Frequently Asked Questions

Please prepare your file as a high-resolution PDF file with bleed.

Your files should always be in CMYK colour mode. Converting other colour modes into CMYK may result in a colour shift. For best results, the design file should start off in CMYK colour mode.

The preferred resolution for images and artwork is 300DPI.

We ask that all artwork files have a maximum file size of 250 megabytes. This is to ensure that there are no delays in your turnaround due to file retrieval and processing time. If your file is larger than 250MB, we recommend compressing and optimizing your file. If this is not possible, please provide us your file via CD, DVD, USB flash drives or another form of storage device.

A bleed is a term used in the printing industry when you have printing that goes right to the edge of the paper. The bleed is extended artwork on all sides of your piece to allow for cutter variance. Items such as background and design elements should always extend out of the trim margin.

A 1/8" bleed is required on all four sides of your artwork.

Failing to provide bleed information and crop marks can result in the printed product showing a thin area of white on the edge.

If your file does not consist of bleed, it will be rejected by our prepress department and we will request a new file with bleed. This can result in delaying the completion of your job.

Safe Margins are 1/8" away from the cut line. The type safety area is a guideline that help you keep important elements in your design away from the edge of your artwork so that text and images will not be cut off when trimmed down to the final size.

YES, but we recommend that you avoid borders. If the border is too close to the cutline, it may result in the final product being slightly off-centre. It is also strongly suggested that you do not use a thin border around your postcard, poster, brochure or other printing product. If you are designing your file with a border around the edges, it must be a minimum of 1/4" wide, plus the 1/8" we need for bleed. Due to physical limitations of guillotine cutting, borders thinner than that will most likely appear uneven. We are not responsible for type, art or images that are cut off if these guidelines are not followed.

The file you upload to See2it must have images and fonts embedded or outlined in order to properly process your file.

Adobe InDesign:
Window > Links
Choose the image you want to embed from the list and click on the arrow and select "Embed File".

Adobe Illustrator:
Window > Links
Choose the image you want to embed from the list and click on the arrow and select "Embed Image".

How to convert text to outlines:
Select your text box. Under the Type menu select Create Outlines.

When you are submitting a multi-page file for your order, pages must be head-to-head to ensure proper orientation. For example, the top of Page 1 (Head) must match up with the top of Page 2 when they are placed back-to-back. The first example below is correct where the text is facing the same way for the front and the back of the business card. The second and third example are incorrect as the text is upside down on one side.

Here are some other examples of acceptable layouts:

When dealing with folded jobs that open vertically the front and the back are always facing the opposite directions:

Overprinting refers to the process of printing one colour on top of another. If you do not want this to happen make sure that the overprint options are turned off and switched to knockout in your document. When overprint is applied, instead of knocking out elements behind the foreground elements, one ink is printed over another. It almost looks like a transparency type effect. Below are three squares — magenta, cyan and yellow. In the image on the left, the overprint fill is turned off. In the image on the right, the overprint fill is turned on.

A classic mistake is when a white foreground element is layed on top of a black background element and overprint fill is applied to the white foreground element. It will look just fine in the pdf file (unless you have the overprint preview selected) but when it is separated in your printer's rip, the white will disappear.

The simple thing to remember is to never apply overprint fill to a foreground element that is lighter than the background. While there may be some exceptions to this rule, this is a general rule of thumb.

Please note that our file preview does not display overprint issues. Therefore, it is critical to check your file for overprint issues before uploading the file to us.

Transparency effects are generally not preferred in printing, and only on screen. It causes ripping issues and elements to disappear. To prevent this, do not use any shadow, glows or transparency on top of a spot colour. Always convert your spot colour to CMYK before using any transparency effects.

We are limited to a maximum ink coverage of 300%. Anything over can result in a variety of print related issues such as cracking.

To create Rich Black, you can use a mixture of 30% Cyan, 30% Magenta, 60% Yellow and 100% Black. Rich Black is best used for larger areas of black, and not on thin lines or text. If you use it on small body text or thin lines, the inks could saturate and blur the artwork.

100% Black is created using a mixture of 0% Cyan, 0% Magenta, 0% Yellow and 100% Black. For large areas, 100% Black looks grayish. For small text, it helps keep the text sharp as there is no combination of CMYK to register.

We require 100% K for black text (0% C, 0% M, 0% Y, 100% K). Rich black should not be used for type or thin lines because it will result in fuzziness and misregistration issues.

Blues and Purples has always been a problem in the printing industry because the two colours are so close together in the CMYK spectrum. In order to ensure the two colours come up the correct tones, leave at least 15% differences in your Cyan and Magenta Values. (Example: 100% C, 85% M, 0% Y, 0% K)

For print to look Blue: Cyan > Magenta by 15%.
For print to look Purple: Cyan < Magenta by 15%.

Red and Orange are also problematic on press because the two colours are close together in the CMYK spectrum. In order to ensure the two colours come up the correct tones, leave at least 15% differences in your Magenta and Yellow Values. (Example: 0% C, 100% M, 85% Y, 0% K)

For print to look Red: Magenta > Yellow by 15%.
For print to look Orange: Magenta < Yellow by 15%.

Vector images use mathematical equations to define each component of an image. This allows vector images to retain their high-quality at any size. Programs like Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, or Adobe Freehand uses vector graphics. For maximum clarity, vector images should be used for all text and logos whenever possible. They result in the clearest image and can be re-sized without losing resolution.

A raster image is composed of a collection of tiny dots called pixels. When these pixels are small, and placed close together, they fool the eye into forming a single image. Raster images work great when subtle gradations of colour are necessary. Because they contain a fixed number of pixels, a major disadvantage of raster images is that their quality suffers when they are enlarged or otherwise transformed.

We highly recommend not including any form field data in your PDF file. There is a likelihood that the data or text will not print out correctly on the finished product.

We require a separate file for embossing/foil stamping. We prefer a solid vector image in 100% black wherever embossing/foil stamping is required. Please dont send us an outline of what is required as the finished product will have an outline emboss/stamp instead of a solid.