Production

General

USA WEEKEND is printed rotogravure on 30# newsprint, using four color process inks. We do not use spot or Pantone colors.

Color separation and printing tones:

Maximum overprint of a separation or tint build should not exceed 320%. Only one color may be solid. The lightest tone that can be held on press is 5%. Builds that contain less than 5% of any of the four colors cannot be reproduced consistently.

Type reproduction:

The minimum font size should not be less than 8-point. Fine type-faces (thin lines, serifs) should be restricted to one color. The word “ADVERTISEMENT” in 8-point Helvetica bold is required at the top of all editorial-style ads.

Media

Digital file delivery:

Digital files are accepted via our FTP Site, AP AdSend and CD. We generally prefer that advertisers use our etransfer site to upload ads in high-resolution PDF format only.

FTP Site

Upload the ad via the Internet to our FTP site. Please follow these steps. Please upload multiple files individually.

  • Log on to http://etransfer.usaweekend.com. The site works best with the Firefox browser. Safari and Explorer can also be used with some limitations.
  • Ad Submission Page: Please fill out as many of the individual fields as possible. The fields with red asterisks are required. Double-check to make sure your email address is keyed in correctly. Attach ad file in bottom field using the “Browse” button.
  • Confirmation Page: A message will appear when ad is successfully transferred.

Preparing ad material for FTP upload

  • Please submit files in a PDF format along with the PDF /and PDF/X-1a reference. PDFs should include high-resolution images and all PostScript Type 1/embedded. Make sure your images are not tiled nor have lowered resolutions from distillation.
  • Limit PDF filename to 25 characters or less.
  • Archiving PDF is only necessary if size exceeds 50 MB.
  • Keep files names simple, limited to letters and numbers only. DO NOT use any spaces or special characters such as #?/()-*~etc.
  • Examples of naming convention: Advertisername.pdf OR Advertisername.sea OR Advertiser-name.sit OR Advertisername.zip

Email

USA WEEKEND does not accept ads via email.

Formats

If supplying a desktop application file:

  • USA WEEKEND accepts page files created in: Adobe InDesign (2.0, CS–CS3) or QuarkXPress (4.11–7.x), and support images and artwork created in Adobe PhotoShop (7.x, CS–CS3) and Adobe Illustrator (10.x, CS–CS3).
  • Use only Type 1 fonts (no TrueType fonts).
  • Resolution of images should be 300 dpi.
  • All images must be CMYK, grayscale or bitmap in an EPS format (no JPEG or DCS).
  • Use of the “Package” function in InDesign or “Collect for Output” function in QuarkXPress is recommended to ensure all necessary files and fonts are provided along with the document file.
  • File names should not include any special characters, such as a forward-slash, back-slash, asterisk or punctuation mark.

If supplying a PDF or PDF/X-1a:

  • All high-resolution images and fonts must be embedded in PDF/X-1a file.
  • Use only Type 1 fonts (no TrueType fonts).
  • Resolution of images should be 300 dpi.
  • All images must be CMYK, grayscale or bitmap in an EPS format (no JPEG or DCS).
  • Include standard trim, registration and center marks 1/2″ outside of the image area.
  • File names should not include any special characters, such as a forward-slash, back-slash, asterisk or punctuation mark.

Proofs

USA WEEKEND requires 2 proofs to match the supplied ad. Please prepare proofs to SWOP standards. All advertisers must supply a proof regardless of delivery method.

Deadlines

Advertising material for all rate card standard units is due 25 days before the issue date. Any special units not listed on rate card may carry a different ad close and material delivery deadline. Contact the McLean Ad Traffic Team at 703.854.5200 for deadline details.

Shipping

Ship all materials to:
Ad Traffic
USA WEEKEND Magazine
Ad Operations, 2nd Floor
7950 Jones Branch Drive
McLean, VA 22108
Phone: 703.854.5200
Fax: 703.854.2129