Supplying Print Ready Artwork
Supplying print ready artwork is a great way to save money on your print but there are a few guidelines that will ensure the finished quality is as high as you would expect from WPG
Our design team can work with you to create artwork for your print but if you want to supply us with print ready files, take a look at the following guide
Supplying Print Ready Artwork Files
Required Size
Ensure your document size is to the correct finished SIZE you require. Please see our SIZE GUIDE
Single Page PDF Files
PDF files should be saved as SINGLE PAGES (not spreads), preferably in one file. (Multi page documents can be created as spreads as long as they are saved or exported as single pages in one file)
Correct Colour Mode
Print ready files need to be created and saved in CMYK mode (and/or spot Pantone colours).
PLEASE NOTE: Any RGB colours will be converted, and this may result in colour variations.
Embed All Fonts
Ensure you supply the artwork with the fonts embedded. If the fonts aren’t embedded, they may not print as expected and may cause problems when the file is refined.
High Resolution Images
Images within files should be 300ppi original size to obtain quality printing.
If the resolution of your images is too low the print will often be pixelated and of poor quality even if the ppi is manually changed to 300ppi. (ppi = pixels per inch).
Bleed
If your background colour or image is meant to reach the very edge of the page then make sure you include at least 3mm bleed on all your artwork.
Supplying files without bleed can leave an unprofessional blank line around the edge of your product.
Some large-scale projects, for example, banners, will require a larger bleed setting of 25mm bleed.
Safe Zone
The safe zone is an area just inside the page edge that shouldn’t contain anything important such as text or logos.
We advise leaving a 3mm safe zone on most print jobs but this should be increased for large format printing
Crop marks
These are created in each corner by the artwork software or when saved as a print ready pdf file and dictate where the document is trimmed.
Can't supply a print ready pdf?
Other File Formats Accepted
Supplying Print Ready Artwork in Other Applications
If you cannot supply a print ready file as above but have your file in any of the following software applications, we can help with this but design time allowance will be needed.
Quark Express – Collect for Output and zip fonts, images and Quark file in one file. Or output ‘Press Ready’ PDF from Quark.
Adobe Illustrator – fonts converted to outlines and supplied as AI or EPS files. Or output ‘Press Ready’ PDF from Illustrator.
Adobe Photoshop – not recommended but if the only way of sending, save as CMYK with layers flattened, at least 300 ppi/dpi as a Tiff file. Remember to include 3mm bleed. PSD files can be supplied but a design time allowance for exporting correctly will be added on to costs.
Adobe InDesign – fonts converted to outlines. Save as a ‘Package’ and zip the fonts, images and inDesign file in one file. Or output ‘Press Ready’ PDF from inDesign.
Using Canva?
Assistance with your designs or supplying print ready artwork?
Simply drop us a line and speak to our experienced customer service staff if you would like some advice