What is a print ad with good use?

Designing 4 color print ad with photos. Need color help?

• I'm new to designing for print and have been tasked with creating an ad that will go in a magazine. After giving me the photos they want to use, and at the last moment, they notified me this will be a four color ad and are wanting to know if the photos can still be used. Am I right to assume this will be CMYK? And will I have to do anything special to the photos or will the printers do color separation in house? I'm scared and confused... hold me.

• Answer:

  The photos should be converted to CMYK mode. The question is, in what application will you be doing the rest of the layout? InDesign, QuarkXPress, something else? And who will be doing the actual printing? A full service print bureau, Kinko's, you on your destop printer. There reason I ask is that the more you can do to prepare the job for print, the less the printer has to do. The more THEY have to do, the more they will charge for the job. Now day, with most printers, none of this matters as they can work with a .pdf file and everything goes smoothly and easily. The BEST people to answer this question is the people that will be doing the printing.