FILE SUBMISSION GUIDE:
Please take a few minutes to read through this document for a better understanding of what is required as good, workable artwork. Please do not send JPEGs or Microsoft Word files as final artwork. For full-color photographic images, a match print is essential. Everyone’s monitor will display colors differently so if you are looking for close color matching, please send us a chrome or previously printed material.
SIZING:
Please submit all files at the size you wish them to be printed. If you are unsure of what size might be appropriate, our customer service rep will be glad to help you decide. Generally, full front or back prints are between 10 and 12 inches wide by any height up to 18 inches. Left chest prints are generally in the range from 2 1/2 to 4 inches wide, and sleeve prints are usually 2 to 3 inches wide (3.5 wide max.). Sizing is a matter of taste so these are not to be taken as strict guidelines. We are capable of printing as large as 16 by 18 inches. Call regarding any larger sizes.
VECTOR DOCUMENTS:
Adobe Illustrator up to CS3 in general, keep in mind that most screen printing is a spot color medium, as opposed to offset, where the majority of color work is process. Do not apply any trapping to the image. If identical objects overlay one another precisely, please separate by layer. If appropriate, submit files with all colors converted to spot, and all unused colors deleted from the document. Please convert all type to outlines. Use PMS numbers for color names. Be sure to check a PMS book for color accuracy as the on-screen versions are often misleading. If you are placing raster images into an Illustrator document, please refer to the guidelines below to avoid any image resolution issues.
RASTER / PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGES:
Please do not send JPEGs or GIFs that have been downloaded from the web. These files are sized at a low resolution in order to load quickly on a website. They do not provide enough resolution for us to use as actual artwork.
Submit all full color photographic and continuous tone files in RGB format. We can guarantee the best color fidelity if the file is in these “unadulterated” formats. If you are having an image scanned just for your T-shirt design, request RGB from your service bureau or scanner operator. Many high-end scanning units will scan images in CMYK. This is great for offset, but not so hot for screen printing. Some places will simply convert the file from the original CMYK format to RGB. This is acceptable but not the best way to do things. The key issue here is that when an image is in CMYK mode it’s palette of colors has been reduced for the offset printing process. If the image is to be spot color separated, we can often reproduce a wider range of colors than offset printing. Giving us the image in CMYK will limit the possibilities. Also, when a CMYK image is displayed on your monitor the appearance of the image is controlled by a number of preferences you have set up concerning dot gain and printing inks. In RGB these factors will be ignored. Photographic, continuous tone color and grayscale files should be to size, at least 150 ppi, (pixels per inch). If your files are at all detailed and are much below 150 ppi, there could be less than desirable results. There are a variety of specific techniques we can employ to compensate for a lower resolution original so please, do not simply raise the resolution by plugging in higher numbers.
Please email us early to resolve this issue. Text files, Spot color or black & white illustrations and line drawings created or scanned into Photoshop require a very high resolution in order to maintain clean curves and crisp edges. Please submit these files at no less than 300ppi.
SEND YOUR FILES:
Layouts and small JPEGs for quotes can be sent to info@crownprintsonline.com
Files that are more than 50MB tend to bog down our mail server. The better choice for sending large files is by mailing or dropping off a disk, or using using dropbox or google drive to send links to larger files.
Q & A
Q: What are bitmap images?
A: A bitmap is a type of graphic composed of pixels (picture elements) in a grid. Each pixel or “bit” contains color information for the image. Bitmap graphic formats have a fixed resolution which means that resizing a bitmap graphic can result in distortion and jagged edges.
Q: What are vector images?
A: Vector images are cuttable and can be resized to any dimension without losing quality.
Q: What is RGB?
A: RGB Stands for Red, Green, Blue and is used primarily for electronic-sourced devices such as televisions and monitors.
Q: What is CMYK?
A: CMYK Stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key Black. CMYK is used for color printing and each letter represents the color of ink being used.
