Creating great artwork for Digital Print

Getting your artwork right first time takes practice, but ensuring that it’s right before print saves valuable time and eliminates the risk of having to re-print because the product didn’t come out as expected. We’ve put together a simple check list to help you set-up your artwork correctly*

• Software

  Our preferred design software is Adobe Illustrator and Adobe InDesign. Using this type of software you will be able to set-up your files to print correctly. If you don’t have access to these programmes you could also use QuarkXpress, Microsoft Publisher and Corel Draw. It is possible to use Microsoft Word and Power Point, but do bear in mind that these porgrammes are not designed for professional printing.

• Size

  You should set-up the document to the finished trim size. For example, if you want A4 posters, you should set your artwork to A4 (210 x 297mm). If this is not possible for you, we might be able to scale up or down without the need for an additional file.
  Notes:
  Any images that are in the file may lose quality and print out pixelated when scaling up from a small size. Scaling from an ‘A size’ to a non ‘A size’ is possible but not recommended - we can’t guarantee the results will be what you want.

• CMYK or RGB

  Cyan Magenta Yelllow Black or Red Green Blue. The two colour methods are very different to each other. RGB are screen colours (created by light within the screen). CMYK are inks or toners used by the printer to create all printed colours. It is important therefore that your file is set to CMYK (some software can convert it for you).
  We can automatically convert RGB files to CMYK at the time of print, but some colours may appear washed out.
  (Note: this is not possible to do in Word or Power Point.)

• 300 dpi

  All images (or scans) should be set to a minimum of 300dpi at 100% of the final print size. This will eliminate any pixelation when printing.

* We offer a premium file checking service (£3.99) where we will thoroughly check the file for any problems. If there are any issues we will do our best to correct them for you. You can select this sevice when pricing up your product, before adding it to the basket.