How Should Artwork Be Provided For Printing

Print-ready artwork is the final version of the graphic file that you will send to the printing company. But before reaching the final stage, there are a few things to take care of. You need to work on things like bleed & crop marks, file format, CMYK setup, resolution, etc. 

Ensuring your artwork is correctly provided is crucial to receiving the best print quality. Knowing these things does not necessarily require you to be a professional graphic designer. As these are standard checkpoints, we have created a guide to help you better understand the requirements. 

What are the Major Parameters to Check Before Sending the Artwork?

• Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key (black): Also called CMYK, these are the four colours printers use. Ensuring your colour mode is in CMYK will ensure the designed is printed without any changes in colour. If using RGB, you need to convert the final file from RGB to CMYK and enhance it, as the converted file might appear dull. 
• Resolution and Image Quality: The best printing quality is 300dpi. But the image quality at the time maybe be lower. So, you need to account for the difference. Ensure you use the highest quality images and graphics while creating the artwork. 
• Check the Size: The software and programs you are using to create artwork are programmed to follow the US units of measurements. To avoid size issues, make sure to send the UK version of sizes and dimensions measurements. 
• Bleed, Trim, and Crop Marks: Images and graphics that will flood out of the paper is called bleeding. Moreover, the artwork is printed on larger sheets and then cut down from all sides to get the required size. So, you need to account for the bleed; otherwise, there will be gaps in the design towards the ends of the sheet on all sides. 
• File Format: The best format you must use to send the artwork is PDF. Saving the artwork in High-Quality PDF format lets you account for the bleed marks and ensures high-resolution image quality. While these are the major things to look out for before sending an artwork, you need to consider a few other things here. 

Are There Any Additional Criteria to Assess?

These are some technical terms you must know about the artwork. One read will make the meaning and their purpose clear. 

Even though some of the points mentioned above are complex, they are important to integrate within the artwork. You cannot risk losing your potential customer’s or client’s interest because the colours are unsuitable or the graphics are abruptly cut. 

To ensure the highest quality of print output, you need to take care of the detailing. Ensuring the artwork files are provided using the above points, will help you get print-ready artwork. Once you have the design ready, you can choose to print them on 3mm foamex, 5mm foamex, acrylic board, etc.