FAQ & Design Help

People frequently ask the same questions so we have tried to answer many of them here.  If there is anything else you would like to know, please feel free to ask.

bleeds
Yes we can print full bleeds on cards and other products.  Please provide at least 1/16" (margin) around the cut size of your artwork. For best results, we recommend that you keep text at least 1/8" inch from the edge of the final product.
 
fonts
For best results you should be using Corel Draw, Adobe Illustrator, or Adobe Photoshop to design your cards.  Corel & Illustrator users must convert all text to "outlines" or "curves".  This ensures accurate printing even if we don't have your exact fonts.  Rasterized Photoshop files are naturally font independent but be careful with newer types of vector based Photoshop files.

pdfs
We love PDF files and strongly encourage their use. When creating a PDF you should place only one original per page and verify the page size matches what is to be produced at 100%. We convert virtually all the files we receive to PDF before production. You can achieve greater quality control for your customers if you do the extra step to create the PDF yourself, before submitting your order. We suggest you: 1) create the PDF 2) print it out, and 3) have your client sign off on it. In this way you will be sending us a file that we all know matches your customers expectations and we won't run into technical problems in converting your artwork to PDF. This also eliminates all font concerns.
 
logos
When evaluating a piece of art you should consider more than just eye appeal.  Also consider whether the "average" person will get the message you want them to get.  Flashy bullets and graphic elements can be distracting and add to clutter without contributing to the overall image you are trying to communicate to a prospective customer.  Less is usually more.  Use some art to accent your product but also leave a proper balance of "white space".  After placing the various elements of text and graphics onto a canvas "step back" and look at the overall impression.  Does the card appear balanced?  Or does one side seem "heavier" than the other.  Occasionally this happens and a very tiny adjustment in the size or position of the various elements can make a big difference in the overall impression.
 
colors
Traditional offset printing tends to be expensive if you want the freedom to use a variety of colors in your card design. We have chosen to use a 4-color process digital offset press. This allows you to use a full spectrum of colors. Duo tones, full color images, various color of text, etc. All these elements reproduce very well. Having said that there are some things to consider. Not all screen colors (RGB) are printable. CMYK printing is notorious for shifting around. We strive to keep our press running in a consistent manner, however no Guarantee about color accuracy is made unless you are paying for a color match service. Expect some shift over time even when reordering the exact same artwork on the exact same paper.

color guarantee
Yes we do offer a color matching guarantee. If your client requires assurances that color will be accurate you must purchase a color matching service and provide us with a color proof at the time you are placing your order. You can't come back to us after the fact and say color was wrong if you provided no direction as to what color should look like in the first place. Even with a color matching service color can't be exact between your printing device and ours. Our guarantee is that using an industry standard X-Rite 508 spectrodensitometer each color channel (CMYK) will be within 2% of target with overall ink density accurate to 99%.