What is imposition?
Imposition is the process of arranging multiple pages onto a
single sheet of paper. For example, when a publisher prints a
book, and prints two pages side-by-side on each sheet of paper,
that is imposition. Here's a simple example:
Why do I need imposition?
If you are submitting an electronic document to a print house, they expect the document to be fully imposed, and ready to print. And they nearly always want the document in PDF format.
Even if you are just printing postcards, business cards, calenders, or news letters at home, you will quickly find that word processing tools such as Microsoft Word fall short of being a complete solution.
Who uses imposition?
Everyone who produces any printed material uses some kind of imposition. Everything from postcards to calendars to books.
What is a bleed width?
There is a lot of new vocabulary in imposition. This picture graphically explains most of the key terms:
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Tutorials provide gentle introductions to imposition.
Visit Prepressure.com for a thorough guide to imposing.