It doesn’t really matter how long you’ve been designing for print – we’ve all forgotten to outline a font or embed an image. Because we understand how easy it can be to forget little details, we’ve put together a short list of pre-production things to remember before submitting your artwork for print. That way, whether it’s your first or hundredth time, you’ll look like a pro – not to mention saving some time and money, too! Here are 6 reminders before you send your artwork to print.
1. Choose an accessible file type.
We love PDF’s if we can get them! We’ll also take .ai, .psd, .indd, .eps, .pub, or .qxp. The only two hard exceptions are .jpgs and .png; we don’t really like these particular file types because they tend to be low resolution and don’t allow any manipulation.
2. Check the resolution of the artwork.
Speaking of resolution, make sure your art is at least 300 DPI. If you think low-res art looks bad on screen….wait until you see it printed. Trust us on that one.
3. Outline your fonts and embed your files.
Make sure to outline your fonts and embed any images in your files. If you don’t, your design will likely look different when we open it; though that “different” could be good or bad, we don’t really want to find out after the fact!
4. Proof your artwork at least twice.
It seems simple enough, but we catch spelling errors all the time. Under the “Edit” menu of most design softwares, you’ll find an option to check your spelling. Make sure you use that on a regular basis!
Then make sure you read every single word slowly – maybe even out loud. You want to ensure that you don’t have a “they’re” when there should be a “their” there! Finally, make sure you’re triple checking dates and times; nothing worse than 500 invitations printed with the wrong date on them!
5. Make sure your artwork bleeds.
If your art goes to the edge of your trim size, give us some room to work with and add a .125″ bleed. This will ensure that your design looks as flawless as you envisioned.
6. Give us ample time to work our magic.
Don’t get us wrong – we deliver quality printing, surprisingly fast. But while we work fast, it does help to have the files as early as possible. This allows us to prep the file for print, review for errors, and possibly print sooner if we have time. Nobody likes to be rushed – please get us those files as early as possible!
There you have it. If you follow these 6 tips, we’ll all be happy campers printers. If you have anything to add to this list, let us know in the comments! For all of your printing needs, reach out to our team of experts here at Zipp Printing. As we said earlier, we deliver quality printing, surprisingly fast. Give us a shout today!