If you expect a printing effect with vibrant color and a high-quality finish, you’d better have suitable artwork for printing. To ensure you will always get the best quality print, here are some things you can consider when preparing the artwork.
1. Choose a suitable file form
When preparing an artwork to print, the first thing you need to consider is the format of the file. There are many file types of artwork, like PDF, AI, EPS, PNG, TIFF, JPG, and SVG, and among them, AI and PDF files are highly recommended.
A raster file is preferred in printing because it is of high resolution and its definition won’t be affected by scaling. Vectors are essential for some elements, especially logos, illustrations, and texts.
2. Select a right color mode
There are usually two color models, RGB and CMYK, for options when saving the file. And please make sure to save the file in CMYK color mode because the printing process uses CMYK.
RGB color is the color you see on a screen that is not an accurate printed color. If you save the file in the RGB file, the artwork person will convert your file to CMYK when printing. The color conversion from RGB to CMYK will lead to a slight color difference, so a matching Pantone color will be used when converting. Since it is impossible to ensure 100% color match, an artwork in CMYK color mode is highly recommended.
Spot colors cannot be printed with standard CMYK, so if you have specific colors in your graphic, please leave a special message to the printer as spot colors require adjustments before printing.
3. A better printing effect needs a higher resolution image
If your artwork is a raster file, resolution won’t be an issue. However, when there is an image element in your artwork, you need to consider the resolution.
Resolution is measured by dpi. The minimum resolution of images should be 96dpi and at 100% the physical size of the output. The higher-resolution artwork files are preferred, and a 200dpi/300dpi image is good for print. However, sometimes if you print larger format pieces, 15dpi is also acceptable.
4. Use a correct product template
Artwork should be created using the provided templates. Usually, artwork templates will include all the necessary measurements and bleeds. Please do not alter the template lines in any way when creating your design, and make sure to place your design in the safe zone of the template.
Some other things you need to pay attention to when preparing the artwork:
• If you have some unique fonts in your graphic, please outline all fonts or curves before uploading your artwork.
• For some thin and small lines that are impossible to print out, we might make the font bold.
• The maximum size of the file should be 200M. If you have much larger files, please use a file-sharing platform.
• Do not put any notes, comments, or additional instructions in your file. Only include the graphics to be printed.
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