How to Prepare Your Cards for Press Using Scribus

This Tutorial is Divided into Sections: What do I Need?

1. What do I Need? What is Scribus? This tutorial will offer you some advice on how to use Scribus
to create your content and prepare print-ready PDF files for
2. How to start a new document with Scribus DriveThruCards. It will address how to set up one digital file so
(the template explained) that both sides of the card are printed in full color.
3. What you need to know before you begin The screenshots shown in the tutorial use Scribus 1.4.1 for Mac
(more about recommended file specifications) and Adobe Acrobat Professional X. If you are using a different
4. Creating Master Pages with Scribus version of the software some of the instructions and screenshots
may be slightly different, but hopefully you can find the right
5. Adding Additional Pages with Scribus feature in your software version.
6. Adding Text with Scribus
What is Scribus?
7. Formatting Text
Scribus is an Open Source program that brings professional page
8. Adding Art layout to Linux/UNIX, Mac OS X, OS/2 Warp 4/eComStations and
9. Color Management Windows desktops.

10. Preflight Verification It is available for free at www.scribus.net.

11. Exporting your Scribus file as print-ready PDF

12. PDF/X-1a compliance with Adobe Acrobat Pro
13. Tips and Things to Remember
14. I need more help!

At the time of this revision (10/30/2013), the current, stable version of Scribus (1.4.3) does not support export to the PDF/X-1a
format, which is the format most professional printing services require. There are two ways to work around this. The first way is
to set up your document in Scribus 1.4.3, and then download the newest, unstable release (which at this time is 1.5) to export your
document, because the 1.5 release does support export to the PDF/X-1a format. The other way is to set up your document in Scribus
1.4.3, and then use the preflight tools in the PDF editor, Adobe Acrobat Professional, to make your PDF/X-1a compliant.
If you do not have Acrobat Pro, you can download a trial version from the Adobe website: www.adobe.com.

1
 How to start a new document with Scribus
This is the beginning of the step-by-step process for creating a new document for your cards
Please note: For your convenience, we have created a template
file to make your work easier. You can find this template under the
Card Printing section of your Publisher Menu, on your Account
page at DriveThruCards.
bleed area
Starting your new file from a template • This is required. • If your art does not
First, open Scribus. Then, in the File pull-down menu, navigate to The bleed must bleed, include a white
where you have saved your downloaded template file. Open it. measure ⅛” (0.125”) or black area that will
past the trim line on extend to this edge.
Click the Windows pull-down and open the Properties window. all four sides.
• Do not set a die-cut for
Let’s take a look at this template. What are all these lines? • Including the bleed, round corners in the
your final size should layout.
• The pink area is the safety area for your text, logos and any
measure 2¾” by 3¾”
important images. If any of these elements run outside of this area, • The final PDF file must
(2.75” by 3.75”).
it risks being trimmed off when the cards are cut after printing. not have crop marks.
• The white area edged by the dotted black line is called the trim
line. Literally, this is approximately where the paper will be cut or trim line
trimmed off after the cards are printed. • The trim area should • Every thing outside the
• The blue space is the bleed area. Background images or color measure 2½” by 3½” dotted line will be cut off.
must extend to this line in the file, which you can see is outside of (2.5” by 3.5”).
the paper trim line. This ensures that there is no unprinted white
margin around the edges of your finished cards. safe area
• The safe area should • All text, important
measure ⅛” (0.125”) images, and logos
inside the trim line should remain inside
on all four sides. this pink area.
The total safe area
measures 2¼” by 3¼”
(2.25” by 3.25”).

2
 What you need to know before you begin
More about the recommended specifications
The order of your document pages for correct front-to-back printing
Please create one file for your entire deck of cards. The order of the cards in the final PDF will be the
order of the finished cards in their packages.
To set up your file, you must order the pages with one card back and then one card front for each
card in the deck. See the screenshot to the right for a sample view of what your multi-page document
should begin to look like. page 1
In this screenshot, the document layout has been set to double-sided in Scribus. This will make it
very easy to design and apply master pages for the correct card front and back pages, which we will
cover next in this tutorial.
Cards do not need to have a common border color between their fronts and backs.

