Professional Printing Services

FILE TYPE:  PDF

Press quality recommended

• Save PDF - InDesign
• Save PDF - Photoshop

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MINIMUM RESOLUTIONS: 300 dpi

Make sure to provide high-resolution files for crisp imagery.

• Original design files should be true high resolution before creating your pdf
• Saving a low res file to a pdf or converting a low res file to 300 dpi before saving to a pdf will produce poor results

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MAX FILE SIZE: 1200 dpi; 2 GB

< SEE PDF LAYOUT ILLUSTRATION >

WHAT IS TRIM SIZE?

The Trim Size is the same as the finished size of your document.

WHAT IS BLEED?

When your design prints to the very edge of the finished product, it will require "bleed". Bleed is the area of your design that extends .125 inches on all four sides of the trimmed size, which adds .25 inches to the width and height of your document size.

NO BLEED:

➡️File dimensions are the same as trimmed size

WITH BLEED:

➡️file dimensions are.25 inches greater than trimmed size

SAFE ZONE:

Safe zone width and height are .25 inches smaller than trimmed size. Text and images inside the safe zone will be printed on the final document. Items outside the safe zone will be trimmed off.

DESIGN BORDERS:

• Borders that extend to the end of the trimmed edge must be placed from inside the safe zone to the outside of bleed area to assure evenness.
• Borders placed inside the safe zone that are not meant to extend to the trimmed edge should print as designed.

COLOR: CMYK Required

• All artwork and images must be provided in CMYK color mode
• What does CMYK stand for? Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
• Rich Black is recommended for solid black areas to prevent dullnes
• CMYK for rich black is  C:30, M:30, Y:10, K:100
• 100% Black is recommended for black text to prevent offsetting
• CMYK for 100% black is  C:0, M:0, Y:0, K:100

FONT SIZES & WEIGHTS

• Be careful using fonts that are too small. Anything smaller than 8 pt. may be difficult to read. 
• What is true about small fonts is also true of fonts, strokes and lines  that are very thin or light.
• Small, thin and light fonts may look perfectly fine on your computer screen, but may not be the outcome you are looking for when printed. This is especially true if the ink color is lighter or the paper color is darker.

FONTS & STROKES: Must be embedded

• Embed fonts and strokes to prevent font substitution.
• Fonts that cannot be embedded must be outlined.
• IMPORTANT: Be sure to save your original file with Live Fonts separate and apart from the version (copy) you outlined for printing. If you save over your original document with the outlined version, you will no longer be able to edit the text layers.
• Use the copy with outlining to create your PDF file.

TRANSPARENCIES: Will be flattened

To see how your document will look with transparency flattened, you can flatten it prior to creating your pdf. Otherwise it will be flattened when we prepare your pdf for printing.

• How to flatten a transparency in Adobe Illustrator
• How to flatten a transparency in InDesign

OVERPRINT:

• If using overprint in your design, check your design in Overprint Preview to be sure it will print as expected
• After opening your document in Adobe Illustrator or InDesign, go to the “View” menu, then select “Overprint Preview”. Turn the option on and off to see if there are any elements that are not going to print as expected.
• Elements that appear in the Overprint Preview will print in the final printed design.
• Adobe Illustrator - Overprinting
• InDesign - Overprinting

White ink on colored paper or cardstock continues to be a popular design choice and the results are stunning and yet easily achieved.

• Why use solid-core colored paper? Using colored cardstock gives printed media and its design a custom look and feel that cannot be replicated by laying a colored background on white paper; and printed items finish with solid-color on both sides as well as the edges (no white edges) for a high-quality appearance.

Pair with premium quality colored envelopes addressed in white to make a lasting first impression!

How to Design

Print White Ink on Colored Paper

• Applications: Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, CorelDraw or any application that works for your print design.
• For opaque white, create your design file using CMYK 100% black for all of your elements
• CMYK for 100% black is  C:0, M:0, Y:0, K:100
• Creating files in grayscale will cause the white ink to have gradations in opaqueness according to the amount of black in each shade. 100% black will produce 100% opaque white whereas a gray that is 50% black will have 50% of the opaqueness in white.
• Be sure to follow all Design File Requirements
• Save your design file
• Save a copy of your file as a PDF - you will need to upload your design as a PDF with your order.

Complete this checklist before uploading design files:

✅Check spelling, grammar, punctuation, and spacing

✅File Format - PDF

✅Resolution is 300 dpi or greater

✅File Size Maximum - 2 GB

✅Document with bleed is .25 inches greater width and length than final document size

✅Design file trim size equals dimensions of the ordered document

✅Borders are either inside the safe zone or extend from inside the safe zone through the bleed for full/solid border around trimmed edge

✅Printed elements are within the safe zone. Items are properly cropped and aligned.

✅Color Mode must be CMYK. Also ensure your monitor is calibrated to display color accurately.

✅Font sizes are legible when viewed actual size, especially for smaller size prints

✅Fonts and strokes are embedded into the file or outlined

✅We will need to flatten Transparency and Effects prior to printing

✅Check "Overview Preview" if applicable

CLICK HERE TO PRINT FULL INSTRUCTIONS