How to supply your files

To turn your manuscript into a printed book or journal, we need it to be provided in a portable file format — the industry standard PDF.

PDF (Portable Document Format) “locks” the words and images in place on the page, ensuring that everything needed for printing is embedded within the one file. Regardless of computer platform or printing press, the end printed result is the same.

We only use PDF formats for our print work and therefore advise that you please save your file to the standard PDF/X-1a:2001, ensuring that all fonts are embedded.

For an administration fee we do, however, accept other standard types of files, such as Microsoft Word or Adobe InDesign.

To learn how to optimise your files to reduce their size, see our guide How to optimise your files.

Other file preparation tips: including advice on page numbers, image resolution and colour choices

• For submission of odd page numbers (e.g. 49) this will be rounded to an even number for binding purposes.
• Resolution for black and white printing should be 300dpi (dots per inch), ideally saved as greyscale or bitmap.
• Resolution for colour printing should be 300dpi, saved as CMYK
• For high quality, crisp diagrams within the body of the book, create vector graphics using Adobe Illustrator, ensuring that you only use black, and that you convert all text to outlines.
• Spot colours should be converted to CMYK.
• If colour accuracy is essential, please ask for a full production proof.

If in doubt, please contact us before beginning to create your files

Please note: Any orders over 500 copies could potentially take over 10 working days, contact your account manager to find out more.

How to use WeTransfer to send us large files

Often, once you have created your PDF, the final file(s) will be large with high resolution images. This will mean that our/your email provider may not accept your email with your PDFs as an attachment. Instead, you can use a tool called WeTransfer.

Step-by-step to sending us your PDF files

Please visit the WeTransfer website, use the free option, and follow these steps:

1. Go to ‘Add your files’
2. Type our email address, customers@podww.com, in to the email field
3. Click on “Your Email” and add your email address
4. Write a message so we know who you are, please include your order reference if possible
5. Click on “Transfer”

A download link will be sent to you as well as us, which is available for 7 days. You will receive an email to notify you when we have downloaded the file, so you will know when the transfer has been received by our team.

Alternatively, you can generate a download link just for yourself and instead include this in existing communications with us.

For further help on transferring large files to us, visit the WeTransfer website.