Your image files need to be high resolution

The images you will be using for your cards, regardless of front or back placement, need to be high page 2 page 3
resolution, which is at least 300 dpi. The physical size of the image at 300 dpi needs to be at least
the same size as the printed card or larger.
For example, if your background image is 300 dpi with a physical size of 3” by 4”, you are good to go
since that is larger than the card. If your background image is 300 dpi but measures 1½” (1.5”) by 2”,
then you have a problem. To scale up this image to meet the size of the actual printed card, your image
will be degraded because the physical size of the image is not large enough.

page 4 page 5

72 dpi 150 dpi 300 dpi page 6 page 7

3
 Creating Master Pages with Scribus
Master Pages allow you to place borders, text and other information Then click and drag to place a frame for your master page image. You
just once in the file. Then those elements will appear on all of the can set the frame size in the Properties window using the X,Y, Z tool,
pages you select, in the exact same spot. It’s very useful for recurring or you can manually resize it by clicking and dragging the blocks or
items, like repeating card backs. handles on the Image Frame box. The Properties window will be used
often, so you may want to leave it open while you work in your file.
First, go to the Insert menu and select Insert Image Frame.

handles

Here’s a tip!
If you sel
select Snap to Guides
from the Page menu before you
resize your Image Frame, the
box should automatically align
(or snap) right to the guides
already set up in the template
for the safe area, trim, or bleed.

4
 Creating Master Pages (continued)
Double-click on the box, then select the graphic to import. Once you have the page set the way you would like, go to the
Page pull-down menu and select Convert to Master. Name the
Use the Image tool in the Properties window to size the image master page, then save it.
to the box simply by clicking the Scale to Fit Frame Size button.
Make sure to tick the check box for Proportional to ensure the You can save as either a left- or right-hand page: right could be
graphic is not stretched. the back of the card, left could be the front.

If you can’t select items on the page with your cursor, check to make sure that your
document layers are not locked. To do this, pull down the Windows menu and select
Layers. The Layers palette will open. If the box under the lock icon is checked,
uncheck it. The items you are trying to select should be available to you now.

5
 Creating Master Pages (continued)
To apply the new master page to the document, go to the Page You can also click on the page(s) you wish to convert while holding
pull-down menu, then select Apply Master Page. Select the master down the Shift key, pulling down the Page menu, and selecting
you just made and the correct pages to apply it to. Apply Master Page. All the pages you chose should autoformat.
You can select all pages, only odd or only even pages, or just a If you zoom out to view multiple pages of the document, it would
specific page range in the document. look something like this:

Here’s a tip!
You may want to turn on the
Rulers Relative to Page option
in the View pull-down menu. It
automatically sets the ruler’s zero
point to the upper left-hand corner
of each page as you work.

6
 Adding Text with Scribus
First, add your text frame to the page. Pull down the Insert To place text, open the file with your text content, select the text
menu and select Insert Text Frame. Your cursor will change you want to place, and copy it. Go back to your Scribus file and
from an arrow to crosshairs with a text icon. Click and hold click on the first page inside the text area, right-click on it and then
down your mouse, then drag the crosshairs across the page to choose Paste to import and place all the text you selected. It will
draw your text frame. not be formatted but it will all be there.

Here’s a tip!
If the same text appears
throughout the entire
document in the same place,
you can also make that as
part of a Master Page.

What does that mean?

If you paste more text than the text
frame can hold, a little crossed red
box will appear in the lower right
corner to alert you.

7
 Adding Additional Pages with Scribus
To add additional pages to your document, pull down the Page The Move Objects with their Page option ensures that objects stay
menu and select Insert. You will be able to dictate the number on their assigned pages when those pages change position in the
of pages to add, where in the document to add them, and even document. Although turned on here, it may not be desirable at all
which Master Pages to apply. times. When active, if you add an odd number of pages in the middle
of the document, your left-hand card back pages will become right-
Do not change the Page Size information in the next dialog box. hand pages but will retain the card back master images.

8
 Formatting Text with Scribus
Expand the Text menu in the Properties Window. Right-click to select Once you have the body text adjusted, you can go through and set
all of the text on your page, then set the basic font and size for the the headers by selecting them and setting their attributes, just as
body text. Justify text by selecting it all and clicking the Left Justify you did with the body text. If you have a lot of text to format you
Text box in the menu. Explore the Text menu. It has many options for may want to set global body and header styles. To do this, click
formatting text: color, effects, tracking, kerning, and line spacing. the Edit pull-down menu and select Styles.

