Production Process Guide

Dear Partner,

Metro’s Design, Marketing and Production teams strategize, design and produce thousands of projects each year to communicate Metro’s goals, projects and agenda with our internal and external audiences. We have a focused production process that we follow every step of the way, which helps minimize mistakes and deliver projects when and where they need to be. Please review the enclosed production processes. Should you have any questions, please contact your Metro Marketing Rep.

Thank you in advance for following these guidelines to ensure smooth workflow and quality deliverables. Metro’s Design, Marketing and Production Teams

19-2550m r ©20 19 la cm ta october 2019

Production Process Guide

f0r Off-site Designers and Consultants

Letter 1 External Communications Policy 2

Getting Started 3

Process 4 File Naming and Project Type Codes 5 Preflight Checklist 6 Metro Print Specs Form 7 Delivering Final Files 8

First Things First

> Metro Communications – External Communications Policy

The full policy may be found on the agency intranet or upon request through your Metro Marketing Rep. Statement

To maximize Metro’s brand identity, image and communications processes, and maintain consistency in the eyes of our customers and other stakeholders, all processes and materials intended to represent Metro and its services, programs and projects to external audiences must be created, reviewed and/or approved by Metro’s Communications Department.

No other department or contractor is authorized to develop, design or implement Metro customer materials or other communications initiatives, or represent Metro through communications processes, without first consulting or getting direction from Communications. Purpose

To provide the necessary guidelines for development and authorization of external communications and to ensure consistency in the processes, materials, statements, images and logo usages that are intended to explain, promote or otherwise represent Metro services, programs and projects to external audiences.

Application

This policy and its procedures apply to all Metro employees and consultants.

External Communications Policy

Materials

As defined in the External Communications Policy, Materials is defined as “any information conveyed through print media, electronic media or other means intended to explain, publicize, advertise or identify Metro services, programs or activities to external audiences.”

This includes, but is not limited to: • printed or electronic brochures • take-ones

• fact sheets • publications • announcements • flyers

• banners (web, vinyl, pop-up, etc.) • posters

• report covers • stationery

• advertising (digital, online, outdoor, etc. – both purchase of media and creative) • on-board bus and rail fleet ads, signage and decals

• bus, rail and station wayfinding and/or directional signage

• maps

• web sites and pages • mobile applications • social media channels

• wearables and other promotional/specialty items • press releases • talking points • key messages • official statements • videos • logos

• graphic symbols and iconography • photography

• illustration

> Initiate

Your very first step in any project is to engage your Metro Marketing Rep to initiate the project. The Rep will act as:

• your primary point of contact throughout the lifecycle of the project

• your liaison with other Metro resources, services and insights that will contribute to the project • your project management partner, helping to plan a creative development and production timeline, then helping to track deliverables against that timeline

> Assign a job number

As soon as the Metro Marketing Rep is aware of your project, he/she will open jobs in Metro’s internal project management software and send the job number(s) to you.

All projects designed and/or produced by Metro need a job number, which consists of the current Fiscal Year (FY) plus a unique four-number code, e.g. 19-1234. Please include the job number on all digital files and in

the subject of email correspondence related to the project. > Schedule

Your Marketing Rep will help establish a production schedule at the onset of every project – working backwards from the final due date and accounting time for posting (if applicable), delivery, production, review, design and research/strategy.

> Software

We work in a Mac-based environment with Adobe Creative Cloud software. Text-heavy files and layouts should be built in InDesign. Icons, illustrations and charts may be built in Illustrator. If you are unsure which applications to use for your projects, please ask your Marketing Rep at the onset of your project to connect you with someone who can help you in the Design Studio. Please be sure to use the most up-to-date versions of software.

Getting Started

> Production

Due to collective bargaining agreements, printing, postage and handling of mailing materials must be completed internally within Metro.

Metro Print Shop

In general, the Metro Print Shop has the following standard turnaround times:

• Digital printing– 5 working days – small print runs

– quantity: 1–5,000

• Offset printing– 10 working days – large print runs

– quantity: 6,000–100,000 • Posters – 4-6 working days – quantity: 1 –5 = 4 working days – quantity: 15+ = 6 working days Metro Copy Center

The Metro Copy Center is also a resource for printing reports and other handouts with limited color. The Copy Center is located on the 15th Floor of Metro Headquarters and is open Monday-Friday, 8am–5pm. • Depending on the size of the job, Copy Center can

often complete it in the same day. Metro Mail Room

The Metro Mail Room processes bulk mailings, adding delivery addresses and postage:

• Mailing– 10 working days from expected delivery

For any questions about Metro’s internal capabilities, production processes or timelines, please ask your Marketing Rep.

