Below we have prepared General Guidelines to help you in preparing files for printing. If you need additional assistance, please contact our office.

VERY IMPORTANT!
Full colour cards printed on our Gang runs have specific file setup requirements under "ColourCards".Brochure, Poster, Presentation Folder & Digital Printing website sections may contain additional file setup information.

FONTS
For best results it is recommended to convert fonts to outlines/paths when possible. If you are unable to convert your fonts to outlines/paths then you must supply all fonts used in your files when submitting them. Supply both printer and screen fonts when submitting postscript fonts. We suggest using postscript fonts whenever possible and be careful of stylizing type in the different applications.

SCANS & GRAPHICS
All scans should be scanned at 300 dpi (or greater) or for 175 lpi printing. Black and white bitmaps should be scanned at 1200dpi.
All colour files must be CMYK and not RGB. Files requiring conversions will be subject to extra charges and we will not be responsible for unexpected colour shifts.
For best results place scanned images in files at 100% sizing.
Do not save files with transfer functions.
Save images as TIFF or EPS. Do not save images as JPEG.

BLEEDS
A "Bleed" occurs when photos, graphics or colours print to the edge of the paper. Part of that image (1/8") must be trimmed off to create the bleeds. Please allow for 1/8" bleed on all sides. For example, a 4" x 6" postcard would have an image area of 4 1/4" x 6 1/4".

Read about BLEEDS in our technical section.

CMYK COLOUR PRINTING
Print jobs printed as full colour, or 4 colour, are printed out of CMYK colours. Please note that Pantone (PMS) and RGB colours do not always convert accurately to CMYK. If printing in full colour, then it is best to design your job in CMYK mode from the beginning. As well. make sure all graphical elements are CMYK colours and not RGB.

When printing full colour (CMYK) jobs, we print to pleasing colour on press using standard ink densities.

Read more about CMYK Printing in our technical section.

RICH BLACK
When printing large areas of solid black on the fronts of full colour cards and brochures we recommend you create a "Rich Black". Printing only 100% black may cause the black ink to look light or washed out. By printing with a rich black the black will look much richer. Your "Rich Black" colour should be made up of : 60% Cyan, 60% Magenta, 60% Yellow & 100% Black.

Only use this rich black for large areas - do not use rich black for small type.

PANTONE COLOUR PRINTING
When designing for single or multicolour pantone colour printing, make sure all graphical elements use only the required pantone colors. As well, make sure you do not have multiple definitions for the same pantone colour. For example, 123 CVU is not the same as 123CV. In this case, two separate plates for PMS 123 will print out.