Glossary

Bleed
Printed area which extends off the trimmed area. It is not possible to print all the way to the edge of the paper sheet. To achieve this effect it is necessary to print a larger area than is required and then trim the paper down. Typically a designer would allow an extra 3mm of bleed to colour and image areas to allow for a little leeway when trimming.

CMYK
Cyan (blue), Magenta (red), Yellow and Black - used as the basic colours inthe printing industry.
 
Coated Stock
Paper which has a coating usually of china clay. It can be gloss, silk or matt and is suitable for jobs requiring a fine finish such as colour brochures and annual reports.
 
Finishing
Any process that follows the actual printing. Can include folding, creasing, stitching, binding and the like.
 
GSM
Abbreviation for ‘grams per square metre’. This indicates the weight of paper or other stock. For example a typical photocopier paper is 80gsm, a good letterhead paper might be 120 gsm, a postcard would be about 300gsm.
 
Paper Sizes
A0 - 841 x 1189mm
A1 - 594 x 841mm
A2 - 420 x 594mm
A3 - 297 x 420mm
A4 - 210 x 297mm
A5 - 148 x 210mm
A6 - 105 x 148mm
 
PDF
Portable Document Format - The industry standard for saving files in an acceptable format. Quick, cheap and increasingly stable, often used for viewing proofs and for supply of final artwork.
 
Pre-Press
All procedures (and costs) associated with bringing a job to press, such as design, artwork, proofs, set-up etc.
 
Proof
A version of a document produced specifically for the purpose of review prior to reproduction.
 

Supplying Artwork

Now Print can provide a comprehensive design and artwork service. However, if you already have artwork, we can print directly from most popular PC and Mac software applications including:

• Acrobat PDFs (preferred) • QuarkXpress • Illustrator • Freehand • Photoshop
• Pagemaker • InDesign • Word • Powerpoint • Corel

Your files

Remember to include all non-standard fonts when supplying your files. Also please include all image files, even if they have been embedded within your document.

If a graphic element or background colour is designed to touch the edge of the paper, it is said to 'bleed' off the page. Always set your document size to match the size of the finished document (e.g. the document size for an A4 leaflet should be exactly 210x297mm). Any element which bleeds should be extended to at least 4mm beyond the edge of the layout document so that once we have trimmed the document to finished size, these appear to touch the edge of the page.

Images

A photograph or other pixel-based image needs a resolution of just 72 dpi (dots per inch) to display correctly on screen. However, high resolution printing presses require images at around 300 dpi – anything less may print with a pixilated ‘jaggy’ look. Please check carefully the resolution of your images – just because they look good on screen doesn’t mean that they will print properly!

Please save your images in CMYK in one of the following formats: .tiff, .jpg, .psd, .ai, .pdf,

Alterations

We will carefully check your files for compatibility and let you know if we find any problems. You may wish to carry out any corrective work yourself or commission us to carry out the work on your behalf. Although we do not charge for minor alterations, more complex modifications will be charged extra at our standard hourly rate. We will never impose additional charges without your prior permission.

Whenever possible, please supply a printed mock-up of your document.

Sending your artwork

Your files can be sent to us electronically via your web browser, by FTP, by email or by post on a CD/DVD. Click here for details on how to send us your artwork

If this information is unclear or you would like further advice please contact us.