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| PRINTING TECHNICAL INFORMATION | ||
| • Colours | ||
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| Spot Colours | ||
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Spot colours are the preferred method of producing stationery inexpensively. The internationally recognised guide to spot colours is usually Pantone®. |
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| Process Colours (4 colour process, or CMYK) | ||
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| Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black are mixed to produce a wide range of colours and is used when reproducing photographs usually for brochures and leaflets. Spot colours can be produced out of process but some are not achievable and at times the colour match is not identical - please call our studio and we will be more than happy to advise you. |
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| • graphic formats | ||
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| There are basically 2 flavours of file type, bitmaps and vectored images. | ||
| Bitmaps | ||
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| These are pixel-based files like photos from your digital camera or generated by programs such as Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro and come in different formats with the extensions (the 3 letters after the dot in a filename) such as: *.jpg - *.tif - *.gif - etc. | ||
| Vector-based artwork | ||
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| For spot colour work this is the preferred choice. File types are normally recognised by the extension .eps (not to be confused with a Photoshop .eps which is basically still a bitmap) .wmf, or .ai. Vectored images are produced using a mathematical line description and as such can be enlarged to any size without distortion of the image. Also, the artwork can be edited very easily to make colour changes, line thickness changes etc. An Illustrator/Freehand .eps file is easily colour-separated and has the added advantage of being much smaller than a bitmap of the same design. |
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| Can I send files in Word / Publisher / Powerpoint etc.? | ||
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| These programs are not aimed at the print professional. As you know, they can do a superb job creating in-house stationery, presentations etc. and printing directly to desktop machines. These programs only output in RGB which can result in huge colour shifts in your print job. If your only way of sending your artwork is by one of these programs then please try and send a original version of any graphic used in the document so that we can recreate your artwork. |
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| • sending us your logo | ||
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| Please try and send us (if available) the logo in its original format that was created by you or your designer. Logos/artwork used for web design are generally not usable due to the low-resolution involved.
If you are not sure what to do, then please give us a call on: 01329 28 00 00 or email us here |
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| • screen resolution / print resolution | ||
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| Many people are confused as to why something may look great onscreen but won't print without the 'jaggies'.
For print we need 300dpi which is a much higher resolution than your monitor can display. So it follows that web graphics or any low-res file will give poor results when output on a hi-res device such as an imagesetter. If the only image you have is on your website, then it will probably need recreating at a higher resolution. |
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| You've just sent me a proof. why do the colours look wrong on screen? | ||
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| Monitors display at 72dpi in RGB (red, green, blue) which is different to the printing process. Colours on the finished job and what is displayed on your screen will look differ net. Looking at this proof on a different monitor will give you a different look again as no two monitors are exactly the same and it is unlikely that your monitor is calibrated for print display quality. If you have provided the printer with the Pantone Colour reference no. you require then even though the proof onscreen may look wrong (too dark, too light etc.) don't worry as at the print stage the correct Pantone colour-matched ink will be used. For colour work:- brochures/flyers/folders etc. we can supply a very accurate colour proof but this is too expensive for general stationery proofs. If you have any concerns please call our studio on 01329 280000 |
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| The PDF you sent me looks 'jaggy' on screen, why? Can this be fixed? | ||
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| For email purposes we send low-res PDF’s which can cause logo’s and pictures to pixilate. Hi-res PDF’s can be up to 60mb and not suitable for emailing for proofing purposes. Our studio does check that all pictures and logo’s supplied will print to a high quality, however if there is any doubt they will contact you to discuss your options. Should you require reassurance we can email you a hi-res PDF of the final approved artwork prior to print. | ||
| I've just printed out the PDF you sent me. Why is it smaller? | ||
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| On opening the print dialogue box please ensure the option < No Scaling > is selected, otherwise your program may allow for print margins which reduces the size of the artwork. | ||
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