> Strategize

Our goal is to be effective, so we ask a lot of questions at the start of every project. We are fans of meeting in person because it allows us to build collaborative relationships and follow up on information provided. In these early discussions, we are looking for

information to help us ensure that Metro creates materials that:

• are consistent with the overall Metro brand • contribute to agency goals and objectives • are well coordinated with other programs • reach the right audiences

• are produced in the appropriate medium > Plan

Once the strategy is clear, a list of deliverables and an associated timeline will be needed to map out a task schedule for each item. Your Marketing Rep can assist in planning adequate time for each of these items. > Design

With thousands of projects produced each year, we tend to work in systems on many large or high-profile projects. A template may exist for what you are creating – please work with your Marketing Rep if you have questions or want to request a template.

> Share

In order to maintain brand consistency and overall quality control, consultants shall work directly with their Marketing Rep to ensure every piece of creative is reviewed, refined and approved before being produced or published.

Let’s Work Together

Process

> Share continued

Our review process is designed to ensure the best possible quality, and includes a team of people who review creative, voice and messaging, Brand Basics, grammar and accuracy of content. Every piece at a minimum is reviewed by an Art Director, Creative Director, Marketing Rep and Marketing Director. Oftentimes reviews also include Graphic Designers, Jr Marketing Reps, Production staff and foreign language experts when applicable.

Your Marketing Rep will help to plan for these reviews. The number of reviews needed may vary by project, but at a minimum, Metro will need to review first round drafts and final designs before production. For large or complex pieces, or when the review process includes other departments, it is helpful to review in-person; this can streamline the number of rounds because it allows for discussion to reconcile any potential conflicting comments on the spot.

Design Studio and Marketing are flexible on how we can receive files for review, depending on your project team’s workflow programs or file sharing protocols. However, please keep in mind that Metro email addresses have an attachment limit of 25mb. > Finalize

Review and familiarize yourself with this guide and follow procedures for file naming and delivery for a smooth process. In most cases, we can’t provide notes on how a file is built until we receive it for production. Please ask questions early on if you are unclear about any of the instructions in this guide.

File Naming and Project Type Codes

Project Folder and File Naming

We follow a concise digital naming protocol. Follow this structure when naming your project folder and files: 0 00-00001_{_}2_abc3_{_project name}4_{_initials}5

0 00-0000_final_files6 / 00-0000_abc_name_8x107_.ext / 00-0000_printspecs.pdf8 0 Fonts 0 Links 0 00-0000_for_viewing9 / 00-0000_abc_name_lo.pdf 0 00-0000_sketches 10

1 _{indicates job number}

2 _{use only letters, numbers, underscores, periods or spaces –}

never use special characters like /, \, <, >, :, “, |, *, – , etc.

3 _{abc is the lowercase two- or three-letter Project Type Code} 4 _{aim for pertinence and brevity in project name}

5 _{include your two- or three-letter initials (individual}

consultants use personal initials or if work is performed through an agency use agency abbreviation) after project name in the job folder

6 _{package your approved native files, including all fonts}

and links in this folder

7 _{include final project size in file name}

8 _{PDF of Metro’s Print Specs form (for offset and digital}

printing only – form not needed for large-format printing such as posters, banners, decals, etc.)

9 _{provide low-res 72dpi PDF or screen shot of final file (for}

visual reference only – not meant for production)

10 _{optional folder for previous/working files (edit and/or}

compress extra-large files)

Project Type Codes (provided by Metro) > Ad (ad) > Backlits (blt) Customer service Map Promo > Banner (ban) > Certificate/Commendation (ctf) > Covers (cvr) Report cover > Decals (dcl) > Direct Mail (dm) > Fare Media (fm) > Form/Template (tpt) > Infographic (inf) Chart/graph Diagram > Map (map) Bus and rail Connections Neighborhood Rail Rapid System map > Miscellaneous (msc) Badge(s) Illustration/icon Insert Phone directory Presentations Press kit > Multimedia (mme) Animation Motion graphics Television commercial > Notice/Flyer (ntc) Flyer Press release

