Artwork Guidlines
Sending your Print-ready Files
We accept all files electronically. Via email if files are larger than 10MB or require a encrypted upload please request a secure link for your artwork upload
Paper Size
Please set up the page size of your document at the exact size that you wish your job to print. Do not supply artwork floating on a larger page or include multiple items on the same page.
Fonts
When supplying a PDF file, all the fonts should be embedded and only correctly licensed fonts should be used. If supplying original artwork all the font files must be included within a clearly marked folder within the main artwork folder.
Bleed
If your design includes colour or images which are printed up to the edge of the page, please provide 3mm of additional artwork to all sides. This is called bleed. Bleed avoids the risk of white edges on your work.
Show us the edge of your work so we know exactly where to trim it.
Crop Marks
Show us the edge of your work so we know exactly where to trim it.
File Formats
PDF’s are the best format for you to provide your artwork, please make sure your images are at least 300dpi and all colours are correct.
Creating a Print-ready PDF
All PDFs should be set to high resolution to be press ready
All PDFs must include 3mm bleed and crop marks
All fonts must be embedded within Adobe Acrobat: the ‘File > Properties > Fonts’ tab shows a full list of fonts used in the document. Every font should show as embedded or an embedded subset
Any process colours are converted to CMYK prior to creating a PDF. Converting spot colours to CMYK after creating a PDF may produce unexpected results (especially when transparent effects are involved)
We recommend using the PDF/X-3 standard
We recommend checking a PDF using the Output Preview prior to sending us your file. This can show overprinting and will list all the separations included
Scans & Images
All scans and images included in your artwork file should be supplied at least 300dpi in the correct colour mode at the placed size.
Images and logos saved from websites are mostly between 72-96dpi and are therefore unsuitable for printing. If you upscale or add resolutions to images in your image editing software, this will not increase the quality of the image and may result in blurry or bit-mapped images. For example, a 300dpi image scaled to 400% when placed is only 75dpi!
We recommend using professional images as low quality images can only downgrade your design. There are many companies supplying stock image galleries online for example, Shutterstock or Getty Images.
