Using Our Template

Download Templates from our templates download page. Please note where templates are saved on your hard drive.

Open Sharpdots’ Template file in QuarkXpress. Read specific instructions on template while creating your artwork. Do not alter page size or margins, as they are critical in the correct placement of your work.

Quark Xpress Inspection Checklist

Verify All 5 Points Below Prior To Submitting Provide one document

Provide One Quark Document for Entire Job (i.e. submit Front + Back card as a 2 page document or 8 page catalog as one 8-page document, not 8 documents of one page each) – Only Use Our Supplied QuarkXpress Templates

Remove all unused colors from the color palette

Go to Edit > Colors. In the “Show” pull down menu, select “Colors not used.” Select these colors and click delete. Note: the process colors (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) cannot be deleted.

Convert all colors to CMYK

Go to Edit > Colors. Convert all colors to process by double clicking on each color and selecting “CMYK” in the “Model” pull down menu. Also be sure to uncheck the “Spot Color” checkbox. PLEASE NOTE: If your file has a Die Line from our template, DO NOT convert this color to process, and do not uncheck “Spot Color” checkbox, as it will be used for guides only, and not print with your process colors.

Confirm all linked images are press-ready

- CMYK color mode. Any images left in RGB mode will be converted automatically by our servers, using our profiles, and may not match the conversion tables on your computer.

- 300-350dpi (scaling above 100% will cause problems – please see the resolutions section on our website)

Remove non-printing items

Remove all non-printing items from your document and pasteboard area

File Formats

SharpDots accepts the following file formats from QuarkXpress:

QuarkXpress Native File Format (.qxd)
After you have proofread your text and finalized layout and linked images, collect your work for submission to Sharpdots.

Go to File > Collect for Output. In this menu, choose a location to collect your files and click "New Folder." Name your folder and click "Create." In the Collect options at the bottom of the window, select the following checkboxes: Layout, Linked pictures, Embedded Pictures, Screen Fonts, and Printer Fonts. Click Save. Please verify all items were collected before submitting to Sharpdots.

PDF
To generate a PDF in Quark, you must first set PDF options. Go to QuarkXPress > Preferences. In the Preferences window, on the left hand navigation, select PDF. Select the "Direct to PDF" radial button. Next click Default Options; this window will have five sections.

Layout Info: enter a Title for your PDF. Other fields may be ignored.

Hyperlinks: Deselect "include Hyperlinks"

Job Options: Select "Embed all fonts" in Font Options. In Compression Options, set Color Images to "Manual ZIP (8bit)" and "Downsample to 300dpi;" set Grayscale Images to "Manual ZIP (8bit)" and "Downsample to 300dpi;" set Monochrome Images to "CCITT Group 4" and "Keep Resolution." Do not check the two boxes at the bottom.

Output: In Color Output, Type is "Composite," Print Colors "CMYK,' do not produce blank pages. Leave Use OPI unchecked. Set Registration to "Centered" with offset at "12 pt." Bleeds is "Symmetric" at an amount of "0.125 in.

OPI: Check the OPI Active checkbox. For TIFF, check "Include Images" only, for EPS, check "Include Images"
Click OK to the Default Options window. Click OK to the Preferences window. Now you are ready to creat the PDF. Go to File > Export >Layout as PDF. This will bring up the Export as PDF window. Name your PDF, and save to a destination for retrieval. Include All pages, leave Spreads unchecked. Click Save. Your file is now ready to submit to Sharpdots.

Please note that these are basic PDF settings for Quark; the Quark export function will not work reliably for Sharpdots' clients with larger jobs, such as multi-page catalogs. For larger jobs, please follow instructions for creating a PDF in Acrobat Distiller.