Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently asked questions by category.
Account Setup
Setting up account with Acutrack
It is best to submit artwork to Acutrack's FTP site. Here are the FTP instructions:
Go to Acutrack's Login page and sign up as below
Email Address: Guest
Password: Upload
And submit your graphics to "Artwork" Department.
First Time User -- Warning
You may be asked to run or install a JAVA runtime script and also validate your digital signature. Once completed, you will be able to browse and choose the files you want to send to us.
Acutrack has a consultative approach to the business. We like to get an opportunity to talk to you and get a better understanding of your needs and advise you the best and cost effective solution. You may initiate by contacting us or submit a quote request.
We maintain a large database of standard templates for CD/DVD
packages. These templates can be viewed and downloaded here. These templates have been designed by our prepress department to ensure that your job will move quickly and smoothly through our print shop and packaging departments. Additionally, we can create template for any custom packaging to meet your specifications. Please contact your sales representative for any custom needs.
Setting up an account with Acutrack is simple.
- Choose the payment option, complete & send us the form --- Credit card or Setting up terms
- Are we producing CD or DVD? Please complete the IPR form
- California based business -- please complete "the resale form" if your products are for resale. This would enable us not to charge you sales tax.
- Submit your purchase order
Blu-ray Production
Blu-ray Production Services
For the usage of the Blu-ray logo and/or the RPC-Logo (region code) a CPA-Light license of the Blu-ray Disc Association is needed
More information at: http://www.blu-raydisc.info/content_prov.php
For Blu-ray productions the following estimated turn around times can be assumed. These turnaround times may vary slightly because there are several independent steps such as AACS encryption, authoring and check disc approval. Each of these steps is outside of Acutrack's control. The below given time frame is based on receipt of proper master material according to the set industrial standards for Blu-ray as well as the AACS ID of the Content Provider.
Blu-ray Authoring – 10-15 business days depending on the complexity of your project
Blu-ray Check disc: This is customer’s responsibility
QC of Content/Master: This usually takes 1 working day
AACS Encryption: This usually takes 1 working day depending on the AACS workload.
Mastering and Galvanic: The actual mastering including the production of a
stamper usually takes 1 working day depending on the workload of the mastering department.
Replication of Check Discs: After receipt of the stamper, we need approximately
1 working day to ship the 10 unprinted check discs out.
Approval of Check Discs: This is the customer’s responsibility.
Production of Order Quantity: 5 working days. This is always dependent on the actual order size and will be agreed in detail upon receipt of PO. Please note that the above time frame is solely a guideline and not confirmed production turnaround times.
Our aim is always to meet and exceed your expectations and to execute your orders as fast as possible.
As set in the Blu-ray Disc Specifications, it is mandatory for each BD Disc to be AACS protected. Therefore, all content owners are obliged to sign a “Content Provider Agreement” with the AACS LA. This link http://www.aacsla.com/license/ takes you directly to the licensing page of AACS LA.
The licensing agreement can be found under the following links:
http://www.aacsla.com/license/AACS_Content_Provider_Agrmt_090619.pdf
AACS LA can also be contacted under the following contact details:
AACS Administration
3855 SW 153rd Drive
Beaverton, Oregon 97006 USA
Phone: +1-503-619-0863
Fax: +1-503-644-6708
Email: admin@aacsla.com
After receipt of your content/master as well as your purchase order, the master will be checked internally and after the check is completed without error the Content Certificate is ordered with the AACS LA. This usually takes 2 working days.
After the AACS has signed the Content Certificate and returned it to our facility, the customer’s master is encrypted with the Content Certificate as well as an individual Media Key Block. The master is now ready for Glass Mastering and Galvanic.
It is strictly forbidden and technically not possible to manufacture or attempt to manufacture an AACS unprotected Blu-ray Disc.
Registration with AACS LA is easy and quick.
By the way, "AACS LA" stands for Advanced Access Content System Licensing Administrator
• Log on to http://www.aacsla.com/license/
• Scroll down to AACS Final Content Provider Agreement & click.
