Native File Formats are the files you save directly from their respective program to the preferred file type. For example, saving a file in word to .doc or .docx. That file is a native file format.
This section of our site is dedicated to making sure that if you wish to provide us with a native file format, that the process goes as smoothly as possible.
What can go wrong?
- Missing Fonts: The font that is missing will either display as another font, or as garbled characters.
- Font Variation: Especially true of fonts like Wingdings, if we have a variation of your font, a “•” may display as “¶”, or some other weird character substitution.
- Missing Links: Images will print in a very low resolution, or not at all.
- Version Difference: Undefined behavior can result from opening a file that was saved in a different version of the software.
A Warning on Microsoft Word and Publisher
These software packages are notorious for causing problems in the print industry, especially in larger documents. When you open Microsoft Word, it looks at the printer margins for your default printer. If you change printers, or give us the file to print (thus changing printers), this will usually cause your pages to re-flow. This will result in having additional pages added and pages with single lines or paragraphs at the top of the page. (As well as indexes being off.)
The simple solution is to Save or Print your document as a PDF from the computer it was designed on before supplying us with a file. In the menu on this site, you will find a wealth of information on how to do this.