Can you print my designs?

Yes, we can print from your artwork! Whether you’re a professional designer or a budding enthusiast, we can expertly print your artwork in all its glory. We can help and guide you at each stage, even how to set up your artwork so read on or contact us for more help.

What file format should I use?

Our preferred file format is a press quality PDF outputted from Adobe Illustrator or InDesign. We can also take Adobe Photoshop files but please check with us.

Fonts

Please ensure all fonts are outlined or converted to paths. Do not flatten or rasterize any fonts. You can read more about using Fonts.

How should I set up my artwork?

Create your file as a CMYK document, do not use RGB. Set the artwork file at the intended trimmed size and add 5mm bleed on all sides.

Indicate any die cut lines with a 100% red stroke and any crease lines with a 100% cyan dashed stroke.

Registration and trim marks should be indicated with registration colour but are not necessary, we can create these for you.

Which colours should I use?

We match our inks to the PANTONE Matching System (PMS). Choose your colours from the PANTONE Solid Uncoated swatch book. Read more about Inks and Colours.

Can letterpress print fine detail?

Letterpress can print extremely fine detail, if it’s on your artwork it will be on our printing plates.

How thin can my lines and strokes be?

If your artwork contains any lines or strokes keep your line weight at least .25pt. This may need to be increased for any isolated lines. We can print extremely fine lines and we can advise if you need to use finer lines with lighter weights.

Do I need to create colour separations?

No. We can take care of this for you. Send your artwork layered, do not flatten or rasterize any layers.

There is no need to send each colour as a separate file (or plate). Your artwork file should look as you intend us to print it.

What is trapping?

Trapping is a pre-press technique where small overlaps are created between adjacent colours to compensate for small movements in registration.

We print one colour at a time and so print jobs with more than one colour will pass through the press at least twice. This can sometimes cause small amounts of movement.

If you are unsure about trapping we can take care of this for you for an additional fee.

Do you check my artwork before printing?

Yes, we will check your artwork files thoroughly while preparing them for print. We check dimensions, fonts and colours before sending you a digital PDF pre-press proof to you for approval before proceeding to print. We do not check your design for choice of colours or placement of any elements of the design.

If your artwork is not suitable for letterpress printing or your artwork is not a print ready file we will inform you of any changes required.

If you are unable to make any changes we can prepare the artwork file for you for an additional charge.