Important: For people supplying their own artwork
1. We use the very latest Adobe PDF Rip in our Prepress department and our workflow is based on working with files in PDF format. Ideally you should send your files to us in this format. The PDF should be PRINT READY prepared at press quality. Free online PDF converters will sometimes cause issues due to lack of features like font embedding and compression or colour mode settings. Ask our staff for full details on artwork preparation as we will not be held responsible for extra charges or re-print costs caused by errors in files. Please supply a hard copy sample and sign a proof to minimise issues.
Alternatively we can accept files in flattened Tif (Tiff) or Jpg (Jpeg) format. The files should be set at the correct size for print. The disadvantage of sending files in this format is that all text and graphics will be Bitmap rather than Vector quality. If the file is sent at 300dpi resolution then in our experience the results are generally considered acceptable.
2. Understanding the need for 'Bleed' and a 'Quiet Border' is vital. We require Bleed to allow for the tolerance of our guillotines (the machine used for cutting your job after printing). Even with our 'State of the Art' equipment there is a margin of error in the output up to 1.5mm. If your image finishes exactly at the edge of your required finished size then these small deviations may produce unsightly white flashes at the edge of your print. By extending your background colour or image beyond the edge of your finished job the consequences of such a deviation are not perceptible.
We recommend that elements intended to go to the very edge of your finished job should extend 3mm beyond the edge.
A 'Quiet Border' is the distance you should allow from the edge of your finished page size to text or diagrams etc. The reason for this border is again the tolerance in cutting. If you have a design where the text runs to the very edge then a cutting deviation will actually cut off some of your text! A very small 'Quiet Border' can result in a finished job looking very uneven.
We recommend a 'Quiet Border' where there is no text, etc. of at least 5mm around the edges of your job.
3. We carry all the most popular PC fonts, please confirm at the time of ordering. Where you have used a rare font outside the 'normal' range we recommend converting the text created with this font into curves. This means that we no longer require the original font when we print your job. Where you are supplying your work as a PDF it should always be produced with fonts embedded. With a Tif or Jpg, fonts are much less of an issue since these formats effectively embed the fonts required to print.
4. Photographs should be scanned size for size at 300dpi and saved as CMYK images
5. There are a large number of variables which can affect the colour produced in Full Colour Printing. Simply looking at the appearance of colours on a monitor, especially if no monitor calibration has been carried out, is unlikely to produce predictable printed results.
In just the same way an un-calibrated desktop printer, such as a laser or inkjet may well produce very different colours to those produced on a professional printing press.
Rather than leaving colour matching to chance and 'keeping your fingers crossed' we strongly recommend that colours be chosen from Hard Copy Colour Charts. We have produced two Colour Swatch Booklets (one printed on Coated material and the other on Uncoated material) which show over 1000 colours together with their CMYK values. The advantage of using these charts is that they are matched to our presses.
Our Colour Swatch Booklets are available for £7.50 + VAT & Carriage each or £10.00 + VAT for the pair. They are an invaluable and accurate way of ensuring predictable colour.
Please Note: Where you have a particular colour issue, for example a requirement to match to a specific company colour or a previously printed job, this MUST be brought to our attention at the order stage. Simply specify the colour to be matched to or the fact that the job has been printed previously at the ordering process.
If you have a swatch of the colour required please send us a hard copy of that. We cannot be held responsible if your printed work does not match your requirements unless those requirements are brought to our attention before we print.
