Artwork Guidelines

We have prepared the following guide to assist you with your electronic file preparation and submission. If you have a specific problem that is not covered in this guide or have other questions, please feel free to contact us. Improperly prepared files can cause delays in manufacturing.

Checklist

Small Format Prints

Small format requires Bleed and Crop Marks

Large Format Prints

Please embed images when supplying Illustrator (Ai), PDF or EPS. Images should be supplied as CMYK at 100dpi at final output size, if the layout has been scaled down to 10%, images should be set up at 1000dpi. Restricting the file size to 100dpi will allow for a very dynamic output and will minimize the file processing time, including download and upload of graphics as well as design, pre-press and printing. When supplying PDF, please ensure images are not compressed.

Logo

Logos and graphics should be provided as vector format if possible.

Transparencies

If there are transparent elements in your artwork please make sure that they are flattened and/or rasterized. This includes drop shadows, glows, and other effects.

Fonts

Font should be either embedded or converted to outlines.

Bleeds

A 1/8″ border must be added to pictures and designs bleeding to the edge so that no white space or border is showing around the artwork.

Finish Size

This is the final size that your artwork will be trimmed down to.

Safe-Area

It is also important to keep text at least a 1/4″ away from the paper edge or the trim line to prevent accidental cropping.  

Image Resolutions

All images and pictures should be 300 dpi. Rasterized text or logos should be 1200 dpi. Screen values should be between 133 dpi and 150 dpi.

Colour Specifications

Print previews are not a safe and sure measuring tool for colour accuracy. Colours on the file might be effected by monitor calibration, screen resolution and lighting, just to name a few. Many Pantone colours show a marked colour shift when converted to four colour process.

For one, two or three-colour jobs printed in Pantone spot colour, make sure your colours are specified as spot colour and they separate correctly. You can test this by printing separations on your laser printer.

To achieve the desired colour on press, digital files must reflect accurate colour models and percentage. Please make sure all colours are in CMYK mode for colour accuracy and better-quality output.

Guidelines by Application

The following outlines the specific file requirements by application. If you have any questions, please contact our graphics department.

Adobe Photoshop

Files should be 300 dpi at 100% of actual size for quality offset reproduction. Files should be saved in PDF format (embed all fonts and set the screen value to 133 dpi.)

Digital Proofs

We provide PDF files as electronic soft proofs. These digital proofs intend to show you the layout and design elements of your job, but cannot be a guarantee of colour accuracy. If colour accuracy is of extreme importance to you, please ask for a hard copy proof. Scan all transparencies and line art at 100% of final size unless data size is prohibitive. If such a case occurs, scan at 1/4 or 1/2 of final size.  Scan all transparencies and line art at 100% of final size unless data size is prohibitive. If such a case occurs, scan at 1/4 or 1/2 of final