document

Verify that the color settings are correct.

Are the format, number of pages, cropping, and notification area correct?

Is everything right on the grid?

Are all edge-falling objects circumcised?

Are all paragraph and character formats correct, used correctly and used everywhere?

Are all elements on the right level?

Has everything superfluous been erased? (layers, colors, formats, and elements outside the canvas)

Is pagination continuous?

For books and brochures: Can the pagination be divided by 4?

Is the pagination correct in the table of contents and in picture/source references?

Are the headers and categories correct?

Is there text overflow? Open all text windows completely or delete unnecessary breaks or spaces at the end.

Are there elements that are too close to the waistband and may no longer be seen due to the binding?

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writings

Are fonts missing from the document? Activate missing fonts.

Is the font still easy to read? Font sizes not less than 6 pt. Be careful with colorful or bright fonts with a small font size.

Are all settings for the texts, paragraph and character formats correct?

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Links and images

Are the links correct and the sources available?

Replace layout images with edited images/ HighRes data.

Are the file formats correct?

For placed PDF files: Check PDF documents.

Check resolution: Is the value for “ppi effective” sufficient?

Check images for distortion.

Check the background for cropped images.

For vector graphics: Remove overlapping areas with Pathfinder.

If necessary, convert images to the correct color profile.

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color fields

Are all colors used listed in the color fields? Add unnamed but used colors.

Delete unused color fields.

Unify similar and double colors.

Convert RGB color fields to CMYK. When printing special colors, the colors should be defined as a solid tone.

Check the document for “registration marks black”, do not use it as black in the document, only for registration marks.

Create spot color fields correctly.

Check that spot colors have been assigned correctly.

Are all color values correct and CI compliant?

Apply deep black as needed.

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lines

Are all line thicknesses uniform?

Are the line thicknesses still visible/printable?

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Overprint settings and separation preview

Finishes, punched contours, groove, crease and perforation lines must be created as a special color (solid color) in InDesign.

Die-cut contours, grooved and perforated lines must be subject to overprints. (You can use the overprint preview to check whether the elements below exist if you hide the special color field.)

White elements must not overprint.

Place fine black elements on a coloured background on overprints.

Are fine black elements made of pure black?

If necessary, discuss overprinting of special colors with the printer.

Is the maximum amount of paint applied correctly?

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microtypography

Are highlighting implemented consistently?

Are all spellings (such as € instead of euro or company name) implemented consistently?

Are the dots and commas correct in the numbers? German: 1,200.25/English: 1,200.25.

Are quotation marks uniform?

Are the special mathematical characters used correctly? Correct characters (no x), division marks, addition marks, Subtraction characters, fractions, angles, superscripts and subscripts (such as CO₂).

Remove spaces before, or.

Are ellipses used instead of individual points?

Are the hyphens and dashes set correctly?

Are there unnecessary hyphens due to manual breaks?

Are numbers set correctly?

Are real small caps used?

Are the headlines balanced?

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sentence pattern

Enable optical margin adjustment (optional).

Is the language setting for hyphenation correct? German text in German, English text with the English dictionary setting.

No more than three separations in consecutive lines.

Avoid separations that distangle meaning.

Don't separate short words.

Avoid a hyphen at the beginning of a line.

The first or last line of a paragraph is not alone.

Are rough, flutter and block sets cleanly balanced?

If necessary, manually adjust breaks in the document.

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More typography tips and basics can be found in the book”The ABC of typography”.