At PDQ Print Services we cater for a wide range of customers who do include Architects, Designers, Painters, Housewives, Bank Managers, Bricklayers, Builders, Plumbers, Lawyers, Civil Servants, University Professors, Vicars, Pole Dancers, Cleaning Ladies, Left wing, Right wing, Educated, Uneducated, Swimmers, Hotel Staff, Shop Keepers, Smokers (but not in the shop of course) the Unemployed and last but not least Students and no doubt many more too.  Don’t be too disappointed if you haven’t received a mention - we would still like to see you! Our customers have varying levels of ability, knowledge of what we do and of course expectations. There is an old saying “Garbage In - Garbage Out” which applies to this business as much as any other - perhaps more so!  This section is offered as a basic guide to assist those of you that would like to do their own work and simply have us print it for them.  We welcome you with open arms and will do everything possible to help you achieve your goal.  Any questions - please ask- it might be easier than you think, or more difficult of course, only time will tell...

What Platform should I use?
PDQ supports both MAC and PC platforms.

What programs can I use?
We support:    Quark, Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Freehand, Corel and PageMaker, Word, Publisher, PowerPoint and no doubt a few others. We also fully support and accept PDF. More of this later (see PDF Workflow).

How should I supply the artwork?
Work can be written to:    CD, DVD, Memory Sticks and IPods etc are all acceptable, we also have broadband Email (artwork@pdqprint.co.uk)

PDF Workflow
The ‘holy grail’ of the print industry has to be the seamless transfer of ‘useful’ electronic files from one machine to another. In many ways the Adobe PDF standard addresses this need BUT the pdf must follow certain rules. For a start ALL fonts need to be included and all images should be at 300dpi. Unfortunately the success of the pdf standard has served to distract from the requirements of the print industry with the inevitable consequence that, it is not just possible, but almost certain, that the majority of pdf’s created are unfit for litho print purposes!  If you would like to use pdf as input to ourselves please ask for advice first. However, given a ‘good’ print-ready pdf we can pre-flight it, correct colour profiles, remove potential printing errors and all with a high degree of automation and accuracy.

What about text in my work?
A copy of the fonts you have used should always be supplied together with a copy of what you expect the finished document to look like. Alternatively, you

What about images/photos in my work?
Always supply an electronic copy of any image used in your work as a separate file, try not to “embed” images in your work, link them instead. All scans should be correctly sized and orientated prior to use in your document. This should be done in an image manipulation program such as “Photoshop”. All scans should be presented at a resolution of “300 DPI” (300 dots per inch) if you are to expect a good quality crisp output. It used to be the case that we insisted on CMYK images. However, time marches on and given that RGB has a greater colour gamut than CMYK you may prefer to work in RGB. We are OK with this just as long as you appreciate that at some stage such images will need to be converted to CMYK. If you don't know the implications of this don't worry or you can always ask us to explain (see below).

What about colour in my work?
Colour can vary dramatically. Every element: screen, scanner, printer and paper having its own colour profile. The only way to control this is to “colour calibrate” your system to take note of our press profiles (available on request). It is a complex technical subject but if your expectations are high, arguably higher than a ‘fit for purpose’ approach then you will need to invest both time and money. If you are at all unsure about how your colours will come out ask us for a colour proof. This colour proof will be either a digital laser proof and should be seen as a good indication of final colour match not an exact copy or you can have a colour matched inkjet proof at some additional cost.

Equipment
We have a large range of equipment and can perform most, if not all, printing, binding and copying tasks. Rather than present you with an endless list of that equipment, as an alternative we list just some of the things we, and perhaps you, can do with it and you are always welcome to ask to see the machines when we would be pleased to show you around.

We can:
Litho Print 4 colour process / spot colour / staple / die-cut / perfect bind / wire & comb bind books / laminate & encapsulate up to 40” wide with matt or gloss film. The film can be thick as glass or as fine as a plastic bag / we can mount your posters to board / print your posters in colour or black & white / scan a drawing or a poster to 36” wide / write the file(s) to CDRom. Digitally print in colour or B/W to various materials at most sizes.  We print, copy and scan architectural drawings / we accept files by Email on disk or via pigeon post. We print newsletters, leaflets, booklets, posters, flyers, magazines, stationery, postcards, order books and many promotional items (see www.pdqprint.co.uk). We also have a couple of copiers that you can use directly on a DIY basis which give you the ability to either copy or print in either B/W or colour at an economical rate - see our Copy Club leaflet for further details.

If you require anymore information or advice please don’t hesitate to ask!