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To ensure your artwork is print ready please ensure that it meets the following requirements:

FILE FORMAT - Our preferred format for accepting artwork is as a high resolution PDF.

Full instructions about creating PDF files suitable for professional printing can be found at www.pass4press.com. The site also includes instructions on configuring your applications including QuarkXPress, InDesign and Distiller.

RESOLUTION - Files, including any images, need to be at least 300 dpi to print clearly, otherwise images may appear bit mapped, fuzzy, distorted or pixilated. Most images found on the internet are 72 dpi and are generally not suitable for professional printing.

COLOURS - Files must be set up as CMYK for colours to print accurately. Files that are sent to us using RGB, Pantone, or spot colours will be automatically converted to CMYK which may cause some changes to your colours.

ASK's calibrated CMYK digital printing presses use different technology compared to home and office colour printers and computer monitors. These should not be used to proof colours as they will not accurately represent what will be printed. If you require us to match your colours, you must send in an example of the colour to match to (even if we printed it before). However, most, but not all colours are achievable using CMYK, and so if we cannot match your colour we will inform you before printing.

If you would like a sample proof of your file printed off the actual press before confirming the complete print run we are very happy to do this.

FONTS - If we don’t have the font you have used, it may be automatically substituted for an alternative font. To avoid this happening, please embed or
outline all the fonts used in your document before sending us the final artwork.

CROPMARKS - The PDF file always needs crop marks included so we know where to trim your artwork once printed.

BLEED - Please include A MINIMUM OF 3mm BLEED on each side of your artwork.

A bleed is an area of your image that is outside the final cut of your printed piece. It is used to extend an image, colour or line beyond the artwork edge, which enables us to guillotine the finished product without leaving a white line. For example, if you want your business card background to be entirely blue, you must bleed the blue colour past the edge of the final size of your business card. This prevents a white line down one or more edges of your print, caused by very slight variations in guillotining and trimming which can be ±1mm.

TEXT - We advise that any text should be at least 5mm away from the edge of the finished size.

PAGINATION - The PDF files of your document should be provided as one single file setup in page order (cover, inside cover, page 1, 2, 3, etc ending with the back cover) which our imposition software will automatically step up, paginate and auto-creep as necessary.

For documents longer than 2 pages the page number including cover should always be a multiple of 4.

FILE DELIVERY - Files can be sent to us via email, or using FTP. If your artwork is too large a file to send via email, we can create an FTP site for you to upload it on to.

SIZE - To find out the size of artwork required for a book cover use our book spine thickness calculator. If you require we have more info on book and paper sizes.

 

Paper sizes

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All printing is performed in the UK.
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