• It′s a 159 pages document!
• What you need to submit to AACS LA is 3 signature pages:
• Signature pages are: Page 1, 58-59, Exhibit C
• On Exhibit A under Production License, check Initial Election; under this, check Basic Content Provider.
• Under Basic Content Provider Administrative Fees. Please indicate your election for payment of
Administrative Fees (as set out in Exhibit B of this Agreement).
• Option 1 – Annual Fee (US$500 per year)
• Option 2 – One-Time Fee (US$3000)
Once these 3 signature pages are filled out and “EXHIBIT A” Evaluation/Production License Election, fax to:
Justin McAllister
(503) 644-6706 (Fax)
Justin will have your contact info (from page 1 of the signature pages) and will email you a receipt of fax along with an attached invoice for either $3000 or $500. You can then either wire transfer or send the payment via check. Once this is completed, you will be sent an email with an AACS Licensee ID Number to give to Acutrack.
You must also mail 2 original signed copies of the above signature pages.
The AACS LA will then return one fully executed copy for your records.
We recommend that you make contact with Justin (503) 619-0863 as there is a lot of reading (158 pages of legal jargon). He′s most helpful in explaining and even expediting the process. We hope this helps to reduce some of the confusion regarding AACS LA registration.
Blu-ray, also known as Blu-ray Disc (BD), is the name of a next-generation optical disc format jointly developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), a group of the world's leading consumer electronics, personal computer and media manufacturers (including Apple, Dell, Hitachi, HP, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, TDK and Thomson).
The format was developed to enable recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition video (HD), as well as storing large amounts of data. The format offers more than five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs and can hold up to 25GB on a single-layer disc and 50GB on a dual-layer disc.
- BDAV (Blu-ray Audio Video) - The disc contains 1 straight-play high-def movie and no menus.
- BDMV Standard Content - The disc contains High Definition video, audio & graphics plus menus, submenus, subtitles and the navigation is similar to DVD. There is no Web-Enabled and Multi-Angle feature.
- BDMV Advanced Content - Contains High Definition video, audio & graphics plus menus, submenus, subtitles. A very special navigation feature called "Pop-Up Menu" is the highlight of this kind of disc: the viewer can access the menu or any other movie even while the movie is playing. Adding the power of Java, this type of BD disc allows internet (web & gaming) connectivity while the disc plays.
- BD-ROM - The disc contains computer data files. A good example of this are luxury vehicles equipped with GPS navigator and the data is retrieved from a BD disc.
- About 2.5 hours of high quality high-definition (HD) video on a 25GB disc.
- About 4 hours of high quality high-definition (HD) video on a 50GB disc.
- About 23 hours of standard-definition (SD) video on a 50GB disc
Video can be submitted in either digital tape or file format.
- For tape, MiniDV (HDV) is preferred.
- For digital file, uncompress HD Quicktime or AVI HD format is preferred.
Standard HD video specs: 1280 x 720, Progressive, square pixels, 23.976 fps, also important, when you render your HD video, make sure field render is off.
Note: The customer must specify if playback is interlace (1080-i) or progressive (1080p). You cannot mix and match both in a single project as this would cause problems in the master
- Single layer Blu-ray = 25GB compared to single layer DVD (4.7GB)
- Double layer Blu-ray = 50GB compared to dual layer DVD (8.5GB)
- Pioneer recently created a 400GB BD (not ready for production yet, but interesting nonetheless)
- Future plans for Blu-ray (being developed by Pioneer in Japan) includes a multilayer disc with a potential capacity of 1TB
Yes. Almost all consumer BD players can play DVDs. All DVD players will not play BD discs.
Once the authoring stage is complete, premastering process begins. A BD-R checkdisk will then be submitted to the customer for final approval. Take note also that all the latest BD software players for PC/Mac restricts playback from BD discs only, therefore, previewing from any computer is not possible when played from hard drives.
