Art Guidelines

 

ART GUIDELINE

Our goal is to use your art file to create the best print possible.

Contact info@artik.com and we'll help answer your design questions.

 

Standard Pantone Colours

Please provide us with PMS# (solid coated)

 

Sending Us Your File

Send us your design as a vector file or a high-quality image file. We'll accept any of the file types below:

 

  Adobe Illustrator files are great for custom printing.  

 

Adobe Illustrator Files .ai

• Illustrator files are vector - top quality.

• Please convert all fonts (type) to outline.

• Save the file as .EPS for maximum compatibility

 

 

  PSD  

 

Adobe Photoshop Files .psd

Keep file size below 6MB if possible.

Photoshop files are best at 300 DPI or higher.

Send the .psd file with Layers.

 

 

  CDR  

 

Corel Draw Files .cdr

• Corel Draw files are great!

• Be sure to convert all fonts (type) to outlines.

 

 

JPG

 

Image Files .jpg or .png

• Image files need to be high quality.

• Save the image as 300 DPI at actual print size.

 

 

  PDF  

 

PDF

• Save your file as a PDF to reduce file size.

Only have a Word Document of your artwork?

Send us a PDF and we'll help recreate the design.

 

 

 

Need Help?

We recommend that you or your graphic designer supply us with art that is ready to print.

If you can't supply a high resolution file, our Art Department staff will help re-create at $30 per half an hour.

You can also check out our online design lab under each product page. It comes with over 13,000 free design templates and clip art. [Learn More]

Please see other common questions below:

Vector vs. Raster Files

 

What is a Vector file?

Vector files use lines, curves and shapes to create an image based on mathematical formulas.

 

Advantage of Vector:

Vector designs can be enlarged without getting pixelated or blurry.

 

Disadvantage of Vector:

Photographs and images usually can't be vectorized. Vector is best for shapes and text.

 

Which programs use Vector?

Adobe Illustrator and Corel Draw are two popular vector art programs.

 

Common Vector Problem: Missing Font

 

Orange Bird  Solution 1:

If you are using a rare font, send us the font file (.ttf) with your vector design file (.ai .cdr)

 

Blue Bird Solution 2:

Alternatively, send us a copy of your file with all fonts converted to curves (outlined).

Be sure to save the original under a different name in case you want to edit the text later on.

 

What is a Raster file?

Raster files use pixels to display an image.

Advantage of Raster:

Raster files are good for photographs.

It can print well when you set your image size and quality high.

 

Disadvantage of Raster:

Raster files can look blurry when enlarged. Be sure to save at high quality from the start.

 

Which programs use Raster?

Adobe Photoshop is a popular raster program. Most images online are raster files as well.

 

Common Raster Problem: Low Quality Image

 

Orange Bird  Solution 1: Send a Higher Quality Image

When creating a new document in Photoshop, select Image > Image Size and set the quality to 300 DPI. Note that enlarging a low quality jpg will not increase the quality.

Once you have a higher quality image, send it to us!

 

Blue Bird Solution 2: Hire our Designer

For $30 per half hour, one of our Graphic Designers will help re-create your design.

 

 

Digital Printing: Bleed Guideline

 

 

What is bleed?

What does it mean when your printer tells you that your artwork requires bleed? It means that your design will get printed on large sheets, then trimmed down. That is when trimming tolerance needs to be taken into account. Usually, you need to extend your artwork 1/8" to 1/4" outwards from the final cut edges depending on the product. Examples below:

Bleed Example Bleed Example