Artwork Guidelines

Unless informed otherwise, we shall assume that any artwork supplied by a client, or his agent, is deemed to be ‘ready for output’, i.e. of good quality for printing. Thus, when submitting your own artwork to us, please ensure that it conforms to the guidelines set out within this document. If you have any difficulty or doubt, it is always better that you ask us, rather than to assume that it will give the desired result.This may involve a time delay and/or an additional charge, depending on what is involved. If you are not in a position to supply artwork ready for output, we can guide you through the process or do it ourselves, obviously at a charge.

Format

Please submit your artwork either in PDF, InDesign, Freehand, Illustrator, Quark or Photoshop format, in the correct size required for the finished product, including bleeds where necessary. Please note that text set in Photoshop or other paint programmes tends to get jagged edges when printed. Images used should also be supplied (without text), either in TIFF or JPEG format.

CMYK

Your screen displays images as a mixture of RGB colours (red, green and blue) using different light combinations to show different colours while lighting up the screen. The printing process makes use of mixtures of CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) ink to produce different colour tones while obscuring the whiteness of the paper. Thus, a variation in colour and brightness from what you are seeing on your screen to what is actually printed is definitely to be expected. To reduce this variation, your files must be in CMYK colour mode, as some colours can only be represented by RGB, and cannot be replicated by the CMYK process. Creating your files in CMYK colour mode will ensure that the colours you select are in the colour range of the printing process. If complete colour accuracy is required, it is advisable to request a proof. If we need to convert the colour mode of your files, this may result in deviations in colour.

Spot Colours

When printing is to be done in 4-colour process (also referred to as ‘full colour’) all ‘Spot Colours’ must be converted to process in order to reduce colour tonality variations. On the other hand, when printing in spot colours please ensure that all ‘Spot Colours’ have their Pantone numbers clearly labelled.

Printing Result

One must always bear in mind that whatever is printed is never identical to what one sees on a computer monitor. What you see on the screen is lit up from behind and depends on the setting of each individual screen. Furthermore, the printed result will vary with different types of paper. If you are particular as to the final result it is advisable to ask for a digital proof. If the final product is to be digitally printed, this proof will be very close (if not identical) to the final result. If the final product is to be offset printed, the digital proof will only be indicative. Images to be offset printed in spot colours will definitely appear different on a digital proof.

Proofs will be chargeable extra.

DPI/Resolution

Artwork should be supplied at a minimum resolution of 300dpi in the size that it is to be printed. When finer detail is required in printing (eg. postage stamp printing) higher resolutions may be more desirable.

Bleed

Where you want your finished artwork to arrive to the edges of the page, add a minimum of 5mm bleed.

Important Details

For the same reason that bleeds are required when printing to the edge, important parts of your artwork must be placed a minimum of 5mm away from the edges of the page (10mm in case of books), to ensure that they are not lost during the trimming process. This includes ascenders and descenders (i.e. parts of letters that extend above or below the rest of the text, eg. lowercase ‘b’ has an ascender, while ‘p’ has a descender). Products that will not be trimmed after printing must have a 7mm white border.

Content

It is important that you check all wording and content thoroughly before submitting your artwork, as we cannot accept responsibility for any errors in the files that you send to us.

You are always welcome to contact us and discuss any file preparation difficulties before submitting your files.