To submit a master for replication, the output must be sent on a hard drive (external USB) as BD-CMF format from a licensed Authoring software like Scenarist or Bluprint, etc.
- In old NTSC & PAL TV sets, a frame of video is displayed in 2 "sliced" fields. This is because of the aging CRT technology. The "interlacing" rate is so fast that it's not noticeable by the human eye and therefore the brain sees a "frame".
- Now, LCD Monitors and TV sets don't do this interlacing.... and they don't need to. Frames of video can be displayed in progression that is instantaneous and with smooth playback.
- In the world of HD - 1080 resolution = 1280 (width) x 1080 (height) pixels.
- If the customer shoots the HD video using 29.97 frame/sec., it's 1080i
- It the customer shoots the HD video using 24 frame/sec., it's 1080p
More FYI: 24 fps is the frame rate used by moviemakers. Most of the first generation HD cameras are not capable of recording 1080p video. You should never convert from 1080p to 1080-i. The resulting video will play with jerkiness. You can convert 1080-i to 1080p but it requires a special pc hardware to get the video to play smoothly.
- Customer/publisher needs to call AACS to register his/her company and the title AACS issues a content certificate (text file) to customer to keep as proof of registration.
- Customer must send that certificate file to authoring house to confirm registration.
- Authoring house must use a professional and fully licensed BD authoring system like Scenarist or Bluprint and enable AACS protection.
If Acutrack is not authoring the project then the AACS certified image must be submitted Acutrack in BD-CMF format on HDD. When we proceed to create the glass master, we will authenticate the ACCS cert via the web. If authentication is successful, then they can proceed with the BD replication.
Mailing Services
Questions related to Acutrack's Mailing Services
Direct Mail Services involves mailing identical pieces via USPS to a list of U.S. mailing addresses. Product that is Drop Shipped is sent in varying quantities, with specific per-piece shipping instructions, using a variety of carriers and/or over a period of time
Requiring postage up front is standard practice in the Direct Mail industry. This is because the cost of the postage, which can be more than the cost of the entire printing job, is passed directly to the customer with no mark-up. All postage fees must be paid in advance!
A 2" x 4" white space must be allotted for Acutrack to include the return address, mailing address, and indicia. If you have prepared your design files to pre-print the return address directly on the product, please place the return address outside of this 2" x 4" white space.
An indicia (also called a permit imprint) is an imprinted designation on mail that denotes postage payment. The indicia is printed in the upper right-hand corner where the postage stamp would be. It indicates whether the mailing is First Class or Standard. It also shows the Post Office of origin, and the Account Permit Number. In order to mail your CDs at the discounted rates offered by the USPS, it is necessary to have an indicia printed in the upper right hand corner of your packaging. As part of your direct mail package, Acutrack will provide one for you.
Depending on the weight of each package, and the distribution of the addresses on your mailing list, First Class Mail is going to be around 50% to 100% more expensive than Standard Mail. First Class Mail will generally arrive in 2—5 days, while Standard Mail can take as long as 15 days.
Yes. Acutrack’s Direct Mail Department can standardize your list and omit duplicate entries for $75/hr.
Your mailing list should be sent to Acutrack via email or on disc in an Excel Spreadsheet or an ASCII delimited text file. In addition the zipped download file will contain a Sample Mailing List as well as Mailing List Worksheet you can use to format your own list.
When we receive your mailing list, we will process your list with software certified by the USPS in order to obtain the lowest possible postage rate for your mailing. (The USPS offers significant discounts for mail that has been printed with automation barcodes and prepared in presort order.) Within two days, your Project manager will fax you a postage statement. We will require a check for the full postage amount before we will mail your discs. When your discs are finished, they will be ink-jetted with your address information, and mailed within five days.
On Demand Integration
Integrate your Shopping Cart / E-Commerce Engine with Acutrack's On Demand System
A. Shipping Cost For Additional Quantity
Yes. PayPal allows us to specify the shipping cost for each additional unit.