9
 Formatting Text (continued)
In the windows that open you can set the headers (Character Things to avoid as you style text in your document:
Styles) and the body text (Paragraph Styles). Once you have
set your styles, select the text to convert, then choose the new • Widows: One single word or line at the bottom of a column of text
style. It will now appear under the Style Settings in the Text tool. • Orphans: One single word or line at the top of a column of text
Formatting text Paragraph and Character styles can save you a • Hyphens between columns of text
lot of time in the long run.

Remember!
The body text will be small, so use a font that is
easy to read and without many flourishes. Industry
standard size is 10 to 12 points for type size, and
12 to 14 points for leading (or line spacing). Leading
is usually 2 points more than the type size.

10
 Adding Art with Scribus
To add art or graphics, first add an Image Frame by clicking the Before you begin to move the text out of the way, next make sure
Insert menu and choosing Insert Image Frame. A tab will attach the Text Frame is not locked. You can simply double-click the text
to the cursor. Click and drag it across the page to make a box and make sure the Is Locked option is not checked. You can also
to place the art in. You can also size the box in the Properties find it under the Item drop-down menu. Don’t forget to resize the
window using the X, Y, Z, tool. Text Frame out of the way, using the Arrow or Select Item tool from
the horizontal toolbar above your document window.

toolbar

11
 Adding Art (continued)
Double-click on the Image Frame and then find the image to place. By simply clicking the Scale to Frame Size button, the graphic will
Your selected graphic will be placed in the Image Frame box at its fill the frame. If the Proportional option is selected, the graphic will
full size, which is 100%. It may need to be resized or scaled using scale in proportion and not stretch. If the graphic is larger in width
the Image tab in the Properties window. With the image selected, or height than can proportionally fit in the frame, it will fit to the
you can look at the Image tab and see all of the size and scale smaller measure. The Scale command can also be found under
information for that picture. the Item drop-down menu; it’s called Adjust Image to Frame.

12
 Color Management in Scribus
With your document open, find and open your Scribus application to SWOP Press. Then click to activate Simulate Printer on Screen,
Preferences. There will be many preferences you can set, such as and click to activate Mark Colors out of Gamut. Finally, click the OK
non-printing guide appearances and document hyphenation. Scroll button at the bottom to save and apply your changes. Going forward,
down to and click open the Color Management options. Click to a neon green color will appear on your document pages, showing
activate color management in the document. Make sure that the color you where any colors appear that are over the ink management limit
profiles for CMYK images, CMYK Solid Colors, and Printer are all set relevant to the color profiles you’ve assigned in this menu list.

13
 Preflight Verification in Scribus
Once again, open your Scribus Preferences. Scroll down to and white bitmapped images. (Continuous grayscale images fall into the
select Preflight Verifier options. Make sure to check all of the top 220 dpi preference for color images.) If you plan to insert PDF images
boxes above the image resolution settings. For the lowest and into your document, uncheck and deactivate the Check for placed
highest allowed image resolutions, set the lowest at 220 dpi and the PDF files option. Do check and activate Check for GIF images. (For
highest at 2400 dpi. 220 dpi is the lowest possible number for color print, the preferred linked or embedded image file formats you should
images while 2400 dpi is the highest image resolution for black and be using are TIF and EPS file formats.)

Verify!
Now you can open the Preflight Verifier pane from the Windows
menu and run a preflight report. In this pane, you can check your
entire document for potential errors based on your previously set
preferences, like checks for overflowing page text, missing pages,
or placed GIF files. It will give you a list of all pages and all images
and if they pass or fail the preflight verification. This gives you a
chance to fix a lot of mistakes before the file is sent to the printer.

14
 Exporting Your Scribus File as a Print-Ready Color PDF
When your card deck is complete and set up as you would like it,
you are now ready to export your file as a print-ready PDF. Choose
the File pull-down menu, then Export, then Save as PDF.

Set the following specifications in the next series

of four windows, then click Save when they are complete:

General Tab Fonts Tab

Make sure All Pages are selected in the Export Range. Make sure to embed all fonts. Click the Embed All button.
Check the box next to Maximum Image Resolution.
Make sure the Maximum Image Resolution is set to 2400 dpi.

