Please check the artwork guidance notes on this page which will ensure that your work proceeds quickly and efficiently.
After placing your order via our online system you can email your artwork files to us, we can accept files up to 10Mb. If your files cannot be emailed for some reason (or they are over 10Mb) you can save your files to a CD and post it to us. Please remember to send your Client Proof along with your artwork if required (see below).
Due to the high cost of postage and the low value of media we no longer return media unless specifically requested. Where media is to be sent back we make a small charge for carriage.
Please email your artwork to us at support@printcentre.co.uk
We use the very latest Adobe PDF Rip in our Prepress department and our workflow is based on working with files in PDF format. Ideally you should send your files to us in this format. The PDF should be prepared at press quality.
Alternatively we can accept files in flattened Tif (Tiff) or Jpg (Jpeg) format. The files should be at the correct size for print. The disadvantage of sending files in this format is that all text and graphics will be Bitmap rather than Vector quality. If the file is sent at 300dpi resolution then in our experience the results are generally considered acceptable.
Please note: We make a nominal charge of £15.00 + VAT to work with files which are not supplied as PDF, Tiff or Jpeg.
Unless we are 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 little more than returning the file sent to us back again!
In our work flow the Client Proof Copy 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 Client Proof Copy is a perfect representation (content-wise) of the job to be produced. When our designers work on your files they can be confident that the text is all present, that the fonts are correct, that the photos have not moved etc. We strongly recommend checking it carefully before sending it to us.
When a high resolution (Press Quality) PDF, Jpg or Tiff file is provided as the origination for printing then this file can also serve as the Client Proof.
Please supply everything 'one up'. It is more successful if you leave us to sort out the imposition for printing. E.g. provide one business card on a 90mm x 50mm or 85mm x 55mm page. Booklets should either be in separate files for each page or number order pages (we will sort out the printers pairs).
Understanding the need for 'Bleed' and a 'Quiet Border' is vital if we are going to achieve an excellent finished print job. We require Bleed to allow for the tolerance of our guillotines (the machine used for cutting your job after printing). Even with our 'State of the Art' equipment there is a margin of error in the operation.
If your image finishes exactly at the edge of your required finished size then these small deviations may produce unsightly white flashes at the edge of your print. By extending your background colour or image beyond the edge of your finished job the consequences of such a deviation are not perceptible. We recommend that elements intended to go to the very edge of your finished job should extend 3mm beyond the edge.
A 'Quiet Border' is the distance you should allow from the edge of your finished page size to text or diagrams etc. The reason for this border is again the tolerance in cutting. If you have a design where the text runs to the very edge then a cutting deviation will actually cut off some of your text! A very small 'Quiet Border' can result in a finished job looking very uneven. We recommend a 'Quiet Border' where there is no text, etc. of at least 5mm around the edges of your job.
We recommend converting the text created with this font into curves. This means that we don’t require the original font when we print your job. When you are supplying your work as a PDF it should always be produced with fonts embedded. With a Tif or Jpg, fonts are much less of an issue since these formats effectively embed the fonts required to print.
There are a large number of variables which can affect the colour produced in Full Colour Printing. Simply looking at the appearance of colours on a monitor, especially if no monitor calibration has been carried out, is unlikely to produce predictable printed results. In just the same way an un-calibrated desktop printer, such as a laser or inkjet may well produce very different colours to those produced on a professional printing press. Rather than leaving colour matching to chance and 'keeping your fingers crossed' we strongly recommend that colours be chosen from Hard Copy Colour Charts.
We have produced two Colour Swatch Booklets (one printed on Coated material and the other on Uncoated material) which show over 1000 colours together with their CMYK values. The advantage of using these charts is that they are exactly matched to our presses. Please call us to purchase a swatch.
Please Note: Where you have a particular colour issue, for example a requirement to match to a specific company colour or a previously printed job, this MUST be brought to our attention at the order stage. Simply specify the colour to be matched to or the fact that the job has been printed previously in ‘Special Instructions’ during the online ordering process. If you have a swatch of the colour required please send us a hard copy of that. We cannot be held responsible if your printed work does not match your requirements unless those requirements are brought to our attention before we print.
Photographs should be scanned size for size at 300dpi and saved as CMYK images (the only exception to the CMYK rule is images for Hexachrome Printing which should be sent as RGB).
If you require a special finish to your print such as Hexachrome or Metal FX® please call us for details of how to supply your artwork.
We charge an optional £2.50 + VAT to carry out extensive Preflighting of your job. We would strongly recommend that you ask us to carry out the Pre-flight because then your job will be carefully checked by an experienced designer and also our proof readers prior to print. Should we find potential issues with the files you have provided we would work with you to resolve the problems.
Please Note: If you decide not to have your job pre-flighted we will simply print what you have sent! If the corrections which you want us to do are excessive there may be an additional charge.
Our normal service does not include proofs. We simply check your files against your Client Proof Copy provided and proceed to print. The system is fast and efficient. However, in some circumstances proofs are desirable and we are pleased to produce proofs from your Digital Artwork prior to printing. This will add extra time to your order.
We produce three different types of proofs:
PDF proof
These are sent digitally via Email. They are ideal for checking layout and content but are not colour accurate and so are of little use when there are issues of colour, such as matching to a House Colour.
These are sent digitally via Email. They are ideal for checking layout and content but are not colour accurate and so are of little use when there are issues of colour, such as matching to a House Colour.
Laser Proof
These are sent by post and provide something tangible to look at. Again these are not colour accurate and their use is limited to content and layout proofing.
These are sent by post and provide something tangible to look at. Again these are not colour accurate and their use is limited to content and layout proofing.
Wet proof
These are an exact match to the job which will eventually be printed since they are a small run of the finished job on press. We would always recommend a small run of print (to be used as a wet proof) prior to any very large run of print.
These are an exact match to the job which will eventually be printed since they are a small run of the finished job on press. We would always recommend a small run of print (to be used as a wet proof) prior to any very large run of print.
If you cannot find what you need to know here, or require further clarification on any of the listed topics, please contact us.