Artwork Guidelines
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 printing.
Quick Checklist
►All fonts are included.
►Type is legible and crisp.
►Page layout is correct.
►Margins are set.
►Artwork matches the specified dimensions.
►All linked files, images, and fonts are placed in separate folders.
►Colors in CMYK mode.
Bleeds
A 1/8" border must be added to pictures and designs bleeding to the edge, so that there is no white space or border showing around the artwork. It is also important to keep text at least a 1/8" away from the paper edge or the trim line to prevent accidental cropping.
Color Specifications
Print previews are not a safe and sure measuring tool for color accuracy. Colors on the file might be effected by monitor calibration, screen resolution and ambient lighting, just to name a few. Many Pantone colors show a marked color shift when converted to four color process.
For one, two or three color jobs printed in Pantone spot colors, make sure your colors are specified as spot colors and they separate correctly. You can test this by printing separations on your laser printer.
To achieve the desired color on press, digital files must reflect accurate color models and percentage. Please make sure all colors are in CMYK mode for color accuracy and a better quality output.
Image Resolutions
►All images and pictures should be 300 dpi at 100% of actual size.
►Rasterized text or logos should be 1200 dpi.
►Black and white images should be set to Grayscale color mode.
►Color images should be set to CMYK color mode.
Guidelines by Application
The following outlines the specific file requirements by application. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
Adobe Photoshop
►Files should be 300 dpi at 100% of actual size for quality offset reproduction.
►Files should be saved in PSD, TIF or JPEG formats.
►Use CMYK color mode for color images, Grayscale for black and white images.
►If artwork bleeds to the edge, include at least 1/8" of bleed area all-around.
►Preserve document layers if possible.
Adobe Illustrator
►Use CMYK color mode.
►All text should be outlined.
►If text is not outlined, provide the appropriate font files.
►All images should be embedded in the document, otherwise please provide all picture files.
Adobe InDesign and Quark Xpress
►Include all fonts and picture links used in the layout.
Adobe PDF
►Create your PDF file using High Quality settings.
►Include a 1/8" bleed area all-around to all artwork bleeding to the edges.
►Add crop marks is possible.
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 color accuracy. If color accuracy is of extreme importance to you please ask for a hard copy proof, which will incur an additional fee and may affect your project's turn around time.