15
 Exporting as a Print-Ready Color PDF (continued)

Color Tab Pre-Press Tab

Make sure the Intended Output is set to Printer. Check the Use Document Bleeds box.
Check the box next to Convert Spot Colors to Process Colors. The printer does not accept PDFs with any printer marks, so
leave those options unchecked.

16
 PDF/X-1a compliance with Adobe Acrobat Pro
After exporting your PDF from Scribus, open it in Acrobat Pro. (SWOP), then click the Analyze and Fix button. The dialog box
Expand the Tools Pane from the top left corner to expose the will run a report of fixes and changes made to the document.
different tool options. Expand the Print Production Tools at the When the fix-up is complete, a green check mark will appear
very bottom of the tools list. Click to open the Preflight dialog if the fix-ups are successful. If the fix-ups have failed, a red X
box. There will be many options for fix-ups to run. Expand the mark will appear. In either case, you can check the report for
PDF/X Compliance options and choose Convert to PDF/X-1a details about errors and warnings.

Note: If you are using an older version

of Acrobat Pro, you can find Preflight
under Print Production in the Advanced
pull-down menu at the top of your
screen. If you can’t find it, try searching
for the location using Preflight as a key
word in the Acrobat Help Menu.

Check for compliance!

After you’ve run preflight fix-ups, it’s best to verify the
document’s compliance. To do this, click on the PDF
document icon in the left-hand sidebar. It will expand
a pane detailing conformance standards and output
intent. Confirm that the standard is PDF/X-1a:2001
and that the output intent is SWOP v2. Click the Verify
Conformance link. This will run a quick check on the
file and tells you if the file passes or fails compliance.

17
 What do I do next?
Once you have your finished the print-ready PDF
of your entire card deck, it’s time to upload them!
Log in to your DriveThruCards account and
go to the CARD PRINTING section of your
publisher menu on the Account page. Use the
“Upload and manage printed card files” tool.
This tool will walk you through the process of
uploading your print PDF file and ordering a
physical proof of your cards. You might also find
it helpful to follow our “Walkthrough for entering
new card titles,” located under the TITLE
MANAGEMENT section.

18
 Tips and Things to Remember I Need More Help!
About Specifications I have questions that aren’t covered here...
• All images must be 300 dpi/ppi resolution. The physical size of To contact Publisher Services, please email [email protected].
the image should at least be the size as it appears on the card.
Brian will do his best to help you and answer any questions you
• All images should be CMYK. Do not use RGB or Lab colors. have that are not covered in this tutorial. Your questions will help us
The colors may shift unpredictably during the export to print- improve this tutorial, so it answers more questions for everyone.
ready PDF process.
If you have decided that you don’t care to do your own file layout, you
• Preferred image formats are TIFF or EPS files. Refrain from using can find people with professional skills and contract them to create
JPG or PNG files, which are more suitable for web publishing. your print files. The cost of this work depends on how much of the
work you do yourself before handing it over.
• Header fonts shouldn’t be ridiculously large. The optimal range
is 24 pts to 14 pts. Body Fonts should be 10 pts to 12 pts. Line We can recommend someone for layout if you would like. Please
spacing or leading is usually 2 points more than the font size. contact Publisher Services for details.
• In making your text fit into small spaces, avoid Tracking your text You can also find freelance layout professionals at sites like
more or less than 20%. It will look too squished or too loose. www.elance.com.
• Avoid widows and orphans: leaving a single word at the end of a
paragraph or a single line at the top or bottom of a column of text.
• Black text should be made with a 100% black swatch, with total
CMYK values of 0% Cyan (C), 0% Magenta (M), 0% Yellow (Y),
and 100% Black (K).
• Black elements should NOT be built in “Registration” black or
with the 100% black swatch used for text. They should be built
out of “Rich” black. For best results, we recommend the CMYK
values of 60% Cyan (C), 40% Magenta (M), 40% Yellow (Y), and
100% Black (K). CMYK total value should NOT exceed 240%.
• Text should be at least 0.125” from the trim edge.
• Embed all fonts used in the document (all font families used,
including all screen and printer fonts).
• Do not add information or printer marks such as crop marks,
web-press comments, etc.

19