Understanding Print-Ready Artwork
19 August 2014, Posted by Branding on Branding

So you have chosen your stand, got your logo ready and decided on your messaging. You go to get it printed and you are asked if you will be supplying your own artwork? After hearing the word “artwork”, you begin to panic and get confused because you are not a designer.

In the graphic design world, Artwork is the word often used by graphic artists and printers for computer-generated designs that are ready for printing. These materials are usually developed using professional design software like Adobe Illustrator or Adobe InDesign. Take note, however, that those created with MS Word, Paint, or MS Publisher are not considered print ready artwork.

What is Print Ready Artwork?

Print ready artwork is artwork that is ready to go the printer. To help you understand what that means, we have put together some simple tips on what we consider to be print-ready artwork.

  1. Save your file as a high-resolution image and in the right size required by the printer for your stand. If you are going with a large banner or stand like a BannerBug, we recommend that your artwork is setup to be 25% of the actual stand size.
     
  2. If you do not want to have a pixelated and blurry banner as an output, make sure that the resolution of the image is sharp enough for printing, which is a minimum of 75 DPI (dots per inch).
     
  3. Your file should include the correct bleeds, the section that is added on top of the actual visible dimensions of the artwork. These extensions are helpful in preventing unwanted strips of white from showing up. Refer to the individual artwork guides for exact bleed dimensions.
     
  4. Your artwork should be saved and sent in the appropriate format. Please take note that only files with the following extensions are acceptable: AI, INDD, and EPS.
     
  5. Your artwork should be in CMYK, a universally accepted printing format.
     
  6. Remember that when we say print ready artwork, we mean that the file can immediately be opened and can be sent directly to the printing machine without the need for editing or any other alterations.

We Can Help

If you are not familiar with artwork creation, we can help. If you already have high-resolution images, logos and matching content, our design studio is available to create your artwork for you. You can also supply instructions from how the logo should be placed and what emotion should be conveyed, through to the types of fonts and colour combinations to be used. Don't worry, we can also take the lead if it helps.

Download our artwork guides.

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