happen two or more times a year.)
Ad File Preparation
If ad is sent via Internet:
- Contact your Advertising Account Rep. prior to emailing your ad file.
- Include senders contact name, telephone number, run date, publication and your Advertising Account Rep’s name in email.
- Allow additional time for advertising material to arrive and Electronic Ad Services to download file. (NOTE: When sending files via Internet, files don’t always arrive instantly after you send them. Sometimes it can take hours for an email to show-up in our inbox where we can retrieve it!)
Halftones
Black & White Dot Aim Points • 100 Line Screen
Non Detail Whites – 0%
Highlight – 2%
Midtone – 30%
Shadow – 92%
Process Color Specifications
Total Ink 240% •Max Black 90% •GCR
We accept CMYK color separations (RGB is not supported)
Dot Gain
An important aspect which must be compensated for in press reproduction is dot gain. To avoid muddy reproduction & dirty colors, dot gain adjustments must be made. Because of the highly porous characteristic of newsprint, newspaper reproduction incurs a significant amount of dot gain (relatively higher than heat-set offset printing). With a 100 line screen, halftone dots gain 20% in size for highlights and shadows, and 28-30% in the midtones.
Adjusting Midtone Placement
Many quality failures occur when subject midtones are not properly adjusted in the scanning process. This can result in images printing too dark, even though specifications are adhered to. Midtones should be lightened for dark images. i.e. – 50% area would be lightened to 30%
Enhancing Sharpness
Aside from tone reproduction, a final strategy for producing quality halftones is electronic digital sharpness. A high quality image cannot be reproduced on press unless a high quality image has been selected from the start.
Art Reproduction
For the best reproduction, the original artwork should be made to the final size, or as near to it as possible. Reducing a drawing to much causes loss of detail. Fine lines or dots fade and narrow spaces fill in. Enlargements show imperfections.
Mechanical Specifications new offset web ad sizes
Retail Display Ad Sizes
Classified Display Ad Sizes
Tabloid Display Ad Sizes
Magazine (8.5″ x 11″) Ad Sizes
Flexie Ad Sizes
For more information on Special Section ad sizes & deadlines contact the GUIDON Advertising Department 573.336.0061.
Thank you for advertising with the GUIDON