FILE SETUP GUIDE

To help you create your print-ready artwork, we have created this guide to explain the essential requirements. It is important that your designs meet these requirements, or your order may be delayed whilst we ask you to make file corrections.

If you are unsure about your artwork or have any questions, you can reach out to us at any time and speak to a member of our artwork team. Emails are monitored 'after hours' during evenings and at weekends, so you will receive a swift response to your query. Every order that is placed with us also undergoes a full artwork check prior to us sending you a proof for approval. If you are struggling with your artwork file, we can also assist by redrawing low resolution files and amending designs to ensure they are print-ready, however this service carries an additional charge, depending on the time required.

QUICK GUIDELINES

FOR FULL COLOUR PRINTING

Please supply a PDF or JPEG at 300dpi resolution, in CMYK colour format with 3mm bleed. Crop marks are not necessary but can be included. Using the blank templates we have provided via this site will ensure the dimensions are correct, so we are able to process your order as quickly as possible.

FOR FOIL BLOCKING

We only accept vector files supplied as PDF or AI/EPS files with all fonts outlined for foil blocking. Foil blocking artwork should be supplied in 100% black (key). If your design has multiple foil colours, please supply multiple files in 100% black and name them according to the foil colour to be used. If your design also has digital printing then the file for this should be supplied separately without the foil artwork. The positioning of the artwork for foiling should be relative to its position on the print file. You can also supply a mockup file if you wish showing the print and foil combined, however, this is not necessary as our artwork team will create this during the proofing process. Please make sure you design with a little tolerance for mis-registration between print and foil stamping. Foil stamping is a separate print finishing process carried out after printing, and registration can vary by ±2 mm. This means you should expect the foil stamp element(s) to move around the page by up to ±2 mm. If your design requires close registration of foil effects and digital printing, we recommend our raised digital foiling as the best option for your project/design. Because the process is digital, we are able to achieve much closer registration of foil effects and printing.

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FOR SPOT UV/RAISED DIGITAL FOILING

Please supply a full colour CMYK print file with 3mm bleed for full colour printing and a separate Spot UV vector file created in 100% black (key). The position of the artwork for spot UV should be relative to it's position on the print file. Please make sure you design with a little tolerance for mis-registration. You should expect the spot UV element(s) to move around the page by up to ±1 mm. Spot UV works best when it is not registered with printed elements and instead treated as a design element in it's own right.

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ACCEPTED FILE FORMATS

IMPORTANT: Files supplied for foil stamping or spot UV must be supplied in vector format. They can be sent to us as Adobe Illustrator files or as PDF files, but the artwork must have been created as vector art using vector editing tools (not JPEGs placed in Illustrator and saved as an .Ai or .EPS file). Only artwork originally created in a vector editing program, such as Adobe Illustrator, is truly vector art.

PDF

PDF files are our preferred file format. You can export PDFs from nearly all design software as well as from MS Office. When exporting as a PDF for general printing, please ensure all images have an original resolution of 300dpi and 3mm bleed. Your file should also be created in CMYK colour space. If you are exporting as a PDF for foil blocking, your artwork must be created in vector based software such as Adobe Illustrator or Affinity Designer.

EPS

When supplying EPS files, make sure that all fonts are embedded or outlined and that you include document thumbnails. All files should also be in CMYK colour mode and have 3mm bleed applied. EPS files are vector based and can be scaled infinitely, without any loss of quality of fidelity. This makes them ideal for foil blocking, however, just because a file is saved in one of these formats, does not mean that it is truly vector art. Sometimes, people open raster files in vector software such as, Adobe Illustrator and re-save the file in a vector format, without recreating the art using the vector editing tools. Only art originally created in a vector editing program, such as Adobe Illustrator, is truly vector art.

JPEG/TIFF

By default, each time you save and reopen a JPEG, the quality reduces. If you are sending us a JPEG, please ensure you select MAXIMUM quality. JPEG/TIFF files for general full colour printing should be 300dpi. We are unable to accept JPEG or TIFF files for foil stamping or spot UV. JPEG and TIFF files must be recreated as vector files first.

PHOTOSHOP FILES (.PSD)

We are able to work with PSD files. Please ensure all layers are named accordingly and that the resolution is set to 300dpi for general full colour printing. 3mm bleed must also be included and the Photoshop document should be set to CMYK colour mode.

ILLUSTRATOR FILES (.AI)

If you are supplying Ai files, please ensure that all images are embedded (you will be prompted when importing images) and all type is converted to outlines (select all type, then choose the Type menu at the top of the screen and select Create Outlines). We recommend saving a backup copy of your Illustrator file before converting text to outlines, because it will make the text in your original file uneditable if you save it. Please also ensure that, the document is in CMYK colour mode and has all relevant bleeds. You can set up your artwork on different layers (named accordingly) or as separate art boards.

MICROSOFT OFFICE

We do not accept Microsoft Office files. Please convert your MS Office documents to PDF files.

HOW TO SUPPLY YOUR VECTOR FILES

TIPS & GUIDELINES FOR FOIL STAMPING

SPOT UV

IMPORTANT: Please make sure you design with a little tolerance (±1 mm) for mis-registration between print and spot UV. This means the spot gloss varnish may not perfectly register on top of printed elements. Spot UV works best when it's treated as it's own separate design element.

