Artwork Specifications

Guide to supplying files for printing

Files can be emailed to us for checking at any time, when requesting or accepting a quote, or after submitting your order online. We'll pre-flight your files or supplied artwork and let you know if anything further is required to achieve great results on the printing press. Artwork setup is free with all business card printing orders, so if you're not confident to supply your own artwork, we'll set it up for you and send a proof before printing. (Please note this offer does not include logo design which is offered as a stand-alone service.)

Do you have a logo?

If you don't yet have a logo for your business, we can design one for you as the first step in creating your business identity. Once you're happy with your design, we set about printing your business cards.

If supplying your logo and text:

Text can be supplied in the body of an email message, as a .txt plain text file, or as a Word .doc.

Logos should be supplied as Illustrator .eps (up to CS4) or vector .pdf distilled at press-quality. If you've had a logo professionally designed, you should have been given these file formats. If this file type is not available, a high resolution jpeg created at 600dpi may be sufficient in most cases.
Photos should be a minimum of 350dpi at target size. Use the highest quality setting on your digital camera. Scan prints at 350dpi, or higher if the photo needs to be enlarged. If purchasing a stock photo, select the appropriate size for your job, eg. small or medium for a business card, large or extra large for a brochure.

If you're unsure about the requirements above, just send us what you have and we'll let you know if there's anything further required.

If supplying finished artwork

There are many variables to consider when preparing artwork for the printing press. For best results, have your artwork prepared by us, or your regular designer according to our specifications.

Illustrator .eps is the preferred format for finished artwork, up to CS4. We also accept Photoshop .psd created at 600dpi and Adobe .pdf created using our distiller settings (please contact us to request the job options file).
Photos should be a minimum of 350dpi at target size, and saved as a cmyk .tif file.
Logos, graphics and text should be vector image format. If this is not possible, please create your raster image at 600dpi to ensure smooth edges.
Include 3mm bleed, and for business cards, a 3mm margin or "safe area" inside the trim size. Please contact us for advice setting up other layouts, eg. letterheads and flyers.
Convert colours to cmyk, flatten all transparencies, and convert all text to outlines.
Accepted file formats for finished artwork: Illustrator .eps (preferred) up to CS4; Photoshop .psd created at 600dpi; Adobe .pdf using our distiller job option settings.

Not sure what to do?

Remember artwork setup is free with all business card printing orders, so if you're not confident to supply your own artwork, we'll set it up for you and send a proof before printing. (Please note this offer does not include logo design which is offered as a stand-alone service.