Artwork on Disc - Preparing Artwork

Below is information on some of the issues that may arise in the preparation of your artwork. If you cannot find what you need to know here, or require further clarification on any of the listed topics, please contact us.

Bleed
Images, background colours and fills which are intended to extend to the edge of the page should be extended 3mm beyond the page to give a bleed. Text, boxes and other areas you need on your finished job should ideally be 5mm in from the edges of the page. (see right)

Layout
Please supply everything in a 'one up' basis. It is more successful if you leave us to sort out the imposition for printing. i.e. provide one business card on a 90 x 50 or 85 x 55 page or one A4 leaflet on a 210 x 297 page. Booklets should either be in separate files for each page or number order pages (we will sort out printers pairs).

Photo Scans and Images
Images should be provided at a minimum of 300dpi, size for size. TIFF images are preferred but we will also accept many other formats including JPEG and EPS. With certain file formats, care should be taken as compression may be used which will reduce quality. Photos should be scanned at size for size 400dpi and saved as CMYK. (Hexachrome scans have special requirements - please see Hexachrome). If you have not scanned for print by printbuyingonline.com before we recommend an Iris Proof (see Reprographics) of your first scans, this can be used for the calibration of your monitor (we will also send you a calibration help sheet - see Downloads). We can re-balance photos scanned by you for a modest cost (see Design Services) - please send the original photo for us to match to. Please contact us if you require advice. We also offer a scanning service for photos and transparencies. These can be dropped into the artwork you supply on disc, or sent back to you for you to incorporate in your design (see Reprographics for details).

Proofs
Please supply a proof of the artwork (colour or black & white) with your file on disc. Mark the proof with any special requirements you might have - such as matching a particular colour. Please remember that our printing service works best if we are given all relevant information. If you want us to incorporate high resolution scans please supply low resolution positionals or crop details. Our standard service for artwork on disc does not include a proof. If you would like to see exactly how your printing will look before going to press we can provide an Iris Proof (see Reprographics). Wherever possible printbuyingonline.com will correct minor errors in artwork supplied on disc to ensure it prints correctly. We reserve the right to make an extra charge if a large amount of work is required to make a file 'printable' - we will keep you informed if extra work is required.

Colour
We recommend the use of Pantone® Colour swatches rather than relying on screen colours (see Pantone Colours). If you do use screen colours as a guide, ensure that your monitor is correctly calibrated - see calibrating your monitor for more information or downloads to download the calibration help file.

Fonts
We carry all the most popular Mac and PC fonts, please confirm at the time of ordering.