In Step 3: Customize advanced features (optional) there is a text box called "Add advanced variables"
For additional quantities if you need to add $2 then
in the text box enter shipping2=2
For $3 enter shipping2=3
For $4 enter shipping2=4 and so on..
To view the Screen Shots Click Here
B. Multiple Shipping Method
Yes. PayPal allows us to specify the shipping method using the variable of "ShippingTypeId".
In Step 3: Customize advanced features (optional) there is a text box called "Add advanced variables"
For UPS GROUND, You need to add ShippingTypeId=15 in the text box.
To check the various shippingtypeId by click this url http://www.acutrackhelp.com/node/236
To view the Screen Shots Click Here
This is because the order notification from your system to Acutrack is failed for the missing order.
When an order is notified to our ordering webservices, if the order is placed successfully an Acutrack OrderID number will be supplied as acknowlegement.
Please save this OrderID in your system for cross reference.
If your system does not have Acutrack orderID number, then you can be sure that the order will not be found in Acutrack system.
If content of the CD exceeds 650 MB, Acutrack cannot automatically split the content across multiple CDs. You can however control this and split the files across multiple CDs(as multiple lineitems in an order) by repeating the <OrderProduct> tag in the XML.
The same ProductID can be used.
Alternatively, you can also use DVD to avoid splitting.
Speficiation's for disc and cover artworks can be downloaded here
Acutrack provides web services to POST your order and shipment information from your E-Commerce Engine in an XML format based on Acutrack's XML Schema. Please contact Acutrack for the XML Schema. You can use any Programming Languages such as PHP, ASP, ASPX, JSP, CGI etc.. that can generate standard XML to do a HTTP POST. The web services will respond back in an XML format with Acutrack Order# and message codes such as
E-P001 - Product does not exist
E-R001 - Purchase order Number already exist
S-S001 - Order created successfully
Once the order is placed successfully, you can update your system with the Acutrack's Order # for cross reference.
ApprovalCode is your order number. This has to be a unique alphanumeric number.
For dynamic products Checksum is a required field if we need to download the same content for more than 1 order.
Checksum has to be a unique string value per product revision to avoid multiple download of the same content.
This id refers to shipping carrier and method that needs to be used to ship an order.
Tracking Number is the shipment confirmation number. You can use this number to track the delivery status of the order online - www.usps.com, www.ups.com or www.fedex.com
Acutrack will notify (HTTP Post) the following shipping confirmation xml with TrackingNumber to a web page URL, something like www.yourserver.com/ReceiveShippingConfirmation.aspx with a variable name xmlStrShipping
You have to email this URL to us, so that we can configure this URL in our shipping system.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<ShippingConfirmation>
<Orders>
<Order>
<ApprovalCode>Your Purchase order Number</ApprovalCode>
<TrackingNumber />
<DealerID />
</Order>
</Orders>
</ShippingConfirmation>
You can use any programming languages like PHP, ASP, ASPX, CGI etc… that can request the XML. For example, in .ASP language you can write
RequestShippingXml=Request (“xmlStrShipping”)
In your web page do the following...
- Get the Shipping Confirmation xml notified by Acutrack
- Get the TrackingNumber from the XML
- Update your system with TrackingNumber
- Write a script to create a ShippingConfirmationResponse XML as below and Response to the post (Response.write or echo to the browser)
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<ShippingConfirmationResponse>
<Orders>
<Order>
<ApprovalCode>Your Purchase order Number</ApprovalCode>
<Status>Success/Error</Status>
<Message>Description if the status is error</Message>
</Order>
</Orders>
</ShippingConfirmationResponse>
Success:
If your system is updated with tracking number, then
<Status>Success</Status>
Already Shipped:
If your order is already shipped, then
<Status>Error</Status>
<Message>Already Shipped</Message>
Internal Error:
If there is any error on your end and could not update the tracking nuumber, then
<Status>Error</Status>
<Message>Internal Error</Message>
Acutrack recommends you to place First Article Order. But if you choose not to verify how the completed product will look like, you can ignore this process by emailing Acutrack.
