Art File Notes & Specifications

 

If you are a client, event planner, or designer creating your own files for a wedding, special event or business, this page will be important to review before proceeding.  Please read the following notes and guidelines before you begin designing.

We try to be as accommodating as possible for our clients.  In the event a client wishes to provide pre-designed art files to use for their order, our team will review the files to assess for print-readiness and best quality output for your order.  

Art File Review Process:  Please allow for a few extra business days for review of files. After our team reviews submitted files, we will proceed with one of the following paths:

  • Print-Ready Status - this means the submitted art files are approved to print without changes - meaning, they are considered "print-ready" by our team (see "Art File Requirements" section below), we will proceed as outlined in our Order Process page, after payment is received.
  • Adjustments Required - this means the submitted files need adjustments before we can proceed, and we will email a list of the required changes.  Please be advised that there may be some back-and-forth at this point to get files to the point of our "print-ready" requirements (see "Art File Requirements" section below) and the time frame depends on several factors, including our team's availability, communication time between everyone, and how many revisions are necessary.

Art File Requirements:  To ensure best quality print, and to meet the requirements of our professional-grade printing equipment, the following settings are required for to be considered "print-ready":  

  • CMYK color (not RGB)
  • 1/8'‘ bleeds.  
    • When you go to export your file, please include 1/8’' bleeds on all four sides. This will show bleed lines around your requested print size, and you may need to go back and extend your art so it will “bleed” past these lines instead of fitting your art to the size you want it printed.
    • This way, when we print and then trim your order to the size specified, the art will go to the edge instead of leaving a white border.
  • PDF (or another type of vector file - .ai, .psd, .eps, .svg) is required. No images please (.png, .jpg, .tiff)
  • 1-up formatting 
    • Please place only one item per PDF page (i.e. one 5''x7'' invitation card centered on your document page, not multiple 5''x7'' invitation cards on the same page.). We will take the 1-up file and clone it as needed to best fit our prepress standards.  
    • If you have multiple sides of a document, please put these on separate PDF pages. 
  • Original files required
    • To help you with your files, we will need your original files if made in a program like Photoshop, Illustrator or InDesign, including your fonts and images used.
    • The easiest way to give us these items is to package the files together, and share a zipped folder. 
  • A note about Canva
    • While Canva is a convenient tool for designing for the web/digital sharing, it does not create the best art files for using to print on most professional-grade equipment. 
    • We will try our best to advise and work with files generated in Canva, but they may not be accepted. 
    • For all Canva files, we ask to receive the original links and permission to edit for our purposes (we will create a cloned file to use to avoid making changes to the original). 

Product-Specific Requirements/Tips:

  • Place cards
    • Please set up in 1-up formatting (explained above). 
    • You do not need to typeset every individual place card.
    • We will use variable data (from a spreadsheet you will provide) to insert name, table number and meal choice as it prints on the press.  Click here to download a blank spreadsheet to use for inputting variable information.  
  • Envelopes with Recipient Addressing
    • Please set up in 1-up formatting (explained above). 
    • You do not need to typeset every individual envelope.
    • We will use variable data (from a spreadsheet you will provide) to insert names and addresses as it prints on the press.  Click here to download a blank spreadsheet to use for inputting variable information.  
  • If your project requires a special shape/trim, please include a separate file that indicates the die line/trim area in black ink, with just the die line (no other artwork on this file). 
  • If your project requires folding, please indicate with dashed vertical lines where you want us to score the item when trimming to size.  This will allow for easier folding and prevent cracking of the card stock. 

Need Design Help?  Our team is available to help!

  • Design time - This is billed at $50/hour and is added to the final invoice which must be paid before printing.  This charge covers the time to adjust or even recreate your files so they meet our requirements.  This can save time for the client, and ensures best quality over using files that may not meet requirements.
  • Setup Assistance & Templates:  If you desire to create your own files, we can provide templates to you free of charge.  We are also available to walk you through the above requirements if there are questions, so from the beginning the files are set up to avoid most if not all common pitfalls that can occur later on in the design process.  Contact us for assistance!