Artwork Requirements

Guide to supplying artwork

Acceptable file formats (PC files only, please)

• Illustrator (.ai). All fonts converted to outlines. All images embedded.
• Photoshop (.psd). Layers flattened. At least 300 dpi.
• Tiff
• JPEG. At least 300 dpi.
• Pdf. Press ready with all fonts and images embedded.
• EPS.

We are unable to print directly from any Microsoft file (Word, Publisher, etc) however we are able to transpose your Microsoft files for you. Please contact us for details.

How to create a PDF for print

PDF/x-1a2001 is our favoured file format.
If you are creating your artwork in Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop, you should have the option to save directly as a PDF.

Adobe Illustrator

When you are ready to output from AI format to a PDF file, select “Save As” then “Adobe PDF”, when presented with the “Adobe PDF Preset” options simply choose “PDF/x-1a2001”.

Adobe Photoshop

While working on your document always save it as a PSD file with all image and text layers preserved, DO NOT flatten your artwork prior to saving. When you are ready to output as a PDF file, select “Save As” then “Photoshop PDF”, when presented with the “Adobe PDF Preset” options simply choose “PDF/x-1a2001”.

Adobe Acrobat Distiller

When creating a PDF in Acrobat Distiller, there are job options which must be set for commercial printing. These include default resolution, compression settings and font embedding.
Please ensure you choose high resolution. Compression settings for colour and greyscale should be downsampled to 300dpi with “auto compression” set on high. Bitmapped (monochrome: i.e. line art) images should be set at 600dpi. Font embedding should be set to “embed all fonts.”

Bleed

Please include 3mm bleed around your artwork. This means if you are supplying a Tiff, JPEG or PDF file you will need to add 6mm to each measurement i.e. for A4 usually 210mm x 297mm, save as 216mm x 303mm.
Bleed needs to be included to ensure that any coloured background or background images go right to the edge. Click here to find out more about what bleed is and how to prepare your file for print.

Quiet space

We recommend you leave a quiet space of 5mm around the edge of your artwork i.e for A4 usually 210mm x 297 mm your main content should fit within a space measuring 200mm x 287. This is to ensure that no important information is trimmed away during cutting.

Colour

Please ensure your colour settings are set to CMYK and not RGB. All embedded images also need to be CMYK. Find out more about CMYK and RGB here.

Images

All images included in any artwork need to be embedded ,CMYK, and at least 300dpi. Anything less than 300dpi will not give the best results when printed. Click here to find out how to check the resolution of an image.
Am:pm graphics assumes all images supplied are licensed or appropriate permissions have been obtained prior to use (see privacy policy for more information on Copyright). Am:pm graphics takes no responsibility for images supplied by Customers.

Fonts

When supplying native files, please ensure all fonts are converted to outlines. When supplying EPS files or PDF files, the appropriate fonts must be embedded. Am:pm graphics assumes all fonts are licenced and takes no responsibility for embedded fonts.

Finished size and Artwork size

DL
finished size = 210mm x 99mm
artwork size = 216mm x 105mm

A6
finished size = 105mm x 148mm
artwork size = 111mm x 154mm

A5
finished size = 210mm x 148mm
artwork size = 216mm x 154mm

A4
finished size = 210mm x 297mm
artwork size = 216mm x 303mm

A3
finished size = 297mm x 420mm
artwork size = 303mm x 426mm

Business cards
finished size = 88mm x 55mm
artwork size = 94mm x 61mm

Sending your artwork

E-mail

You can send us your artwork files by e-mail (sales@ampmgraphics.com). If your files are larger than 10mb please send them via ‘We Transfer’ (wetransfer.com). Please ensure you retain a copy of any original files you send.

Hard copy

If you do not have a print ready file, but have a hard copy that you would like reproducing, please post it to us and we will send you a quote.