Artwork Requirements

You can output your document as a PDF from most page layout or desktop publishing programs. The benefit of this is that the text in your document is "real" text, but you must remember to embed the fonts you use in the file or it will not display properly on other machines. We have a large number of fonts on our system, and the chances are we will have whatever fonts you use, but to be on the safe side always make sure you embed the fonts into your file.

We will also accept the graphic file formats JPEG and TIFF. When you save your file in one of these formats, any layers and text are compressed into a single flat graphic file. This means your text is no longer "real" text, but instead is a "picture" of your text. The benefit of this is that you don't need to embed any fonts in the file, and the file is an exact visual representation of what you created. But it is very important that you ensure that the resolution is correct as explained below.

If you are not able to produce PDF or JPEG files, we can accept most other file formats and convert them for you. However, with some file formats this may lead to unexpected changes to layout and fonts.

While designing your artwork, you are viewing it onscreen which only has a resolution of between 72 and 96 dots per inch (dpi). Although it looks fine onscreen, in print it will look very rough and bit-mapped. You must ensure that the document you create is at least 300dpi.

Artwork should be supplied in CMYK colour range. You will find that most graphics, design, desktop publishing and page layout software programs will offer you the option of RGB (for onscreen display) or CMYK (for printed display) colour ranges, make sure you select the correct one.

Professional level software and some consumer level software will also offer you a choice of colour formats as well as choosing your colour range. These allow a consistent translation of colours as files are passed from one system to another as they are industry-accepted standards. If you have this option, the one you should select is ISO Coated v2 (Fogra 39 L).

If any part of your design touches the edge of the artwork, you need to add a 3mm bleed to all edges. A bleed is basically an overlap that allows for some slight fluctuations in the positioning of the blade when we cut your flyers to size. If your design includes a bleed, the full size of your artwork would be 6mm wider and 6mm taller than the sizes above. But remember to only let non-important parts of your design, like background colours and patterns, appear in the bleed area as most of it will be chopped off!

Whether your design includes a bleed or not, you should also allow a 3mm margin around the inside edges of your design to allow for some slight fluctuations in the positioning of the blade without losing any important parts of your design. Any text or important elements of your design should be placed at least 3mm away from the edges of the page. This means that the safe zone of your design is 6mm narrower and 6mm shorter than the sizes above.