Artwork Preparation

Creation for Press Ready Artwork for Printing

It is of great importance to supply us with press ready artwork for printing, and to ensure all content, font and elements are in place before printing begin.

Use of Template Elements

  • Bleed: It is best to use at-least 3mm bleed in your design on all cutting / crease sides to ensure fully printed edges without any white or not printed area left.
  • Safety Zone: Safety Zone Refer to safe area inside cutting line where all important content of design should ideally be placed.
  • Cutting Line: Refers to indication of cutting line, regardless of if that is going to be cut to shape or rectangular cutting.
  • Creasing / Folding or Perforation: Creasing or Folding indicate where folding is going to be, perforation indicate same.

Template Content

Avoid Use of Low Resolution images or Stretched / Squeezed Images: Vector version of artwork is best for printing, but if you have to use images in your artwork make sure images are high resolution and are not stretched or squeezed.

high and low resolution

Do Not Use up’s: Send us artwork as single set design and avoid Up’s as that is taken care of during production.ups

Avoid Missing Fonts: Missing fonts is one the critical issues in designs, make sure to properly outline / group / curve all the fonts before you submit it for printing to avoid having missing elements appearance during printing

Colour Conversions: While designing and for printing you must keep in mind colour shift from RGB to CMYK or PMS as computer uses RGB colours and has LED light behind whereas printout CMYK or PMS colours are relativity dull in appearance.

colors2

Final Artwork Preparation Checklist:

  • Always use correct size images not streched or squeezed in anyway
  • Avoid design up’s in your artwork
  • Use internal and external bleed for packing boxes or other type of files
  • Use CMYK colours or exact PMS codes for colour matching
  • 2D or flat form Die line is required not as black
  • Jet Black use C =100%, M = 100%, Y = 100%, K = 100% otherwise black is C =0%, M = 0%, Y = 0%, K = 100%
  • Tiff or image files having text in it do not result in fitted colour printing
  • All fonts and font borders must be outlined and grouped together
  • Any line thiner than 0.3PT does not print good and readable font size should at-least be 8pt.
  • Use 5mm bleed all across the artwork
  • All images should at-least be 300dpi
  • Press ready file must have trim marks

Printable File! Not Sure? If you are not sure about your file resolution or details email us and we should be able to help you in checking or editing your file. sales@printingthestuff.ca

Good File Format
  1. GOOD: TIFF or EPS files .
  2. BAD: JPEG/JPG or GIF