> On-Board Poster (obp) Bus car card

Rail poster > Outdoor (otd) 2-sheet 8-sheet 30-sheet Bike rack

> Outdoor (otd) continued Bulletin Bus bench ad Bus king ad Bus shelter Bus tail ad Bus wrap Phone kiosk Mall media Rail/train king ad Rail/train wrap > Photography (pho) Film Photography > Postcard (pcd) > Poster (pst) > Powerpoint (ppt) > Publication (pub) External Internal > Signage (sgn) Customer/permanent Customer/temporary Internal/permanent Internal/temporary > Specialty Item (si) Lapel pin Pen Pencil Pop-up display Stickers Tote bag T-shirt Water bottle Etc. > Stationery (stn) Business card Envelope Folder Invitation Mailing labels Letterhead Memo/fax Notepad Table tent > Take One (tk1) > Timetable (tbl) > Web (web)

Preflight Checklist

Essentials

   Check that job folder is named correctly with job number, code, name and initials    Check that project files are named correctly with job number, code, name and size    Confirm that file is sized correctly to final/approved size

  Pull bleeds 0.125” on all sides   Confirm live area, if applicable

  Zoom in to 400% – is everything aligned as intended?

  Perform spell check (check with Marketing Rep regarding any questions)

  Typeset correct job number and copyright on actual file to be printed and format as follows: • 5 pt Scala Sans lowercase set in Small Caps – for example: 00-0000ab ©20xx lacmta • Use full color/do not screen this text for legibility

• Use current calendar year after copyright symbol

• Rotate 90 degrees counter clockwise and tuck in to corner on outside/back panel   Delete any unused art

  Clean up layers

Colors

  Confirm all color swatches are CMYK or PMS – remove all other color swatches such as RGB or LAB   Delete unused colors from swatches palette

Typography

  Confirm only approved Metro fonts are used

  Perform correct letterspacing for all instances of “Metro” and “metro.net”   Find and replace all ligatures (unless using Pro fonts, which automates ligatures)   Conform with Typography 101 on brand.metro.net

Photography

  Check photo resolution and adjust if necessary: • optimum ratio is between 240dpi to 300dpi @ 100% • if scaled smaller than 70% then resize photo

• never scale more than 125% unless higher than 300dpi   Convert any RGB photos to be CMYK for printing   Double check photos have been retouched for final   Rename file names to be more clear, if necessary

Illustrator Artwork

  Confirm all swatches are CMYK for printing   Delete unused colors from swatches palette   Outline fonts or collect for final file package   Embed images or collect for final file package   Rename file names to be more clear, if necessary

Metro Print Specs Form

Metro Print Specs Form (Writable PDF for offset and digital printing only – form is not needed for large-format printing such as posters, banners, decals, etc.) Please fill in the highlighted sections as best you can (we’ll fill in the rest), and include PDF of form when delivering final files to Metro.

Delivering Final Files

Steps for Delivering Final Files to Metro

1

Always confirm final approvals from Metro before releasing files.

2

Perform the included Preflight Checklist on all native files. This will flag any potential production issues, such as wrong color mode, incorrect size, missing job numbers, etc.

3

Use the “Package” selection within your Adobe software to package final files (collects all fonts and links needed for Metro to produce). Do not send files that haven’t been packaged.

Files with incorrect or missing information will be sent back to be corrected. Metro staff will not fix outside production files.

4

Follow details on left.

5

Never send your files directly to the Metro Print Shop. Always work through your Marketing Rep.

1. Upload project folder to Dropbox (preferred delivery). 2. Email your Marketing Rep a Dropbox link to folder

(include job number in email subject).

3. We’ll archive folder to our servers and route files as needed for production.

Organizing Files for Production

Follow file naming and supply files as follows:   0 00-0000_final_files

/ NATIVE FILE (AI, INDD, etc)

/ HI RES PDF (with bleed and crop marks) / Metro Print Specs Form PDF

0 Fonts 0 Links

  0 00-0000_for_viewing / LO RES PDF

PDFs for posting on metro.net

PDFs posted on the web should be saved in 72dpi low resolution with a final file size of no larger than 5mb to prevent longer download times and be user friendly for viewing on mobile devices.

Larger presentations or sets of information may need to be broken into sections for posting on metro.net. Follow “best practice” viewing settings –

• Open PDF

• File _ Properties (or Command D) • Document Properties _ Initial View • Set Navigation tab: Pages Panel and Page • Set Page layout: Single Page

• Set Magnification: Fit Page • Click OK; save and close file