First article order process is for you to verify and approve the completed product.
Before shipping a live order, we recommend you to place a First Article Order for every product with your shipping address. You can then receive the completed product and verify the following..
- Content, Artworks
- Mailer
- Shipping Label (Ship from address and Postage)
- Packing slip
Steps to Configure:
- Configure the PayPal Instant Payment Notification
- Contact Acutrack and get the Notification URL
- Login to your PayPal account at http://www.paypal.com
- Click My Account / Profile / Instant Payment Notification (under Selling Preferences)
- Check the Instant Payment Notification to activate
- Enter the Notification URL provided by Acutrack
- Click Save
Click here for sample IPN configuration
2. Configure the Item_Number (Sku number) and Item_Name in PayPal
a) Custom written Add To Cart button:
If you create your own custom Add To Cart Button, add the following hidden fields to the script..
<input type="hidden" name="item_number" value="Product1">
(Replace the value "Product1" with your sku number)
<input type="hidden" name="item_name" value="Name Of your Product">
(Replace the value "Name Of your Product" with your product name.)
b) PayPal's Add To Cart button:
If you use PayPal's Add To Cart button click this document and view how to configure item number and item name
Note:
Product name(item_name): item_number
Product name your sku#
On Demand Production
FAQs related to On Demand Engine
Please be assured that if you are seeing this message, then your package was delivered to USPS.
If www.USPS.com only shows the status as "Electronic Shipping Info Received" , then USPS may not have scanned the package with their handheld scanner or it may be that the status has not been updated yet. Status updates are not real time with the USPS like FedEx or UPS. Please be patient and try to check back a day or so later. If you want to reship another product, please enter a new order via our Adminpanel (https://www.acutrack.com/adminpanel).
A vast majority of orders will ship out the next day.
Generally speaking, 99% of the orders that we receive ship out within 48-72 hours after successful receipt.
We DO NOT work on saturdays and sundays.
We follow the standard federal holiday schedule.
We will be happy to resend a new product; but we do not have any re-order mechanism built-in to our automated on-demand fulfillment system and cannot alter the database to reset the old order status to new again for several reasons –security, duplication of records, historical data maintenance, opportunity for human error, etc.
The best thing to do is to submit/post a brand new order for this customer (you might even want to add a “-a” or “-1” to your internal reference number for your records).
We will then “pick & pull” another product from inventory and reship with new tracking #s. This will also help maintain correct inventory records.
Amazon orders require special handling such as a unique Amazon provided packing slip that must accompany this shipment. Since our on demand order manufacturing/fulfillment system is fully automated, there is no way for us to inject Amazon custom packing slips in to the process.
Hence, for Amazon type orders, we recommend that our clients keep a few sets of their products with them and fulfill these orders themselves manually in order to meet all the Amazon fulfillment requirements.
Acutrack will resend the order, but we do not have any re-order mechanism built-in to our automated on-demand production system and cannot alter the database to reset the old order status to new again for several reasons –security, duplication of records, historical data maintenance, etc.
The best thing to do is to submit a brand new order.(you might even want to add a “-a” or “-1” for your records).
We will then reproduce the discs and reship with new tracking #s
We will issue a credit for the defective disc if you can request your customer to send back the defective disc to us for analysis.
They can be sent to following address via standard USPS mail at
Ondemand Returns:
350 Sonic Avenue,
Livermore, CA 94551
We very rarely have defective CDs/DVDs and always want to know if there is a genuine issue; so we can correct it immediately so that it does not affect any future orders.
The "x/y" label is required for our QA process. Since your discs are manufactured on-demand, the line operator needs some way to know that the discs are part of a multi-disc set. The "x/y" label allows for this and the datamatrix barcode ensures that all the right discs go in the set.
All Customer Service issues must be handled by the customer unless agreed otherwise.
