Artwork Specifications and General Guidelines
- Preferred format for printing is Illustrator, High Resolution PDF, Photoshop or HIGH RESOLUTION JPEG.
- Before sending your files, make sure all fonts are converted to outlines(converted to outlines for Illustrator and PDF, converted to “shapes” for Photoshop, converted to “curves for CorelDraw.
Adobe Illustrator:
- Open File
- In Your Main Menu Choose Select > All
- In Your Main Menu Choose Type > Create Outlines
Adobe Photoshop
- Open File
- Right click text layers
- In the layer menu that pops up > Convert to SHAPES
Corel Draw
- Open File
- In Your Main Menu Choose Edit > Select All > Text
- In Your Main Menu Choose Arrange > Convert to Curves
Linked Graphics
- Be sure to include or embed all of your placed / imported images when you send your artwork.
- All images must be in CMYK color.
- Make sure your artwork’s resolution is at least 300 dpi. This resolution will ensure that your design will appear crisp and sharp instead of blurry.
- Make sure to include “bleed” with your artwork. Image “bleed” is where you want the image to fill a background completely to the edges of the card. The image must extend beyond the trim area so that color will go edge to edge if there is a slight variance in the trim cuts. Image bleed is defined in each template.
- Due to cutting variances, card designs with a “framed border” are not recommended. A possible slight shift in cutting will cause the printed frame border to appear off center or uneven.
Colour Reproduction
All reasonable efforts shall be made to obtain the best possible color reproduction on customer’s work, but variation is inherent in the print process and it is understood and accepted as reasonable. We cannot guarantee an exact match in color between the customer’s photograph, transparency, proof, electronic graphic file, or previously printed matter.
Bleed is a printing term that refers to printing that goes beyond the edge of the sheet after trimming. The bleed is the part on the side of your document that gives the printer that small amount of space to move around paper and design inconsistencies. Bleed information refers to elements outside the finished piece. Often a printer requires bleed information on pieces that have bleed to allow for “printer bounce” when cutting a job down to size. Failing to provide bleed information and crop marks can result in finished pieces showing a thin area of white on the edge.