When assembling your artowkr for pprint, some care must be taken so that the printing of your file comes out with the results you expect. It is normal for one thing or another to go unnoticed, so today we have brought you all the points you should pay attention to before sending your files. Check out!
What are formats?
The format is the composition of your material. The wrong format can cause differences in the setup that will precede printing, so it must always folow the the specifications.
Heads up!
Your file may be wrong due to a differences between the size and the file sent, or not using our templates. But, if the setup is in a custom size, you must create the art template in that custom size.
It is worth mentioning that errors can arise in all materials, however, so that none of this occurs, you must understand how to customize your art correctly with the help of some tools. As a guide, you can consider:
Bleeds
Bleeds represents the extrapolation of the printed area as a safety extension around the artwork that will be removed in the cutting process – this extension is usually 3mm on each side. But be careful to only enlarge the background and never the information, text, and images.
Its name is linked to the process of extending the image beyond the original margin of the document, hence the reference to “bleed”, reinforcing the idea of going beyond the edges of the page. The goal is to ensure that there are no refile failures or white streaks showing.
Crop marks
Crop Marks are a guide that indicates the measurements at which your artwork ends. Focused around the workboard, i.e. the region where the paper will be cut. But, even though it is used in an essential function, you must use this markup as well as bleed, as one does not replace the other.
Eye test
Even following all the guidelines to the letter, some care is in charge of the famous eye test. But what does it mean? Imagine that your art already meets the pre-established requirements for bleeding and crop marks, but, by chance, it is not in the right size. It is something that can be easily corrected, but first of all, avoided. Do not hesitate to consult the ruler!
The importance of using templates
The templates and instructions are intended to help customers create their artwork according to the specifications of each product. They are like a guide, indicating the size of the art, the safety areas – margins that delimit the safe area for the application of important information, the reading orientation, the possible colors for printing according to the product, and finalization of the file.
It is worth considering that currently most templates provided are in eps, or PDF format. For almost all products with a format defined on the website, it is possible to find a template. For custom formats, the client must create his art according to the measureuments needed.
How to use
The use of templates is recommended for all products and mandatory for products with a cutting knife and/or a delimited printing area. Still, the process of using it is much simpler than you might think. Check out the step-by-step below.
- After downloading the template from the website or directly from us, open it in the corresponding software
- You must observe the layers and place your artwork on the right layers
- Check that the instructions file – in PDF format – has been made available along with the template. It will be essential to answer any questions and guide you in filling out the content.
How to save
When completing the art, it is important to ensure the success of all steps towards closing. To do this, ask yourself the following questions:
- Are the texts correct and with fonts larger than 6pt?
- Are the images embedded in the file?
- Are the colors used per the production process – CMYK or special colors – of each product?
Ensuring that all answers are correct, only then should you finalize your file, as flagged below.
- Use the .pdf extension in the PDF/X-1a configuration, without crop marks and with bleed enabled for use according to the file;
- Finally, use the following settings: Marks and Bleeds > under “Bleeds” > “Use Document Bleed Settings” option.