Graphic Design Guidelines

With graphic design software now so readily available, it has become cost effective to consider producing your own artwork files.  However, following a few simple rules will help towards ensuring that you achieve that perfectly printed result and incur no extra costs….

Initially set up a template or page for the finished dimensions of the product you require. Use the ‘A’ paper sizes. If you want an A4 size (210 x 297mm) check that you are not using US A4 letter size!  The standard business card size is 54 x 84mm (credit card size).  Layout the design as one page to view. Printers have many wonderful mysterious ways of planning up jobs to suit various production methods. For booklet work, please ask us for specific layout instructions. If in doubt, please ask….

If you require printed content up to the trim edge of the page, do include a minimum of 3mm printed content beyond the edge (known as bleed).  Otherwise, please allow a minimum of 5mm clear margin between the trim edge of the page and any other images and text.

Digital images

These should be in RGB format and at a minimum resolution of 300 dpi (although 600dpi is best). Lower resolutions will give a poor printed result (72dpi is suitable only for website use!). The best file format is TIFF, however JPEG, GIF and BMP formats are also useable.  Do not apply file compression to any image files.

If images have been imported into any documents you should also provide the original image files.  This will not necessary when providing PDF files. However, ensure that the PDF has been set up to embed all of the fonts that you have used.  In 90% of cases, it will be a font that will cause us problems.  If in doubt, also provide files of the fonts used (both the screen and printer versions of the font). Please use the high printing quality parameters of the PDF creation software and to retain the best colour range possible, we advise using the rendering intent: X-3:2003.

If in doubt, please do ask for our advice.  Delays are inevitably caused by incorrectly supplied artwork that causes delays for all concerned. Having to prepare job files twice can also incur additional costs.