Getting your artwork print-ready
Vector, resolution, bleed, colour and fonts — forward this to your designer and the job runs smoothly.
The short answer
Send vector artwork (AI, EPS or PDF) with fonts outlined, bleed included and colours specified as Pantone references where they matter. If the artwork is a photo or otherwise raster, it needs enough resolution at final size. If any of that is unfamiliar, send what you have — we'll tell you what's missing.
Vector, and why it matters
Vector artwork is drawn as mathematical shapes, so it scales from a business card to a building without softening. Raster artwork is a grid of pixels and blurs as it enlarges.
Logos, lettering and flat graphics should always be vector. If all you have is a PNG or JPG of your logo, we can usually redraw it — worth doing once, because you'll use it for years.
Resolution at final size
The number that matters is resolution at the size it will print, not the pixel count. A photo fine on a leaflet may be nowhere near enough for a two-metre banner.
Large format has one thing in its favour: viewing distance. A banner seen from ten metres doesn't need the detail of something held in your hand, so requirements are lower than people expect. Send us the largest original you have and we'll tell you honestly whether it holds up.
Bleed and safe area
Bleed is artwork extending past the trim line — usually 3–5mm — so a slight cutting variance doesn't leave a white sliver. Safe area is the margin inside the trim where text should stay so nothing important is cropped.
For anything with eyelets, hems or a frame, keep text well clear of the edge: hems fold over and eyelets punch through.
Colour
Screens emit light, print reflects it, so a colour on your monitor won't be identical on vinyl. For brand colours where accuracy matters, give us the Pantone reference and we'll match to it.
Supply artwork in CMYK where you can. RGB files convert, but the conversion is a guess if we don't know the intent — and bright RGB blues and greens are the usual casualties.
Fonts
Outline your text before sending, or include the font files. Otherwise your typeface silently substitutes on our system and the layout shifts.
Sending it
Anything over email limits, use a file-transfer link. Name the file with the job and the finished size — 'banner-3000x1000.pdf' saves everyone a round of emails.
Where it goes: Large Format Printing · Posters & Banners · Business Cards & Leaflets
Want something similar?
Tell us about your project and we’ll come back with a fixed price within a working day.