Artwork Tips & Proofing

Helpful tips to help you setting up your artwork for print

Proofing has never been easier or faster. With the advent of the internet and broadband, we can easily upload our proofs for you to check remotely, within web space we will provide specifically for you. So, if you wish, you can do all of your business with us without ever leaving your desk – via the internet.

Once you have received a proof from us for you to check it’s vital to look through the document carefully. Below we have listed a few things to keep an eye on everytime you receive a new proof. The earlier you spot the problems the easier it is to fix them. We will print your work only once we have received your approval to the proof, in writing.

General Artwork Specifications

Illustrations and photo resolution should be 300 dpi
All full colour process printing converted to CMYK (no PMS colours, RGB, LAB etc)
Fonts should be embedded or outlined
Crop & bleed marks included
Minimum 3 mm bleed
Make sure text and non-bleed images are kept at least 5mm away from the trim line
Make sure images going past the trim line have 3 mm bleed consisting of the image

Wide Format

Leave 3mm bleed on all edges
Make sure you have at least 5 mm safe zone (leaving space between the edge and content to ensure content is visually appealing & not in danger of being trimmed)
For photos and illustrations we recommend 150 dpi resolution
Fonts: Outlined or Embedded

Banner

Minimum 5 mm bleed on all edges
Leave 36 mm safe zone (Accounting for Hemming & Eyelets)
Photos and illustration150 dpi

Proofing

We send all your proofs from first design suggestion to final version as PDF files. We recommend checking the proof always on a laptop or desktop computer screen as you see a better view of the proof. Mobile phones may not give a true representation of the proof and spotting any issues can be more difficult from a small screen.

Checking everything carefully is very important as you have the responsibility to confirm to us that the job is fully satisfactory and correct for printing.

When you receive the proof make sure you do the following:

Read the proof carefully and check everything is spelt correctly and there are no words missing
Please check all e-mail addresses and phone numbers are correct
Correct images used in correct order (for example in newsletters or brochures)
Order of pages or content is correct
If there are any issues with the proof make sure you notify us immediately and clearly state what needs to be changed.
Sometimes having an additional pair of eyes helps. Have someone else look at the proof, the more you keep looking at it the harder it can become to spot the things that need to be changed.

Download free Adobe Acrobat Reader

If you have any questions regarding preparing your
artwork or proofing do not hesitate to contact us.