If you don’t understand the following – give us a call or email us and we will guide you through it – or save you the worry and we will design the artwork for you at an additional charge.
To be certain your artwork is “print ready” please use the list below to ensure it meets our requirements.
FILE FORMAT – We accept artwork as “print ready” only if it is in PDF or JPEG format. PDF is the preferred format as it will keep you text nice and crisp – if you use JPEG then use the highest quality you can and make sure your artwork is at least 350dpi (ideally 600dpi).
RESOLUTION – To ensure your files print clearly all artwork including images must be supplied at a resolution of at least 300dpi. Anything lower than this may result in blurry, bitmapped or pixelated print.
COLOURS – CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black) is an industry-standard formula designed to give the most precise colour reproductions. Artwork received using Pantone, Spot or RGB (commonly Web colours) will be converted into CMYK format, this may cause some colours to change.
Our CMYK Print Workflow uses technology not commonly available to home/office printers or monitors and is calibrated and maintained to a recognised industry standard (ISO / FOGRA). As such your printer or screen should only be used as a guide and not to accurately proof a colour.
FONTS – Due to the vast number of different fonts, all fonts used must be embedded or outlined before sending us the final artwork. Failure to do this could result in an alternative style being used automatically and without us knowing.
EFFECTS – Any effects such as drop shadows, must be flattened before sending us the final artwork. Failure to do this could result in an alternative style being used automatically and without us knowing
BLEED – Bleed is used when any part of an image, background, colour or line is to be printed to the very edges of the finished product. For example if you wanted the background of a business card to be red, the colour must bleed past all edges. If a bleed is not provided white lines will be seen on some or all of the edges.The bleed requirements are 3mm all round.
TEXT – All text must be a safe distance from the edge, a minimum of 5mm.
ARTWORK SIZE – Please refer to the sizes specified by the individual product specifications. Please remember to add 6mm to the finished artwork size to allow for 3mm bleed on all edges.