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Image by 1981 Digital

ARTWORK SET-UP

While it’s true that we can print from a different file types, we recommend you use the following for the best results:
 
Small or Large Format Set-Up requirements
  • Format: PDF
  • Colour: Four Colour Process (CMYK)
  • Bleed: 3mm
  • Safe Zone: 5mm
  • Resolution: 300dpi
  • Fonts: Outlined or Embedded
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PVC Banner Set-Up Requirements
  • Format: PDF
  • Colour: Four Colour Process (CMYK)
  • Bleed: 10mm
  • Safe Zone: 40mm (Accounting for Hemming & Eyelets)
  • Resolution: 75-150dpi
  • Fonts: Outlined or Embedded
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BLEED & CROP MARKS

WHAT IS BLEED AND WHY DO I NEED IT?

If your design has a colour, image or background that goes right to the edge of the page, you will need to add bleed.

When we print your artwork, it is printed on a larger sheet and then trimmed down to the finished size. Because cutting can never be 100% exact, your design needs to extend slightly past the edge where we cut.

This extra area is called bleed.

Bleed makes sure there are no unwanted white edges around your finished print.


HOW MUCH BLEED DO I NEED?

Please add 3mm of bleed on every side of your artwork.

For example:
Finished A4 size: 210mm × 297mm
A4 with 3mm bleed: 216mm × 303mm

Once printed, we trim off the extra 3mm from each edge, leaving your document at the correct A4 size.

 
DO I NEED CROP MARKS?
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Crop marks indicate where the finished artwork should be trimmed.
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The most important thing is to make sure your artwork includes the correct 3mm bleed, but crop marks are preferable!
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MARGIN / SAFE ZONE
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WHAT IS A SAFE ZONE AND WHY DO I NEED IT? 
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The safe zone is the 5mm area around the inside edge of your artwork where you should avoid placing any important information.
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When your printing is finished, it is trimmed down to the correct size. Although our cutting equipment is very accurate, there can be a small amount of movement during trimming.
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Keeping important content away from the edge makes sure nothing important is accidentally cut off or simply just looks too close to the edge!
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We recommend keeping all important information at least 5mm away from the finished edge of your artwork.
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This includes things like:
  • Text
  • Logos
  • Contact details
  • Important images or graphics
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​Background colours, patterns and images that are designed to run to the edge can continue through the safe zone and into the bleed area.
It’s only important information that should be kept within the safe zone.
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AN EASY WAY TO REMEMBER
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Bleed = 3mm outside the finished edge
This gets trimmed off and prevents unwanted white edges.
 
Safe zone = 5mm inside the finished edge
Keep important text and information inside this area so it doesn’t get cut off.
RESOLUTION GUIDE

Image resolution simply means how much detail an image contains.

Images are made up of lots of tiny coloured squares called pixels. The more pixels an image has, the clearer and sharper it will look when printed.

If an image is too small or low quality and is enlarged, those pixels become more noticeable. This can make the image look blurry, fuzzy or pixelated when printed.

WHY DOES MY IMAGE LOOK FINE ON SCREEN?

An image can look perfectly clear on your phone or computer but still be too low quality for professional printing. Screens generally require much less image detail than print. This means a logo or photo may look great on screen but appear blurry or pixelated once it is printed.

WHAT RESOLUTION DO I NEED?

For the best results, we recommend supplying images at 300 DPI at the size they will be printed.

For example, an image may be good enough to print clearly at 5cm wide, but if you enlarge that same image to 20cm wide, it may become pixelated. The larger you want an image to be printed, the higher quality the original image needs to be.

HOW CAN I CHECK MY IMAGE?

A simple way to get an idea of the quality is to zoom in closely on your artwork.

If your image or logo starts to look blurry, fuzzy or you can clearly see individual square pixels, it may not be high enough quality for printing.

Please remember that this is only a rough guide. Our team can check your artwork before printing and let you know if we spot any resolution issues.

AN EASY WAY TO REMEMBER
High-resolution image = sharper, clearer print
Low-resolution image = may look blurry or pixelated
 
Image by Alex Knight
Image by Mourizal Zativa
COLOUR GUIDE

We print with CMYK.  CMYK uses Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black and is the colour system used for professional printing.

Your screen show colours in RGB. These are used on phones, computers and tablets and as these screens are back lit, they display colours that are brighter and more vibrant than some colours we can reproduce in print.

SO SHOULD MY ARTWORK BE CMYK?

For the best results, please supply your artwork in CMYK colour mode.
If your artwork is supplied in RGB, it will be converted to CMYK before printing. This can cause some colours to look different, particularly very bright or vibrant colours.

WILL MY PRINT LOOK EXACTLY LIKE MY SCREEN?

Not always. Screens and printers create colours differently, so there will be some variation between what you see on screen and the finished print. 


AN EASY WAY TO REMEMBER
RGB = Screens, Phones, computers, tablets and digital displays.
CMYK = Print


Important: Colours on your screen will not always look exactly the same when printed, even when your artwork has been correctly prepared in CMYK.
FREE ARTWORK CHECKING
Do call or email for advice if you're unsure, or email your artwork for free checking to info@motionprinting.co.uk
We are happy to offer guidance so you get the exact result you require if you do not have the software or experience (a small fee may be applicable).
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