You’ve got your design ready and now it’s time to send it to print. Supplying your artwork in the right format helps us produce the best possible result and can avoid delays, unexpected borders or problems with image quality.
At Kenwil, we check supplied artwork before production, but following a few simple guidelines will help make sure everything is ready to go.
What File Format Should I Send?
For most print jobs, a high-quality PDF is the preferred format.
PDF files help preserve your fonts, images, layout and positioning exactly as they were designed.
Depending on the job, we can also work with files including:
- Adobe Illustrator (AI)
- Adobe InDesign
- Adobe Photoshop (PSD)
- EPS
- High-resolution JPEG or TIFF
If you’re unsure whether your file is suitable, just send it over and we’ll take a look.
Remember to Add Bleed
If your design has colours, photographs or graphics that run right to the edge of the finished item, the artwork needs to include bleed.
For most standard print jobs, we recommend 3mm bleed on every edge.
For example, an A4 document finishes at:
210 × 297mm
With 3mm bleed, your supplied artwork should be:
216 × 303mm
The additional artwork is trimmed away during finishing, helping ensure your design runs cleanly to the edge without leaving unwanted white lines.
Keep Important Content Away from the Edge
Bleed extends artwork beyond the trim line, but it’s equally important not to position important information too close to it.
Keep text, logos, contact details and other important elements comfortably inside the finished edge.
This creates a safe area and accounts for the small amount of movement that can occur during printing and trimming.
Use High-Resolution Images
Images that look sharp on a phone or computer screen won’t necessarily look sharp when printed.
Where possible, images should be approximately 300dpi at the size they’re going to be printed.
Avoid taking small images from websites or social media and enlarging them significantly, as this can result in blurry or pixelated print.
And remember: a 72dpi image doesn’t become high resolution simply by changing the number to 300dpi. The original image needs to contain enough detail.
CMYK vs RGB
Screens display colour using RGB, while most commercial printing is produced using CMYK.
For the most predictable results, artwork intended for print should generally be supplied using CMYK colours.
If you’re unsure about colour settings, don’t worry. We can check your artwork before it goes into production.
Convert or Embed Your Fonts
If you’re supplying an editable design file, make sure any fonts you’ve used are either:
embedded within the file or converted to outlines.
This prevents fonts being substituted or displaying differently when the artwork is opened on another computer.
A correctly exported print-ready PDF will usually take care of this for you.
Check Your Artwork Size
Always create your artwork at the actual finished size wherever practical.
An A5 flyer should be designed as A5, an A4 poster as A4 and so on.
For very large-format work such as banners, exhibition graphics or signage, artwork can sometimes be supplied at a reduced scale. Speak to us first and we’ll advise you on the best setup for your particular job.
What About Crop Marks?
Crop marks show where the finished piece should be trimmed.
Depending on how your artwork has been created, these may be included when exporting your print-ready PDF.
If you’re not sure whether you need crop marks, don’t add them just for the sake of it. Tell us the required finished size and we’ll advise you.
Before Sending Your Artwork
It’s worth doing one final check:
✓ Correct finished size
✓ 3mm bleed where required
✓ Important text safely inside the trim
✓ High-resolution images
✓ CMYK colour where appropriate
✓ Fonts embedded or outlined
✓ Spelling, telephone numbers and contact details checked
✓ High-quality PDF exported
Once artwork goes into production, correcting a typo becomes considerably more difficult!
Not Sure if Your Artwork Is Print Ready?
Don’t worry if terms like bleed, CMYK and crop marks mean absolutely nothing to you.
Send us what you have.
Our team can check your files and let you know if anything needs adjusted before printing. And if you don’t have finished artwork at all, Kenwil can help with the design too.
Ready to Get Something Printed?
From business cards, flyers and brochures to menus, posters, banners and signage, Kenwil provides professional design, print and signage in Kirkintilloch, Glasgow and across Scotland.
Send us your artwork or get in touch with the Kenwil team to discuss your next print job.