Art Specifications
Thank you for choosing Allsafe Technologies! As an extra service to our clients we offer state of the art hardware and software for your graphic design needs. Our pre-press department will assist you to ensure a quality finished product. The following are our art department requirements and answers to frequently asked questions that will assist us in bringing you the best possible looking product as fast as possible. Please adhere to these specifications to ensure proper processing and eliminating any unnecessary delays. Deviation from the following instructions may delay your order and/or incur additional art charges.
General Requirements:
- All art should be complete, color separated and sized to fit the area to be printed.
- Poor quality art (faxes, photocopies, etc) in need of additional retouch time will incur additional charges to convert to proper quality.
- If your artwork includes bleeds, (additional charges will be incurred) please allow 1/8" over on all sides, using crop marks for copy placement.
- For items without bleed, allow 1/8" margin between the edge of card and art/text.
- Please refrain from using a border (with bleed) that is to print around the outside of the card, it presents difficulties relative to the die cutting tolerances.
- Please keep all type 6 pt. or larger (with the exception of micro text within logos).
- When reversing text out of a background color, please utilize a bold text and keep it to 7 pt. or greater.
- Allow .005 trap.
- Screens should be 175 Lpi (lines per inch).
- If your art includes screens, please provide the art in electronic format with the screened area set to desired % and ready for print.
- If your art includes graduated screens (an additional charge will be incurred), please provide the art in electronic format with the graduated screened area set to desired beginning and end % and ready for print.
- Please include in the title of your files, that are recorded to disk or in the subject field of e-mailed files, at least one of the following: company name, specific individual card identifier (ex."FastTrak Card") or P.O. number.
- All 4 color process accounts will require a hardcopy color proof that we will output and send out to your attention for approval. Please provide address, contact and associated department (if applicable) that you would like us to send the proof to. If you would like us to send utilizing your account, please include your account number, preferred courier (Fed-Ex, UPS, etc) and method (Standard Overnight, Overnight Priority).
- Once the proof meets your color, layout and spelling expectations and is approved, please fax, mail or e-mail back a signed copy and we will be happy to proceed with the balance of your order.
The following will not normally be charged extra for:
- Installing fonts included with artwork.
- Final image output / proof composite (1st proofing and 1 additional proof included).
- Quality control/Preflighting to meet printing requirements.
- Additional time associated with jobs containing incomplete or missing elements.
- Creating proofs if not provided with aforementioned components (electronic files, hardcopy, etc.)
- Any proofs required after the second proofing would incur additional charges.
- Re-proofing with a new 4 color process file after initial file has been processed and proof sent out to the customer. If this is required, a second hardcopy color proof will be necessary to reflect alterations.
Digital Requirements
We accept computer-generated art (Macintosh preferred) from the following programs listed in order of preference:
- Illustrator CS3, QuarkXpress 6.5 and Photoshop CS3.
- All Graphics should be provided as an unlocked Illustrator Encapsulated PostScript file (EPS) at 1200 dpi.
- If providing raster images Tagged Image Format File (TIFF) please output no lower than 350 dpi.
- Full-color graphics files must be provided as CMYK files, not RGB. If you have a file saved as RGB, convert it to a CYMK file before submitting it to us.
- Spot colors should be designated as PMS (Pantone Matching System) coated colors and along with the specific associated PMS number. Please do not mix process colors and spot color in the same file, unless that is what you desire.
- Files with linked images must include all the linked files and should be completely assembled and ready for output.
- Halftones should be scanned at 350 dpi (dots per inch).
- If you are using an application that is not listed above, i.e., Freehand, Freelance, Pagemaker, you must export your file to Adobe Illustrator format and convert all type to outlines/paths.
- Please refrain from using BMPS, JPEGS, GIFS, WMF's, Microsoft PowerPoint, Publisher, Word documents or any other low resolution images.
- For all PMS color only jobs, we will provide an electronic PDF proof that will be e-mailed to you for approval to expedite the process and eliminate unnecessary courier costs. Please refer to PMS book or chips for actual color match. Please provide e-mail address and the recipient of proof.
- PDF Files are subject to review to determine if the art is acceptable.
What are vector files?
They are artwork files that store information about the shapes and lines constituting the image in a mathematical format. They can be scaled easily without producing the 'stair-step' edges you will see in pixel-based (raster) images. They adapt to the resolution of any output device and are considered to be resolution independent. They are produced by programs like Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia FreeHand and CorelDRAW.
They are image files that are defined by a checkerboard pattern, similar to viewing mosaic tiles. Raster images are limited by the number of pixels and cannot be enlarged without producing noticeably jagged, 'stair-stepped' edges. They are produced by digital cameras, scanners, and can also be created by programs like Adobe PhotoShop and CorelPHOTO-PAINT (among others). Magnification of raster files can never increase their resolution.
Type/Font Requirements
- All type must be Adobe Postscript fonts, please refrain from using TrueType fonts (TT).
- All type fonts used in the art must be included when submitting art. Please be sure to include both the printer and screen fonts if possible, but send only the fonts required.
- Do not use the "Style" Application, i.e., Bold, Italic, etc. to define font style. Use the actual entire font description from the "Font" Menu.
- If you are not able to include the actual fonts with the artwork, please remember to convert the type to outlines/paths to eliminate type conflicts.
Sending Files
- Files may be sent on 3.5" floppy disks, 100 or 250 MB lomega Zip Disk, CD or via e-mail to: prepress@allsafe.com. We also have a FTP Site, please see directions below to access.
- When sending multiple files via email, send Macintosh files as Stuffit files and PC files zipped.
- Keep an exact duplicate of each file sent to us in case of in-transit damage/corruption.
- Please accompany hard copy proof with electronic files to demonstrate color break, type styles, and layout position. If files are e-mailed, send a hard copy proof by mail.
FTP Access
This same information can be used for any FTP client program. We would suggest Fetch for MAC and WS_FTP for windows, but others work as well.
Hostname: 72.45.225.107
Username:Anonymous
Password: your email address -for example(prepress@allsafe.com)