Design & Artwork
Everything you need to know about supplying artwork files correctly
Options:
Artwork Supplied
You supply the artwork set up as we require (please read all of the information on this Design page to make sure all of your artwork files are set up correctly)
Buy Artwork
You purchase the artwork, in the 'Order Online' section of the site, you will be asked to provide a short brief of your requirements which we will try to follow as closely as possible. Once the artwork has been created we will supply you a PDF proof at which point you will be given the opportunity to make minor amendments at no additional cost. If however you require a completely new design at this stage a new design fee will be applicable therefore please be as detailed with your brief as possible to avoid any additional costs later on.
'Clean Up'
The 'Clean Up' charge is optional, this option means that we will check your supplied artwork is set up correctly in CMYK with bleed and crop marks. Please note: If after making the changes you wish us to check the file again this will incur an extra £5 charge, alternatively we can go directly to print however this is at your own risk.
***NOTE*** We hold all artwork files for future use, so if you require a reprint of an existing job with NO CHANGES, please click the "Supply Own Artwork" tab when checking out then you will not be charged again, however you must please let us know that it's a reprint.
File formats accepted
Press ready PDF - with fonts embedded Quark XPress - supply fonts and images Illustrator - fonts converted to outlines Photoshop - layers flattened, at least 300 dpi, JPEG or Tiff Indesign - fonts converted to outlines
Different formats
If you wish to submit artwork created using a program not listed above we should be able to accommodate you but please call us to discuss this first
Supplying files
When supplying artwork as files rather than PDF i.e. Quark XPress, please compress to .sit or zip files saved in one folder, making sure you include all of the elements, document, images and fonts before sending.
Supplying PDF artwork
Receiving your artwork as a high-resolution PDF makes us really happy! PDF's are generally the defacto method for transmitting files for printing, but it is still important to prepare your PDF files correctly to avoid any mistakes.
Correctly supplying PDF files
When creating a PDF in Acrobat Distiller you should select the options for commercial printing. These include default resolution, compression settings and font embedding. Please ensure you choose high resolution, set compression for colour and greyscale to 300dpi with 'auto compression' set on high. Bitmapped (monochrome: i.e. line art) images should be set at 1200dpi. Font embedding should be set to 'embed all fonts'. Following these simple selections will ensure your PDF artwork arrives in a print ready format.
Bleed
Please make sure there is 3mm bleed on all sides of the supplied file (i.e. for A4 usually 210mm x 297mm, save as 216mm x 303mm). Crop marks may be included but it is not essential. If your artwork it is not saved with bleed we may not be able to use it - and if there are any changes to the job, you may have to amend and re-supply the artwork.
Save as CMYK not RGB
Please ensure that all the embedded images are created and saved as CMYK files. RGB images look fantastic on your screen but printing is always in CMYK. Files that are subsequently converted from RGB to CMYK will not look the same in print as they do on your screen!
Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black (CMYK) inks are printed separately.
The 4 inks are printed in layers of dots that combine to create an illusion of many colours.
Microsoft Office files
If you are creating a PDF from files originally created in MS Publisher or Word file, care must be taken to ensure spot colours are created correctly in your original documents. Do not set to RGB colours as this is the road to disappointment!
Supplying EPS files
File formats not listed above must be saved as an eps file. You may have to amend and re-submit the artwork if changes are required, as we will be unable to change it. Remember to include bleed and crop marks and also confirm the finished size of the artwork, ideally supplying a hard copy for reference.
Bleed and crop marks
If your finished design runs right to the edge of the paper it must be supplied with a 3mm bleed which will be trimmed off after printing.If your artwork does not run to the edges (i.e. no bleed), crop marks should be included to confirm where the paper is trimmed. They should be 5mm long, set 3mm outside of the page area and created in a colour 'registration' to ensure they appear on each colour separation. Finally, please ensure that artwork is supplied at the correct finished size required which includes the additional 3mm bleed on each edge.
Printing without bleed
Printing with full bleed
Imposition
Please supply your pages as singles and not as imposed pages or 'printers pairs'. Our workflow software is designed to impose all pages correctly for our printing processes. You may supply single pages saved as individual PDF's or as single pages in one combined PDF.
Fonts
It is useful to include all of the fonts that you have used. Whilst we have access to an impressive collection of fonts there is no guarantee that your font version matches ours. This could lead to problems with spacing of the type and line lengths. Forest Litho assumes all fonts supplied are licensed and we take no responsibility for embedded fonts.
Lineart and images
Scanned colour and greyscale images should be saved at 300dpi and as the final finished size in the document submitted for output. All images should be submitted in TIFF's, JPEG's or EPS format. Lineart (bitmapped) should be saved as 600-1200dpi at the final size in the document submitted for output.
Screens
Screen tints may range from 1% to 99%. Please note: screens less than 5% or more than 90% are unlikely to be discernible to the naked eye.
Sending artwork by email
Please address it to website@forest-litho.co.uk with any relevant information regarding the job. Maximum file size preferred by email is 20MB, files larger than this should be sent on disk.
You may upload files of up to 5MB in size during the order process.
Sending artwork on disk
CD ROM, DVD, and USB memory sticks can be sent to: Forest Litho Printers Ltd, 4 Prime Buildings, Daux Road, Billingshurst, West Sussex, RH14 9SJ.
Please include a hard copy print of your artwork for reference, together with any useful additional instructions. Please include your order reference, contact name, email address and telephone number in case of a query. Also, don't forget to keep a copy of your file, in case we need you to undertake changes or corrections.
High Resolution Proofs
If you supply your own artwork we will run straight from the files you send us
If you require the 'Artwork Checking Service' we will inform you of alterations you will need to make before we can print
If you require the 'Full Design Service' we will send you a pdf proof for approval
You can also pay for a high resolution digital proof at an extra cost if required.