Acutrack is responsible only for production and shipment of Product and guarantees that the Product will be free from manufacturing defects and that mailer packaging will be sufficient to protect product during transit. Acutrack is not responsible for any error by shipping company (e.g. USPS) for incorrect or non-delivery of the package. Customer should work with the end-user, provide them the necessary support and make claims with Acutrack, if appropriate.
No, on the DVD case wrapper, the location of the datamatrix is fixed - i.e. the upper left back corner of the case wrapper -- see attached template. You can however request a 180 degree rotation of the artwork such that the datamatrix gets printed in the lower right front corner of the case wrapper.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Single Disc DVD Case - p2000.pdf | 1.68 MB |
The datamatrix is a 2-dimensional Black & White barcode about 7mm x 7mm that is appended to the artwork of all your on demand production components. It is used for our internal QC and order management through the on-demand production cycle. It is designed to prevent all opportunities for human error when preparing & shipping your on demand product.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| datamatrix_sample.JPG | 5.76 KB |
Prepress
Questions related to submitting artwork
Yes. If we need to do any editing on the scans, whether to add bleed, convert to CMYK or to adjust the resolution, we will need your scans as individual TIFF or EPS files.
We recommend against embedding your images. Linked images are much more efficient than embedded ones.
If you are using Adobe InDesign as your layout application, we recommend you make use of the Package option, which will gather your fonts and images for you.
We recommend against converting type to paths. Once type is converted to paths, it’s un-editable, which limits our ability to make adjustments to your files. It also creates a more complex file that may cause Postscript errors in the printing process. Keeping your type as editable text and sending in your fonts is the most practical solution. As an exception, we do recommend converting your text to paths if you have used foreign-language character sets.
Save your document in whatever current version you are using. Our Illustrator templates are saved in version 8, and Illustrator will try to save these documents in version 8 format by default. You must change this the first time you save your file(s). New features such as transparency are not supported in version 8, and saving backwards may cause problems that cannot be fixed.
Include any third-party Xtensions you have installed, such as Extensis’ QX-Tools. Some Xtensions, when used on a Quark document, are then necessary to open the document.
To do this, copy your entire XTensions folder (and XTensions Disabled for QuarkXPress 4 users) along with your other files.
Save your Quark files in whatever current version you are using. Our QuarkXPress templates are saved in version 3.x format, and Quark will not automatically save your layouts in a later format unless you specify this in the save dialog box.
We do not accept QuarkXPress Passport files. You must save your Passport documents without support for multiple languages.
The primary font format for Macintosh is PostScript. The fonts come in two main parts: a screen font (usually in a suitcase) and a printer font. If the font has multiple weights (such as plain, bold, italic, and bold italic), each weight will have a separate printer font.
Make sure you are sending us all parts of a font, as this is one of the most common mistakes (see The 5 most common problems when sending art on disk).
While we recommend using PostScript Type 1 fonts on the Mac, we also accept OpenType, TrueType, and dfont. These will only consist of a single file. Some TrueType fonts can be troublesome to print, so use the other formats when possible.
On the Mac OS 9 or earlier, fonts are usually stored in System > Fonts. In OS X, there are a number of possible locations:
- Home > Library > Fonts
- Library > Fonts
- System > Library > Fonts
- System Folder > Fonts
The primary font format for Window-based computers is TrueType. All of your installed TrueType fonts are usually located in the /WINDOWS/FONTS folder, and contain the .ttf file extension. The filenames can be cryptic, but if you double-click on a font file, you’ll get a preview window so you know you’re copying the right ones. Please do not copy the entire Fonts folder: just copy the individual TrueType font files themselves.
If you own any Adobe products for PC, there may be fonts stored in c:/Program Files/Common Files/Adobe/Fonts.
We can accept Postscript Type 1 fonts for Windows, and they consist of two files: a .pfm file and a .pfb file. You must send in both files in order for us to be able to use the font. Type 1 fonts do not have a set location on your hard drive, but Adobe Type Manager usually stores them in a folder called PSFONTS.
We can also accept OpenType for PC files.
