We have included a brief guide to supplying your own artwork which from our own wealth of experience should help you avoid some of the time consuming and costly mistakes.
File Formats Accepted
- Press ready PDF - please use the PDF/X1A:2001 setting wherever possible
- Adobe Illustrator - fonts converted to outlines
- Adobe InDesign - fonts converted to outlines
- Adobe Photoshop - layers flattened, at least 300dpi, JPEG or TIFF
- CorelDRAW - fonts converted to curves then exported as an Illustrator AI
Supplying Artwork
We prefer all artwork to be supplied as high-resolution press ready PDF format.
There is an option available in most software applications to export a PDF using the PDF/X1A:2001 setting. Wherever possible please use this as it is an industry standard setting for Pre-Press.
When creating your PDF please make sure in the Export Adobe PDF dialogue box in the Marks and Bleed section you tick Crop Marks, Registration Marks, Page Information and also specify 3mm bleed on all the edges.
All artwork must have 3mm bleed if you require the image to bleed off the edge of the paper. If your artwork is supplied without bleed we may not always be able to add it on for you and you may have to amend and re-supply the artwork. Also, please remember to allow for “creep” on large multi page jobs - we suggest you keep all text and copy at least 5mm away from the trimmed edge.
Please do not supply PDFs as spreads or “planned up” unless absolutely necessary, contact us if you need any further advice or clarification on this.
CMYK not RGB Please!
Please ensure that all images and graphics are CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black) files.
RGB images may look good on your screen but final output to print is always in CMYK. You should be aware that files converted from RGB to CMYK may alter the colour composition significantly!
Process and Spot Colour Usage
Unless you specifically want to use spot colour(s) on a job, please convert all colours to CMYK Process prior to PDF creation. Depending on the artwork elements, we may not always be able to correct this for you and you may have to amend and re-supply the artwork.
Microsoft Office Files
If you are creating a PDF from a MS Publisher or Word file, care must be taken to ensure spot colours are created correctly in your original documents. Do not set to RGB (Red, Green, Blue) colours as they cannot be printed as such.
Other File Formats
Any other file formats not listed above must be saved as a vector eps or jpeg (300dpi minimum). If there are any changes to the job, you may have to amend and re-submit the artwork as we may be unable to change it. Ensure your files have bleed and crop marks and please confirm the final size of the artwork and supply a hard copy for reference.
Artwork Amendments
Our prices include "pre-flight checking" your artwork. We will correct any easy to rectify issues that we spot as part of this process - free of charge. More extensive amending or correcting is charged dependent upon the amount of time required to rectify.Line art and Images
Scanned colour and greyscale images should be 300dpi at the final size in the document submitted for output.
Images should be submitted as TIFF's, JPEG's or EPS.
Line art (bitmapped) should be 600-1200dpi at the final size in the document submitted for output.
Sending Artwork by Email
Please address it to (artwork@tabrep.com) with any relevant information regarding the job. Maximum file size preferred by email is 20mb. Files larger than this can be sent using www.mailbigfile.com , www.yousendit.com or on disk.
Sending Artwork on Disk
CD Rom, DVD and USB memory sticks can be sent to us:
Tableau Reproduction Ltd, Tableau House, 137 Lower Bryan Street, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent,
ST1 5AT