Artwork

We specialise in printing orders from artwork supplied.

Our Pre-Print Checking system incorporates a number of steps designed to ensure that the finished work we produce not only meets, but exceeds your expectations.

We like to think of our relationship as a partnership and, with any partnership, a great outcome depends on partners working together.

Please check the Artwork guidance notes on the following pages which will ensure that your work proceeds quickly and efficiently to a successful outcome to the benefit of everyone.

Sending Your Files
We recommend compressing your files before sending them to us electronically as this not only makes the upload faster but also more reliable, especially for the Mac, since important hidden files are then included automatically.

Free trial versions of excellent compression programmes are available, www.pkware.com for PKzip which is designed for PC and www.stuffit.com/mac/deluxe for Stuffit which is designed for Mac.

We can, if necessary, accept fi les set on a wide range of ‘hard’ media as well as via upload. The media we can accept is 3 1/2” Floppy disc, Iomega zip drives, CD’s/DVD’s Recordable and Re-Writeable.

We can also take files from an unsupported drive if you send us the media and the drive (we will return them with the completed job).

Please note:
Orders not placed through our online ordering system are subject to an additional handling charge of £4.50 + VAT per order. Also due to the high cost of postage and the low value of media we no longer return media unless specifi cally requested. Where media is sent back we make a small charge for carriage.

File Formats
We use the very latest Adobe PDF Rip in our Pre-press department and our workfl ow is based on working with fi les sent to as PDFs. Ideally you should send your files to us in this format. Your PDF should be prepared at press quality. Please refer to pages 90-93 for full details on artwork preparation.

Alternatively we can accept files in flattened tif (Tiff ) or jpg (Jpeg) format. The files should be the correct size and proportion for print. The disadvantage of sending files this way is that all text and graphics will be in a Bitmap and not Vector format, meaning quality could be impaired. However if the files are sent at a minimum resolution of 300dpi then in our experience the results are generally considered acceptable. We are also able to accept other file formats.

If you are unable to save your work as PDF please contact us to discuss the options.
Please note: We make a nominal charge of £20.00 + VAT to work with files which are not supplied as PDF, Tiff or Jpeg.

Client Proof Copy (CPC)
Unless specifically requested we do not send proofs of jobs prior to print. In the electronic world sending hard copy proofs by post causes major delays and sending digital proofs is often little more than returning the file sent to us!

In our workflow the CPC is a key element. It may be defined as a master, which is correct in all respects, against which we can check all that we do. It is vital that the CPC is a perfect representation (content-wise) of the job to be produced. We strongly recommend checking it carefully before sending it to us.
Print guide

With a CPC to refer to when our designers work on your files they can be confi dent that the text is all present, that the fonts are correct and that the photos have not moved etc.