You don’t need to make your image round to fit on the disc. All the templates come with a circular area for masking any rectangular image. Each application handles this differently, so consult your software’s manual or help file for information on masking your images into the template
EPS files have a low-resolution preview file for on-screen viewing. The high-resolution image is still there, and when you print to a postscript printer, the computer will throw out the low-resolution preview and use the high-resolution data.
No. While inexpensive, ink-jet printers use same CMYK ink model that our printing presses use, the actual inks are not identical. If you printed your design on an Epson inkjet, an HP inkjet, and a Canon color laser printer, they would all look at least a little different, because each company manufactures their inks a little differently. Since your printer and our press are not calibrated to each other, we cannot accept your printout as an accurate color guide. If you are worried about color, we suggest ordering a first article proof so you can see what the final product will look like. This does incur an additional charge for setup and extra press time.
No. Two different printing processes are involved, as well as two different types of media. Your packaging will print on paper while the disc will be printing on a reflective polycarbonate substrate. This will cause a slight difference between the printed pieces. They will be close but not exact.
CMYK and RGB are two different color models, and understanding the difference can mean producing a great-looking insert rather than a muddy, disappointing one. We’ll have to delve into a little science to explain this difference.
The RGB color model is used by monitors, televisions, scanners, and digital cameras. A monitor uses very small bands of red, green, and blue light to generate color. For a quick science project, put a drop of water on the front of your monitor in a white area, and it will act like a magnifying glass. You’ll be able to see the red, green, and blue bands. RGB is additive because when you add all three colors together, you get white light; when you turn off all three lights, you get black. By mixing varying amounts of red, green, and blue light, you can create most other colors.
The paper of a magazine, catalog, or CD booklet can’t generate light like a computer monitor. It has to rely on reflected light, and the subtractive color model CMYK. When you add cyan, magenta, and yellow together (CMY), you get a color close to black, and when you don’t lay down any ink, you get white—that is, the white of the paper. A fourth color, black, is added for economical and practical reasons, and is referred to by ‘K’ so as not to be confused with blue. By mixing varying amounts of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks, you can create most other colors. All commercial, full-color printing uses CMYK inks.
So why is the difference important? Most colors created on your RGB monitor can be duplicated using CMYK inks, but not all. Your RGB monitor is generating light, so it can create some bright colors that can’t be duplicated on any CMYK printing press. Paper can only reflect light, so if you print the super-bright RGB colors in CMYK, they get a lot duller.
If you’re designing artwork in an RGB color space, we’ll have to convert it to CMYK to print. Depending on your artwork, the colors might shift a little or a lot.
We ask you to provide all your images in CMYK. If there are any color shifts, you’ll be able to see them and take steps to correct it. If you supply RGB images, we’ll make the CMYK conversion here, and show you a proof. If you want to make any changes to your images at that point, your job may be delayed and incur additional charges. It’s much better for you to supply us with CMYK files up front.
Bleed is extending any color, photo, or design elements past the cut line. Our print shop trims printed pieces in stacks of hundreds of sheets at a time. This is much faster than trimming individual pieces, at the cost of a little accuracy. Bleed gives the print shop a margin of error when trimming, so that if the cut is a little off, the white of the paper won’t show along the edge.
We request you add 1/8-inch of bleed to your layouts. Each template has guidelines set up so you can see exactly how much bleed you need to add to your layouts. These are generally the outermost guides.
Safety margin is the opposite of bleed. If you put important information such as a song title or an important part of a photo right up against the crop line, some of it may get cut off. We recommend that you keep your type and other important elements 1/8" inside the crop marks. Each template has guidelines set up so you can see exactly how much safety margin to allow. These are generally the innermost guides.
If your project is going to have a barcode on it we suggest designating a location (typically on the traycard, or the back cover of your Digipak/jacket/wallet/etc.) by placing a white rectangle in your tray card design that measures at least 1.25" wide by .5" high.
