Trade Printing Artwork Guidelines
To ensure you can access our exclusive trade prices, you must ensure that your artwork is print ready. Please adhere to the following guidelines to reduce the potential for any issues.
Artwork Set Up & Requirements
Artwork Set Up & Requirements
File Set Up
- Use product templates where possible. Templates can be found in the resource centre or on the relevant product pages.
- Include 5mm bleed for standard banners and prints (when scaled to full-size). For double-sided banners or specialist items, other bleed amounts may be required.
- Include crop marks (unless supplied on one of our product templates)
- Each file should be named to include the dimensions and a description (eg. “3m x 1m Description.pdf”), also including the quantity if applicable (eg. “3m x 1m Description x 6.pdf”)
- Each Artwork/Design should be included on separate pages / files
- At the correct width-to-height ratio
Colours
Ensure CMYK colour mode is used. Any design in RGB colour mode will be rejected.
Images & Font
- All images should be embedded
- All visible in-canvas template elements should be removed
- Fonts should be converted to outlines/curves/shapes
- With no keylines present (use crop marks or the artboard itself to indicate finished size)
File Format
Accepted File Formats
• PDF (preferred)
• EPS (Encapsulated PostScript, Adobe CC and below)
• AI (Adobe Illustrator, Adobe CC and below)
• PSD (Adobe Photoshop, recommended flattened)
• TIFF (recommended flattened)
• JPG/JPEG (recommended high-resolution)
Unacceptable File Formats
• INDD (Adobe InDesign)
• QXP (Quark Xpress)
• CDR (Corel Draw)
• SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics)
• GIF
• PNG
• BMP
• DOC/DOCX (Microsoft Word)
• XLS/XLSX (Microsoft Excel)
• PPT/PPTX (Microsoft Powerpoint)
• PUB (Microsoft Publisher)
Common Errors in Unacceptable Files
- Without 5mm bleed
- Without crop marks
- With multiple artworks/designs on one page
- At an incorrect width-to-height ratio
- A product template that has been altered/scaled/distorted from our original size
- In RGB colour mode
- With missing links or images which are not embedded
- Artworks on different layers within the same file
- Without fonts converted to outlines/curves/shapes
- Protected by a password
File Set Up
- Use product templates where possible. Templates can be found in the resource centre or on the relevant product pages.
- Include 5mm bleed for standard banners and prints (when scaled to full-size). For double-sided banners or specialist items, other bleed amounts may be required.
- Include crop marks (unless supplied on one of our product templates)
- Each file should be named to include the dimensions and a description (eg. “3m x 1m Description.pdf”), also including the quantity if applicable (eg. “3m x 1m Description x 6.pdf”)
- Each Artwork/Design should be included on separate pages / files
- At the correct width-to-height ratio
Colours
Ensure CMYK colour mode is used. Any design in RGB colour mode will be rejected.
Images & Font
- All images should be embedded
- All visible in-canvas template elements should be removed
- Fonts should be converted to outlines/curves/shapes
- With no keylines present (use crop marks or the artboard itself to indicate finished size)
File Format
Accepted File Formats
• PDF (preferred) • EPS (Encapsulated PostScript, Adobe CC and below) • AI (Adobe Illustrator, Adobe CC and below) • PSD (Adobe Photoshop, recommended flattened) • TIFF (recommended flattened) • JPG/JPEG (recommended high-resolution)
Unacceptable File Formats
• INDD (Adobe InDesign) • QXP (Quark Xpress) • CDR (Corel Draw) • SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) • GIF • PNG • BMP • DOC/DOCX (Microsoft Word) • XLS/XLSX (Microsoft Excel) • PPT/PPTX (Microsoft Powerpoint) • PUB (Microsoft Publisher)
Common Errors in Unacceptable Files
- Without 5mm bleed
- Without crop marks
- With multiple artworks/designs on one page
- At an incorrect width-to-height ratio
- A product template that has been altered/scaled/distorted from our original size
- In RGB colour mode
- With missing links or images which are not embedded
- Artworks on different layers within the same file
- Without fonts converted to outlines/curves/shapes
- Protected by a password
How to send us your artwork files
Once you have purchased your printed product you are ready to upload your artwork. After you have placed your order one of our team will email you with an order reference number to allow you to send in your artwork. If you don’t receive this email or have any problems with uploading then contact us at sales@discountdisplays.co.uk or call 020 8664 5660 for expert assistance.
On our large format print products you are able to upload your artwork when you place your order. With this feature you can only upload one file of less than 64mb, so if you have multiple or larger files please see option 3 on how to upload your files.
If your file is less than 20mb then you can email your artwork to us at upload@discountdisplays.co.uk simply reply to the email sent by your sales representative. Please make sure to include your name and order reference number to ensure your order can be processed swiftly.
If your file is over our 20mb limit then you can transfer your artwork to our server. Once you have ordered your items one of our team will email you with your reference number, which will be either your online order number (which you will see on your checkout success page) or job reference number (if purchasing over the phone). You will also be sent a link to the upload page, which can also be found below. Please ensure you put your reference number in the message box that appears when you have selected your file, and name the files accordingly. Never got your email? Contact us at sales@discountdisplays.co.uk or call 020 8664 5660 for expert assistance.
When sending multiple files please make it clear which artwork goes with which product. For example:
410012345-a4-poster.ai
410012345-a3-poster.ai
When sending multiple files it is best practice to put all files into a single folder with your order number as the folder name and save them as a zip or rar file.
Option 1: Upload via product page
On our large format print products you are able to upload your artwork when you place your order. With this feature you can only upload one file of less than 64mb, so if you have multiple or larger files please see option 3 on how to upload your files.
Option 2: Email - under 20mb
If your file is less than 20mb then you can email your artwork to us at upload@discountdisplays.co.uk simply reply to the email sent by your sales representative. Please make sure to include your name and order reference number to ensure your order can be processed swiftly.
Option 3: Artwork Upload - over 20mb
If your file is over our 20mb limit then you can transfer your artwork to our server. Once you have ordered your items one of our team will email you with your reference number, which will be either your online order number (which you will see on your checkout success page) or job reference number (if purchasing over the phone). You will also be sent a link to the upload page, which can also be found below. Please ensure you put your reference number in the message box that appears when you have selected your file, and name the files accordingly. Never got your email? Contact us at sales@discountdisplays.co.uk or call 020 8664 5660 for expert assistance.
When sending multiple files please make it clear which artwork goes with which product. For example:
410012345-a4-poster.ai
410012345-a3-poster.ai
When sending multiple files it is best practice to put all files into a single folder with your order number as the folder name and save them as a zip or rar file.
