Preflight Checks
All adverting files (PDFs) must be supplied via an approved preflight ad delivery vendor, please see here for delivery methods.
These systems will preflight your advertising file before delivery into us, this is to ensure they are to our strict specifications.
Below is a summary of the checks that will be performed on your advert, and if not meeting these requirements will result in a warning or an error.
You can acknowledge a warning and still send the file onto us at your own risk, but you must fix all errors before you will be allowed to deliver your file.
Newsprint Files
File type: PDF
PDF standard: PDF/X-1a:2001
PDF specification: GWG - NewspaperAds_1v4
Colour space: CMYK
Colour Profile: To the current ICC colour profile determined by News UK
Job ticket & Embedded information:File Name, Publication, Insertion Date, Ad Size / Dimensions, Sender Name / Email, Advertiser, Brand / Headline, A Validated URN (‘validated’ means checked against our booking data to ensure the creative uploaded matches the Publication, Insertion Date & Size of the booking that URN corresponds to).
Custom Newsprint Preflight checks:
Effective text x-height is below 8pt = Warning
Text is smaller than 8 pt = Warning
Text smaller than 10 pt uses more than 1 colorant = Info
Font not embedded = Error
Uses Multiple Master font = Error
Resolution of bitmap images is less than 300 ppi = Error
Resolution of halftone images is less than 150 ppi when image size is greater than 5x5 pixels = Error
Object uses RGB Colour could make ink coverage above specified limit = Error
Registration color inside TrimBox = Error
Uses device independent colour that could make ink coverage above specified limit = Error
White CMYK object is set to overprint and OPM is 1 = Error
White CMYK object is set to overprint and OPM is 1 (stroked) = Error
White object not set to knock out = Error
White text is not set to knock out = Error
White text is not set to knock out (stroked) = Error
White vector object is not set to knock out (stroked) = Error
White Transparency found in file = Error
Annotation of this type not allowed (GWG) v4.3: Movie, Sound, TrapNet, PrinterMark, PolyLine, Caret, Screen, Watermark, Redaction and Polygon = Error
CropBox not equal MediaBox = Error
Effective ink coverage is above 240% = Error
PDF contains spot colours = Error
PDF/X Output Intent not CMYK = Error
Vector-Checks not exceeding Vector Limit = 25000 = Error
Magazine Files
File type: PDF
PDF standard: PDF/X-1a:2001
PDF specification: GWG - MagazineAds_1v4
Colour space: CMYK
Colour Profile: To the current ICC colour profile determined by News UK
Job ticket & Embedded information:File Name, Publication, Insertion Date, Ad Size / Dimensions, Sender Name / Email, Advertiser, Brand / Headline, A Validated URN (‘validated’ means checked against our booking data to ensure the creative uploaded matches the Publication, Insertion Date & Size of the booking that URN corresponds to).
Custom Magazine Preflight checks:
Effective text x-height is below 8pt = Warning
Text is smaller than 8 pt = Warning
Text smaller than 10 pt uses more than 1 colorant = Info
Font not embedded = Error
Uses Multiple Master font = Error
Resolution of bitmap images is less than 300 ppi = Error
Resolution of halftone images is less than 300 ppi = Error
Object uses RGB Colour could make ink coverage above specified limit = Error
Registration color inside TrimBox = Error
Uses device independent colour that could make ink coverage above specified limit = Error
White CMYK object is set to overprint and OPM is 1 = Error
White CMYK object is set to overprint and OPM is 1 (stroked) = Error
White object not set to knock out = Error
White text is not set to knock out = Error
White text is not set to knock out (stroked) = Error
White vector object is not set to knock out (stroked) = Error
White Transparency found in file = Error
Annotation of this type not allowed (GWG) v4.3: Movie, Sound, TrapNet, PrinterMark, PolyLine, Caret, Screen, Watermark, Redaction and Polygon = Error
CropBox not equal MediaBox = Error
Effective ink coverage is above 300%* = Error (*This is the value for cover sections in News UK, 360% is the value for text sections)
PDF contains spot colours = Error
PDF/X Output Intent not CMYK = Error
Vector-Checks not exceeding Vector Limit = 25000 = Error