When creating artwork for spot UV, you should supply two files of identical dimensions, one file for full colour printing and one for the spot gloss artwork. Everything on the spot gloss files/layer should be 100% black and should be placed relative to where it should appear on the print files. All files should include 3mm bleed. Please keep in mind, that fine lines (below 1mm) and small text cannot be guaranteed to come out in spot UV. If you area reversing out the effect (solid spot UV area with lines/text inside not in spot UV), please ensure they are a minimum of around 2pt thickness to prevent them potentially 'filling' in with the spot varnish.

DOWNLOAD EXAMPLE FILE

FOIL & DIGITAL PRINT REGISTRATION

IMPORTANT: Please make sure you design with a little tolerance for mis-registration between print and foil stamping. Foil stamping is a separate print finishing process carried out after printing and registration can vary by ±2 mm. This means you should expect the foil stamp element(s) to move around the page by up to ±2 mm.

Most conventional and digital printing presses suffer from slight sheet-to-sheet mis-registration. In other words, due to slight movement as the paper passes through a press, your design may not be printed in exactly the same position on every sheet of paper, we're not talking about much, usually less than 1mm. Once your job is printed, it then moves to our foil presses. The foil presses also suffer from slight sheet-to-sheet mis-registration. Some jobs may also be guillotined down prior to foiling. In addition to this, there can be some sheet shrinking during printing and metal foil dies will expand slightly when heated. For these reasons, we don't recommend creating artwork that requires tight registration between elements that are digitally printed and elements that are foil blocked. We recommend keeping digitally printed elements and foil elements separate. If your designs require very close registration of different colours, we recommend producing the design either completely in print or completely in foil so that only one printing process is used, which will help minimise registration issues. Our designers will guide you with your files if you are unsure, we'll also advise as to any potential issues prior to running your job.

WHY USE WHITE INK?

The foundation of digital colour printing is based on applying CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black) toners onto white paper. The white paper reflects a wide range of colour back to your eyes. When printing CMYK toners on to darker papers only a narrow range of coloured light is reflected back to your eyes, which results in dark and dull results. When white toner is laid down underneath colour toners, it provides a protective reflective surface similar to white paper. This creates bright vibrant colours on any coloured papers and means you don’t need to start with white paper, the door is now open to using coloured, metallic, pearlescent, coloured, kraft, black and many more papers.

PRINTING WHITE TONER ONLY

Applications: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Word

Using this technique, white and transparent areas will be ignored completely. Darker areas of your design, whether in greyscale or full colour, will be printed with a higher density of white toner while lighter elements will be printed with less. If you’re using text and/or vector elements, simply create your design in Illustrator or InDesign and work using black to represent white. Microsoft Word can also be used to create artwork for white toner only printing.

Printing black and white photographs using white toner is also very easy. Simply open your photo in Photoshop and select "Image > Adjustments > Invert."

PRINTING WHITE TONER UNDER COLOUR

The easiest way to set up your file for white behind colour, as well as, standalone white elements is by using the white swatch in Illustrator. This approach doesn’t allow for gradients of white and will layer 100% white behind every colour (plus white elements) except true black (100% K). TIP: You can use a rich black made from CMYK, however, be sure to set the K value to 100% to ensure white isn’t printed underneath it. We recommend creating a layer and filling it with the media colour you intend to use. You can then turn "Print Off" under the "Layer Options" and then lock it. Create a new layer and create your design using colour swatches and the white swatch. When you’re finished, export your file to PDF-X-1a. This is all that’s required for simpler designs that combine both white and colour elements. If you need greater control over the white toner, such as gradients, then you'll need to use white as a spot colour channel which is explained below.

PRINTING VARIED WHITE TONER UNDER COLOUR

Application: Illustrator

If your design requires use of white gradients and tints or if it requires elements with a percentage of white less than 100% underneath (or no white at all), then you’ll need to create a spot colour to enable full control over the white toner. To create a spot colour swatch, go to "Windows > Swatches" to open the swatch panel. Click the 3 horizontal lines in the top right of the swatch panel and select "New Swatch" as shown below. Name the swatch "SpotWhite" and set the Color Type as "Spot Color." You can either leave the colour for the spot channel as white or select another colour that won’t be used in your design. Leaving it white is useful, however, be careful not to confuse it with the standard white swatch. We prefer to set the spot white swatch up as 100% magenta.

Create a new layer and fill it with the media colour you intend to use. You can then turn "Print" off under the "Layer Options" and then lock it. Create a new layer and name it, ‘Colour Elements’ and start creating your design. Wherever you wish to use standalone white elements, be sure to use your new spot colour swatch.

When you’ve completed your design, you’ll need to make a new layer that contains spot colour white elements to print under your colour elements. There are several ways to achieve this, but the simplest is to duplicate your coloured elements layer and name it, ‘White Elements.' Then, delete all elements except those whose colours you want to preserve with white. Convert all remaining elements’ fills and strokes to the SpotWhite swatch.

Next, and most importantly, under "Attributes," set "Overprint Fill and Overprint Stroke" (when a stroke is used) to "On" for all of the elements on your White Elements layer. This will prevent these white elements from knocking out the coloured elements, instead allowing both white and colour to print.

Once you’ve finished, export your file to PDF X-1a and open it in Adobe Acrobat. If you're using Acrobat Pro, you can open up the "Print Production Tools" and access the "Output Preview," where you can check the output of CMYK, spot white and All (see images below) to ensure everything is correct.

If you're unsure or need help, please reach out to our Artwork Team by submitting a ticket using the Help Desk in your account area. They'll be happy to help!