File Prepartion Instructions
General Instructions:
There are several guidelines that apply to all design applications. Keeping the following guidelines in mind before you begin will help you start right and save time and money when you project hits production.
Bleed refers to the overlapping of the art past the edge of the trimmed piece. It is physically impossible for any cutter or trimming device to cut perfectly to the edge of the art. Having bleed eliminates the risk of getting white edges along your finished piece. You must included at least .125 inches of bleed (1/8") on any element that extends to the edge of your artwork. Also, you want to maitain a margin on any text or art you do not want trimmed at least .125 inches in from the edge of your art. A larger bleed or margin may be required on more complicated items such as booklets and pieces with multiple folds etc.
Fonts (the actual font files) need to be including when submitting any job. More detailed infomation on fonts can be found here.
Images should have a resolution of at least 300 dpi. at the output size for offset printing and need to be CMYK using Web Coated SWOP ver. 2 profile. Image resolution for large-format output varies depending on the final output size of the image. Smaller images require a higher output resolution, because someone would need to come up close to see the detail. Large scale images can have lower output resolutions, because the viewer would need to stand several feet/yards back to take in the image. Example: 300 dpi. for an 8x10 inch image - 72 dpi for an 8x10 foot image. More detailed information on images, color, and resolution can be found here.
Document Setup or Page Size must match the final trim size of the piece. Do not float art for a business card in the middle of a letter-sized document for example.
Black is always specified, by default to overprint. Therefore, if you don't want to see images or backgrounds through your black elements, you need to create a "rich" black - usually 30 cyan, 30 magenta, 30 yellow, and 100 black. This will give you a much richer/darker black as well as knock out any under lying objects.
For more specific information, click on Offset Printing Specifications or Display Graphics Specifications.
Please check back soon.
We are still in the process of setting these pages up and more information will be forthcoming.
