Artwork guide
The short version
- PDF is best. JPG, PNG and TIFF are fine too.
- 300 dpi (dots per inch: how much detail an image holds) at the size it will be printed.
- CMYK colour (the four printing inks). RGB, the screen colours, is accepted and converted, but bright colours can shift a little.
- 3 mm bleed on every edge if anything touches the edge.
- Keep text and logos at least 3 mm inside the edge (more for booklets, posters and banners: see the product page).
- Fonts embedded or converted to outlines (shapes).
Sizes and bleed
Bleed is extra background beyond the finished edge. The sheet is trimmed through it, so there’s no white sliver if the trim lands a fraction out. Trimming can be up to 2 mm out, so borders closer than 5 mm to the edge can look uneven.
| Product | Size and bleed |
|---|---|
| Business cards | 85 × 55 mm, landscape or portraitBleed: 3 mm of extra background on every edge, trimmed off so colour runs right to the edge. Your document is 91 × 61 mm. |
| Flyers & leaflets | A6 105 × 148 mm or A5 148 × 210 mm; on Standard also A7 74 × 105 mm and A4 210 × 297 mm. Either orientation.Bleed: 3 mm of extra background on every edge, trimmed off so colour runs right to the edge: A7 80 × 111 mm, A6 111 × 154 mm, A5 154 × 216 mm, A4 216 × 303 mm |
| Posters & large format | A2 420 × 594 mm, A1 594 × 841 mm, A0 841 × 1189 mm, either orientationBleed: 3 mm if colour goes right to the edge. Not needed for plans or anything with a white border. |
| Invitations | A6 105 × 148 mm or A5 148 × 210 mmBleed: 3 mm of extra background on every edge, trimmed off so colour runs right to the edge |
| PVC banners | 1000 × 1000, 2000 × 1000, 3000 × 1000 or 4000 × 1000 mmBleed: Ask us |
| Tickets | DL 210 × 99 mm landscape, single-sidedBleed: 3 mm of extra background on every edge, trimmed off so colour runs right to the edge. Your document is 216 × 105 mm. |
| Letterheads | A4 210 × 297 mm portrait, single-sidedBleed: 3 mm (216 × 303 mm) if anything touches the edge. If nothing does, a plain A4 page with 10 mm margins is fine. |
| Order of service | A5, saddle-stitched (folded and stapled through the spine)Bleed: 3 mm of extra background on every edge of every page, trimmed off so colour runs right to the edge |
Making a PDF
- InDesign, Illustrator, Affinity: export as PDF (PDF/X-4 if you have it), with bleed set to 3 mm and “use document bleed” ticked.
- Canva: download as “PDF Print” and tick “crop marks and bleed”.
- Photoshop: start at 300 dpi at the finished size plus bleed, then save as PDF or TIFF.
- Word, PowerPoint, Publisher, Google Docs: for print orders, save or export as PDF first, and check the PDF looks right before you send it.
Colour
Screens make colour from light (RGB); print makes it from ink (CMYK), so bright blues, greens and oranges on screen can print a little duller. Set your file to CMYK if you can.
For large areas of black, use a “rich black” mixed with other inks so it prints deep rather than greyish (C60 M40 Y40 K100). Keep text in black ink only (100K) so it stays crisp.
Resolution
300 dpi at the printed size is the standard for cards, flyers and invitations. Large posters are viewed from further away and need less: around 150 dpi. Banners seen from a few metres away look fine at 100 dpi at full size.
A small image from a website will usually look soft when printed. Use the original photo or logo file.
Fonts and fine lines
- Embed your fonts when you export, or convert text to outlines (shapes), so it can’t change typeface.
- Keep text at 6 pt or more, and white text on a dark background at 7 pt or more.
- Lines thinner than 0.25 pt may not print.
Booklets and folded work
- Booklets are made from folded sheets, so the page count is always a multiple of 4.
- Send single pages in reading order (page 1 is the front cover), not spreads.
- For folded cards, send the flat sheet and keep text 5 mm away from the fold.
What our checks look for
When you upload a file, we check it straight away:
- that we can open it, that it isn’t a Word or PowerPoint file, and that it isn’t password-protected;
- that it has the right number of pages;
- that the page size matches the product, with or without bleed;
- that the fonts in a PDF are embedded;
- that a JPG, PNG or TIFF has enough detail to look sharp at the printed size;
- RGB images, spot (Pantone) colours, transparency, and comments or form fields, which we tell you about.
Some things you can go ahead with by ticking “Print it as supplied”, like a file with no bleed. Others, like fonts that aren’t embedded, need a new file. Whatever the checks say, one of us looks at every file before it’s printed, including colours and image quality. If something’s off, we’ll tell you first.
Stuck?
Call 020 8985 7879 or email the file to hello@argun.co.uk and we’ll have a look. If you’d rather we set it up for you, see our design service.