Advertising with the APA: Digital Specifications Guide

Ad Dimensions:

Digital Specifications:

1. Submit all ads in pdf format. NOTE: This is the only format we accept.
   
   
2. Use Adobe Distiller 4.0-6.0 to convert your ads to pdf format. NOTE: Make sure that your Distiller job options are set according to the specifications below. Especially ensure that the compatibility option under the General tab is set to make Acrobat 4.0 (PDF 1.3) pdfs.
   
   
3. Submit all ads in black and white.
   
   
4. Ensure that all images and photos in your ads are at least 300 dpi. Do not include low resolution image formats, such as jpegs and gifs. Embed only high resolution images in your ads.
   
   
5. Make all images and photos in your ads grayscale.
   
   
6. Do not attach ICC Profiles or OPI color management to your ads. Pdfs will not contain OPI if the Distiller Job options specified below are used. See the instructions and screen shots below to avoid attaching ICC profiles to your ads.
   
   
7. True Type fonts can only be used in your ads if the PC virtual printer TrueType output criteria is set correctly. But to avoid potential problems with printing, it's best to avoid including them in your ads.
   
   
8. Configure your layout program's printer styles to match our printer's production requirements. NOTE: Instructions and screen captures for both Quark and In Design are coming soon.
   
   
9. NOTE: If you're using InDesign or Quark, configure your settings according to the specifications outlined in The Sheridan Press PDF Submission Guidelines.
   

2. Do not attach ICC Profiles to your images. If you're using Photoshop 6.0, you can easily avoid embedding ICC Profiles in images by leaving the ICC profile option unchecked, as in the example below:

Configuring Your Adobe Distiller Settings to Match Our Printer's Production Requirements

To ensure that your pdf ads will conform to our printer's standards, set your Adobe Distiller settings as follows:

1. Open Distiller.
2. Go to Settings, Job Options.
3. Configure your settings according to the specifications below.
4. Save your settings accordingly. (Example, you may wish to save your settings as APA Publications, APA Proceedings, etc.)

NOTE: The screen captures below are for Adobe Acrobat Distiller 5.0. Please ignore options in the screen captures below that do not exist in prior versions of Distiller.

General Tab
Set Compatibility to Acrobat 4.0 (PDF 1.3) Select left binding. Ensure that the resolution is 2400 dpi. NOTE: The dimensions input in your page layout program will override the dimensions in the Distiller General tab.

Compression Tab
Select Zip Compression. Select Anti-Alias to gray 8-bit. Select Compress Text and Line Art.

Fonts Tab
Select: Embed All Fonts. Subset embedded fonts when percent of characters used is less than 100%. Choose Cancel job from the drop-down menu to ensure that non-embedded fonts aren't included in the file. Leave the Always Embed and Never Embed menus empty.

Color Tab
Ensure that Color Management is off. Select Preserve Overprint Settings. Select Remove Transfer Functions.

Advanced Tab
Place a check next to: Convert gradients to smooth shades. Process DSC comments. Preserve EPS from DCS. Preserve Document Information from DSC.

Configuring Your Printer Styles to Match our Printer's Requirements

Create a printer style in your page layout program by following the specifications below:

NOTE: Instructions and screen shots for both Quark and In Design are coming soon.

PageMaker 7.0
Make sure that Acrobat Distiller is selected as your printer.
Make sure that "Print colors in black" is selected. Set the frequency to 150.0 lpi and the angle to 45.0.
Select 2400 dpi as the resolution.
Configure your settings according to the image to the right, and, if necessary, select the file for which you'd like to write your document.