Sending us your artwork
You do not need your file ready to place an order. Order first — we email you a private link, and you upload the artwork when it suits you. The link lasts fourteen days, and you can replace a file as many times as you need.
“It is print-ready”
You, or your designer, have made the file to the list below. We open it, check it against what you ordered, and it goes into the queue — no proof, no waiting for you to reply.
We still look at it. If something is wrong we stop and ring you rather than print it, because a wrong job printed fast is still a wrong job.
“Check it for me”
Send whatever you have. We check the size, the bleed, the colours and the resolution, fix what we can, and email you a proof — a picture of exactly what will print, with anything we changed written next to it.
Nothing goes on a machine until you reply and approve it. Adds about a working day, and it is free.
What makes a file print well
None of this is a condition of ordering. It is what we check, why it matters, and what we do when it is missing.
- A PDF, if you can
- A PDF carries the fonts and the colours with it. A Word file or a Canva screenshot arrives looking different from what you saw.
- If it is not: We also take AI, EPS, SVG, PNG, JPG and TIFF. We will tell you if the one you sent will not hold up.
- At the size you ordered
- A file made for A5 and blown up to a 2-metre banner goes soft. Artwork made at the right size stays sharp.
- If it is not: The system measures your file the moment it arrives and tells you the real resolution at your size.
- 3mm bleed all round
- Guillotines and plotters move by a fraction of a millimetre. Bleed is the extra background that gets trimmed off, so a white sliver never appears at the edge.
- If it is not: For most jobs we can add it. If your design runs right to the edge with nothing to spare, we will ask you for a new file.
- Important text 5mm in from the edge
- Same reason as bleed, the other way round: what is near the cut can be cut.
- If it is not: We will show you on the proof and move it if you want.
- CMYK, not RGB
- Screens mix light, presses mix ink. A bright RGB green has no ink equivalent and comes out duller than the screen promised.
- If it is not: We convert it. Strong greens, oranges and blues shift the most — if the colour has to match something, say so and we will print a sample.
- Text turned into outlines
- If we do not have your font installed, the machine substitutes another one and your layout moves.
- If it is not: We will spot it and come back to you before anything prints.
- 150dpi for signs, 300dpi for print
- A banner is read from across the road, a business card from 30cm. They do not need the same detail.
- If it is not: You get a warning with the actual number, next to the file, as soon as you upload it.
Questions we get asked
- I have no artwork at all.
- We can make it. Say so on the order and we will ring you with a price before any work starts — we have never surprised anyone with a design bill and we are not going to start.
- My file is over 60MB.
- Send it by WeTransfer to [email protected] with your order number and we will pick it up from there.
- Can I send the file before I order?
- Email it over and we will quote on it. The upload link only exists once there is an order for it to belong to — that is how we keep your file attached to the right job.
- Who else sees my artwork?
- Only us, and only to do your job. The upload link is a one-off address tied to your order, it is not listed anywhere, and it stops working after fourteen days.
Still not sure? Ring 01473 688111 and describe what you have. It is usually a thirty-second answer. Back to the shop