Artwork - Blue Star Print Solutions

Supplying Artwork - Tips

So with all these products being ordered – how do you ensure your artwork is print-ready and error-free?

Well below is the majority of information you’ll need when setting up your artwork. We’ll be here though if you need some help on your artwork creation – if you need us to – we’ll create it for you (see our Design Section)

All images must be CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow or Key (Black)) or Spot Colour. No RGB will be printed. Pantone colours that are present in CMYK jobs will be converted to process (CMYK). Unless otherwise specified by you.
All images must be 300dpi.
3mm bleed is required on all print items that have backgrounds/images etc that are right up to the edge.
Ensure all important text and images are kept at least 3mm away from the edge of the finished size, this is to ensure it’s not cut off during the trimming process as slight movement is inherent during finishing.
Ensure all fonts are outlined/converted to curves, embedded or rasterized.
Black can be set up in 2 ways – single Black at 100% or you can have Rich Black (for an explanation of Rich Black – see here)
Total ink coverage should not exceed 250%
Artwork should be supplied with crop marks, creasing or cutting guides only, bleed marks or colour guides can be left off.

For Information on Pass4Press standards

Click Here

Here is some info for each design product to help you out

PDF Files

All artwork should be supplied high resolution (300dpi). It is important that you prepare your PDF file in the correct way. These options must be set for commercial printing: Resolution - High Compression Settings - For colour and greyscale this should be down sampled to 300dpi with "auto compression" set on high Font Embedding - Should be set to "embed all fonts" Colour needs to be set as CMYK not RGB (RGB artwork will be converted to CMYK and this could effect your colours).

Illustrator Files

Include all embedded images and convert all text to curves (Outline Type), you can either save this out as an EPS or a preferable method would be to save straight into PDF format using the above settings.

InDesign Files

Please ensure all fonts and pictures used in your artwork are supplied in a separate folder using the "package" function under the "file" menu. Compress the document using Stuffit or WinZip before uploading or sending your order. Or Save out as a PDF using the settings above. Please include a screenshot of the artwork. This is for our reference to make sure that nothing is missing or moved from the artwork supplied.

Photoshop Files

Set Resolution to 300dpi when starting your new document. Save file as either TIFF or JPEG.

Quark Files

Ensure all fonts and pictures used are supplied in a separate folder using the "collect for output" function under the "file" menu. Compress the document using Stuffit or WinZip before uploading or sending your order. Please include a screenshot of the artwork or a PDF. This is for our reference to make sure that nothing is missing or moved from the artwork supplied. Other files not listed above must be saved either as a EPS or JPEG. Please note: If you need us to make changes to your file, we will require you to re-supply new artwork as either a PSD, PDF or AI file as we are unable to make changes to the flattened image (JPEG / EPS / TIFF).

Windows Files

PLEASE NOTE: We cannot use the following formats for printing:

Word
Excel
Publisher
Powerpoint
Works

Below is a link to a website that can convert any of the above files into a useable PDF, it is easy to use and will do it for you right there online.

http://convert.neevia.com

Please note that it is important when supplying a PDF from a Microsoft document, care is taken to ensure any spot colours are created correctly in your original document.

Please supply a screenshot of your Microsoft document before conversion this can be done by one of the following:

PC operators – There is a "PRINT SCREEN" button on the keyboard
Mac operators – Press the "Shift" and "Cmd" and "4" keys, then highlight the area you wish to copy. This saves a PNG copy to your desktop.