We have placed text boxes, crop and registration marks, and other items in the templates to help us prepare your job for printing. Do not delete or move these elements. Guides and overlays are on non-printing layers that can be turned off or sent to the back if they interfere with your design work. Consult your applications help file or manual for information on adjusting layers. If you alter the template pages, we will have to reformat your job into the original templates, and you will be billed for this work.
Acutrack is committed to staying current with desktop publishing technology, and we accept files from all major page layout, illustration and image-editing applications. Some popular desktop applications like Microsoft Publisher are suitable for printing flyers to your home inkjet printer, but are not powerful enough to work in a professional publishing environment. Similarly, while we can accept text in Microsoft Word, we cannot accept any layouts or images created in Word or any other word-processing program.
We do not recommend doing your entire layout in Photoshop. Photoshop is great for manipulating photos and creating special effects, but it is not a page-layout program, and does not provide us with some of the tools necessary in our publishing environment.
If you must supply your entire design in Photoshop, we have provided a PDF in the template download. You can open the PDF into Photoshop. It is VERY IMPORTANT when you open the PDF that your color mode is CMYK and the resolution is 300ppi. The template and guides will come in as a layer. When you add your art add it on a new layer (do not add it on the layer with the template info). Please send us layered Photoshop documents rather than flattened files, with any text layers still editable, and all necessary fonts. If you do choose to flatten the document you will have to be aware of the guides from the template. If you flatten the guides into your artwork we will not be able to remove them. Text set in Photoshop may not print with the same clarity as text set in any of our supported layout or illustration programs.
You can, but we recommend against it. If you are using any of the software we accept we prefer to receive the native files. Since we are printing to a specific manufacturing and packaging process, your files must meet our specs exactly. A part of our prepress service is to adjust your files to meet our specs if we find minor errors or oversights. If you supply PDFs, we are extremely limited in what we can fix or modify. If your layouts do not conform to the templates, are not in the correct template, violate any of our printing specs or require text changes, we will be unable to make the adjustments and you will have to supply new files
We have templates available in all professional-level desktop publishing software. Here is a list of file formats we can accept:
Layout files:
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe InDesign
- QuarkXPress
- Macromedia FreeHand
Photos or images:
- TIFF (.tif)
- Adobe Photoshop (.psd)
- Photoshop EPS (.eps) - with 8-bit TIFF preview
- GIF (.gif) accepted, but not recommended for print
- JPEG (.jpg) accepted, but not recommended for print
Fonts:
We can accept PostScript (our preferred format), OpenType, or TrueType fonts.
Macintosh Users -- PostScript fonts will be a suitcase/screen file with separate printer files for each weight (e.g., bold, italic, plain), while TrueType will be a single suitcase.
PC User -- Each TrueType font will be a single .ttf file, while PostScript fonts consist of two files, a .pfm and .pfb.
The templates have been designed by our prepress technicians to ensure that your job will move quickly and smoothly through our print shop and packaging departments. Differences of as little as 1/32 of an inch can cause problems in the printing and packaging process
General Help
Questions about general site usage and additional resources.
There are a couple of reasons that cause color shift on printed discs.
- This was a very short run; it takes approximately 45 minutes to set up the press and then only 10 minutes to print the entire job. This allows very little time for the operator to adjust colors via the press on board computer. Usually color adjustments are made gradually over a quantity of several hundred discs, on short runs we are forced to make more aggressive color adjustments over a quantity of only 25 to 50 discs.
- This artwork has a big difference from the lightest color to the darkest color. As one color is adjusted it affects the other color and because of the difference between the lightest and darkest color any variance is more noticeable to the human eye.
As standard procedure we try to maintain between a 3 to 5 percent variation on a print run as specified by the press specifications.
Acutrack has reviewed all their products and have made sure that all our vendors in compliant with LEAD regulations.
In accordance with H.R. 4040 Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 Title Children's Product Safety Section 101 & 108 none of our product components contain lead or phthalates. We have obtained MSDS (data sheet) from our vendors to ensure that we are in compliant.