Electronic File Guidlines                                                 

Please read the following guidelines before sending us your advertisements.

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What programs and platforms do you use?
Peterson Publications, Inc., is PC-based, using Adobe InDesign CS and Photoshop CS.

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Do you need crop marks or registration marks on the file?
We request that all electronic files do NOT have crop marks or registration marks included in the file, even for full page ads.

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What file formats can I send?
We request that you send Adobe’s Portable Document Format (.pdf) files and Tiff (.tif) files.

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If you need any assistance in creating a .pdf file, check out Adobe’s site. We request that your .pdf file be accompanied by a flattened .tif file as well, saved at 300 dpi minimum (higher if there is small text in the ad and 600 dpi minimum if the ad is black-and-white or grayscale.) Occasionally a .pdf file will cause problems for the printer and we would like to be able to immediately substitute a .tif file.

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What about .jpgs?
Files saved as a .jpg can work as long as they are saved at the highest possible quality. Keep in mind that .jpgs are a lossy compression format, which means that image detail is removed to make the file smaller. Before saving a file as a .jpg to make the file smaller, try saving the .tif with lzw compression and see what effect that has.

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Should my file be CMYK or RGB?
Our publications are printed in CMYK on a web-offset printing press. To ensure the colors print properly on your ad please design and save your ad files in CMYK. Ads sent in RGB will be converted to 4-color which may cause a shift in color on your advertisement.

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How should I name my file?
Ideally, your filename should include the name of your company or establishment. In the past, many advertisers have sent us ads named Plastics-ad.tif or PostPress-ad.pdf. As you can imagine, once there are two or three files named this way things can get confusing. We suggest naming your file along the following conventions:

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CompanyName_Publication_date.pdf

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Remember to make sure the .pdf or .tif extension is included in the filename. Mac computers don’t automatically add this extension to their filenames. PC’s only know a file’s type by checking the extension.

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Can I email my materials?
Usually, yes. Our email system can accept large attachments, but some email programs and some servers that transmit email limit the size of attached files that you can send. If your ad file is larger than 10MB we recommend using a file transfer service (such as WeTransfer or Hightail) to send the file.

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Can I upload the file to our website and email you the url?
Yes. If you have the capability to upload it to your company’s website, ftp server or a third-party service such as Dropbox, you could simply email us the url to the file and we could download it at our convenience.

If you have additional questions, please contact our Art Director.