Easy question about crop marks

[GoodPeopleFlags]

I needed to send off some artwork to get biz cards printed. These will have a full bleed so I set it up to account for that and added crop marks. I did the layout in Illy and although the printing company will take ai files, they prefer pdf. I saved it as .pdf but the crop marks didn't show up. I found the settings in the .pdf file/save window for "trim marks" and "bleed". Still can't get them to show up. What's an easy way to do this? I know I'm missing something very obvious! In the meantime, I just sent them the .ai files but I'd still like to know how to do it for future reference. Thanks!

 

[Letterbox Mike]

Most printing companies don't want you to place the trim marks. Just tell them the final cut size and the amount of bleed you added to the file, they'll add the trim marks in prepress.

 

[ChiknNutz]

True, many don't. We've been using 4Over quite a bit this year and they prefer crop marks, though it is not a requirement. Sorry, can't help you with the Illy question as I don't use it, I use Corel instead and it has the option to insert crop marks when creating the PDF.

 

[GK]

See if they have templates that are set up exactly for their presses. Not all of them are equal so the results will not be the same from one to the next especially when it comes to the bleed, safety, and trim areas.

 

[GK]

As far as Illustrator goes, when make a rectangle the size of the trim you are trying to create, place it where it needs to go, then go Object < Crop Area < Make (i would recommend saving on its own layer)

 

[GoodPeopleFlags]

I can get the crop marks in Illy; I just can't keep them there when I save it as a .pdf.

As a matter of fact, I am using 4Over. I didn't realize the crop marks weren't on the .pdf until I got an email saying I didn't leave enough bleed area, which in fact I had left mroe than required. I called and they said the crop marks weren't there. So, that's how all this mess started.

I also need to send them a file of a card I created in Photoshop. I want to save it as a pdf to send to them and need crop marks. Anyone have time to walk me through how to do that? Do I set the page (canvas) up at 3.5" x 2" and then somewhere add the bleed or set the page (canvas) up larger to include the bleed?

Thanks! Obviously new to this aspect of things!

 

[GK]

I can get the crop marks in Illy; I just can't keep them there when I save it as a .pdf.

As a matter of fact, I am using 4Over. I didn't realize the crop marks weren't on the .pdf until I got an email saying I didn't leave enough bleed area, which in fact I had left mroe than required. I called and they said the crop marks weren't there. So, that's how all this mess started.

I also need to send them a file of a card I created in Photoshop. I want to save it as a pdf to send to them and need crop marks. Anyone have time to walk me through how to do that? Do I set the page (canvas) up at 3.5" x 2" and then somewhere add the bleed or set the page (canvas) up larger to include the bleed?

Thanks! Obviously new to this aspect of things!

If you are using 4Over go to the resources page and download their business card template in .eps. It has all the rulers and crop marks already done for you. Just drop your existing artwork on top of their template and your done.

 

[Marie]

For the pdf to include the bleed, I think that you are going to need to setup your page size in Illy to include the area that bleeds and manually put in your crop marks (draw the 3.5x2 box / object / crop area / make).

 

[ChiknNutz]

Or use their PDF Driver...
https://trade.4over.com/pdf_drivers.php?