Rule #18

Camera-ready art that is built to the exact specifications is good. Camera-ready artwork scanned off an inkjet printout and faxed to you is bad.

Admittedly, this rule and several others like it come from earlier in my career when print was king, and having clients give me with content in whatever form they could provide it. The example above really did happen, and the publisher I worked for ended up refunding the client his money when the ad printed poorly (a copy of a copy of a copy) thing.

As a client, it’s important to provide your marketing partner with the content in the format and methods they request. Even though we’re now in a digital world, the old adage of crap-in, crap-out still holds true. If in doubt, ask what options are available for providing assets and resources.