Artwork Instructions

If you choose to prepare artwork yourself - please read the pdf's and all instructions below. It will save you and the pre-press department time. If you do not understand the terms - please hire an expert designer who understands how to preflight artwork for the press.

Artwork Instructions

Common Problems in Preflight

RGB to CMYK specifications

Rich Black Solutions

Minimum Artwork Resolution needs to be 300 dpi

Make sure your artwork's resolution is at least 300 dpi. This resolution will ensure that your design will appear crisp and sharp instead of blurry and pixelized.

Convert your graphics to CMYK colors

Your files should be saved in CMYK mode before you send them to us. When we receive a design file in RGB mode, we automatically convert the files to CMYK mode for printing. RGB files cannot be printed on professional four color presses. Not every RGB color has a CMYK equivalent, and the result could be more than just subtle color shifts.

Outline Your Fonts

To ensure that your text appears correctly, outlined your fonts prior to sending the final file. In Illustrator click ctrl + a to select all text on the canvas, then go to Text/Outline Fonts.

Tip: To avoid having to retype all of your text.... ensure your text remains editable for your next version by saving a copy without outlining fonts prior to making your "outlined fonts" version.

What is "Bleed" and "Safety"

"Bleed" is a printing term used to indicate the area that will be trimmed off after the job is printed and cut to the finished size. Since the bleed extends 1/8" all around the card, your design document set-up should be 1/8" wider all around.

Since the bleed area will be trimmed off during the cutting process, there can be no text or other important information in the bleed area.

Furthermore, we require an additional 1/8" buffer for "Safety" margin inside the edges of the card.

Other Helpful Artwork Preparation Tips

Use vector artwork when possible as opposed to flattened images for logos. Vector artwork retains perfect quality no matter how large or small when resized in your artwork. The benefit is high quality in your corporate branding.

Live matter should be kept at least 1/2" from all trim edges for magazine publications.

Compress (Zip) file and upload to avoid file corruption in transfer.

Include crop markes when sending pdfs or eps files.

Direct Mail Standards by the USPS

For Direct Mail Postcard specs for the USPS - please go here.