Exact Positioning for Crop/Trim Marks......

[russpears]

Looking for some input:

I was wondering if anyone had a preference for the exact placement of crop marks. I attached a file that shows two possible optional positions. One with the crop mark centered on the trim line and another with the width of the Crop Mark aligned to the edge of the trim line.

I know this precision is unnecessary at the end of the day, but I was curious if anyone had a good reason to prefer one over the other...

 

[DCurry]

Wouldn't matter at all to me - I'm much more concerned that the crop marks be outside of the bleed area. By default, InDesign uses an offset of .083" offset of crop marks, but if you have .125" bleed, you need to change the offset to be at least .125" so it doesn't interfere.

 

[rich apollo]

Listen to what Dan said about the bleeds. Take it to heart.

Are you putting in crops manually? I get the feeling that you're doing something that a) you don't need to do, and b) is potentially problematic.

By the way, have you ever seen a guillotine cutter in action? The old saying goes something like, "Measure with a ruler, cut with an axe."

 

[russpears]

Actually, the documents I have set up are for making magnesium dies for the letterpress and were thoroughly vetted by both our cut suppliers. My question was more about the a precision in the process, that I can't find any information on. I know the truth is that it does not matter in the actual production, but I was curious what would be the optimal positioning for Crop Marks?

Thanks guys for any input in advance.

 

[DCurry]

In that case, I would think centered would be better - that way the line thickness is irrelevant.

 

[russpears]

Well this is where it gets tricky... If the crop marks are created, rather than "designated" in illustrator, the file will not recognize the crop marks as a trim area, but as art as it is passed alone from program to program. Currently there are a number of limits to using "designated" crop marks for our workflows. But this leaves the art-as-crop marks left that makes the line thickness relevant when in the process of cutting the dies they have to remove the crop-marks.

Again I know this level of exactitude is not necessary, but I was wanting some opinions on which method was best.

 

[rich apollo]

Gotcha', russpears. Didn't realize you were making a die. I would center the marks, then.

I was picturing you stepping up pages in InDesign, or Illustrator. It gave me nightmares. :~P