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ARTWORK

ARTWORK & FILE GUIDE

Sending us your own design? Here’s what you need to know about file types, image quality, colours and getting the best possible print result.

Not sure if your file will work?

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FILE TYPES

PDF, SVG, EPS or AI

We can also work with high-resolution:

PNG, JPG or JPEG

The best format depends on what you’re having printed, so don’t worry if you’re not sure what you have.

Send us the best-quality version available and we’ll take a look.

Vector artwork is ideal wherever possible.

Files such as SVG, EPS, AI and vector PDFs can usually be resized without losing quality, making them particularly useful for logos, lettering and graphics.

If you don’t have a vector file, a large, high-resolution PNG may also work perfectly well.

Yes – but please export the design rather than sending us a screenshot.

A PDF Print export is usually a good starting point for print artwork. Depending on the product, a high-resolution PNG with a transparent background may be more suitable.

If you’re unsure which one to send, ask.

IMAGE QUALITY

As a general rule, send us the largest and highest-quality original file you have.

An image can look perfectly sharp on a phone screen but become blurry or pixelated when it’s enlarged for print.

The larger we’re printing it, the more important the original image quality becomes.

For most print work, 300 DPI at the intended print size is ideal.

But DPI isn’t the whole story. Simply changing a file to say “300 DPI” doesn’t magically add detail that wasn’t there to begin with.

If you’re unsure, send us the original file rather than trying to enlarge or improve it yourself.

Sometimes. But it’s rarely the best file to print from.

Screenshots are often much smaller and lower quality than the original artwork.

If the original logo, photograph or design exists somewhere, send us that instead.

VECTOR ARTWORK

Vector artwork is made from shapes and paths rather than pixels.

That means it can be scaled from something tiny to something enormous without becoming blurry.

It’s particularly useful for logos, lettering, decals and simple graphics.

Not necessarily.

Many products can be printed perfectly well from a good-quality PNG, JPG or PDF.

For cut vinyl decals or artwork that needs significant enlargement, vector artwork may be required.

If your file isn’t suitable, we’ll let you know.

Often, yes.

Simple artwork may only need a quick tidy-up, which we’ll often do as part of preparing your order.

If the artwork needs to be substantially rebuilt or redrawn, that becomes design work and an additional fee may apply. We’ll always tell you first.

Please note that artwork preparation or vectorisation carried out as part of your print order is for production purposes only. We don’t supply the recreated, vectorised or print-ready artwork files afterwards.

If you specifically need artwork created for your own future use, please ask about this separately.

No surprise invoices.

BACKGROUNDS & TRANSPARENCY

It depends on the product.

For designs where you don’t want a background printed around the artwork, a transparent PNG or vector file is usually best.

JPG files can’t contain transparency, so any white background in a JPG is actually part of the image.

Often, yes.

Simple background removal is usually straightforward.

More complicated artwork — particularly low-resolution images, photographs or designs with lots of fine detail — may require additional artwork preparation.

If there’s likely to be a charge, we’ll tell you before doing it.

COLOUR

Screens can display some colours that simply can’t be reproduced exactly with print inks. These are known as out-of-gamut colours.

This is particularly common with very bright, neon or highly saturated colours.

When preparing artwork, we may see a gamut warning, which indicates that a colour falls outside the range the printer can reproduce. The colour will then print as the closest achievable alternative, which may appear less bright or slightly different from what you see on screen.

If a particular colour is critical to your design, please let us know before ordering – particularly for larger quantities.

Not necessarily.

Screens create colour using light, while printers reproduce colour using ink. Different screens can also display the same colour differently.

Some very bright, neon or highly saturated screen colours fall outside the range that can physically be reproduced in print. These are known as out-of-gamut colours and will print as the closest achievable colour instead.

So some variation between your screen and the finished print is completely normal.

Not necessarily.

If you already have professionally prepared CMYK artwork, that’s useful. Otherwise, send us your best original file rather than converting it simply for the sake of it.

We’ll prepare the artwork appropriately for the product being printed.

If a particular colour is important, tell us before ordering, especially for larger quantities.

Exact colour matching isn’t automatically guaranteed. If you have a Pantone, CMYK, RGB or HEX reference, send it with your enquiry and we’ll see what can be achieved.

BEFORE YOU UPLOAD

Before sending your artwork, have a quick look at:

Spelling
Dates and numbers
Image quality
Dimensions and proportions
Whether you’ve sent the final version

And preferably not:

logo-final.jpg
logo-final2.jpg
logo-FINAL-final-use-this-one.jpg

We’ve all been there.

We’ll check that the file is usable for the product you’ve ordered and flag obvious problems we notice.

But please still check your own artwork carefully. You’re responsible for making sure supplied wording, spelling and design content are correct.

We can’t reliably spot that Sophie was supposed to be Sophia.

TRANSFER DECALS

Smooth, clean, non-porous surfaces generally work best.

The exact suitability depends on the vinyl and the surface.

Planning to put one somewhere unusual? Ask first.

Yes. Mirrors are one of the most common uses for our transfer decals.

No.

Once applied, only the cut lettering or shapes remain on the surface.

They arrive with transfer tape over the top to hold everything in position while you apply them.

Many event-style vinyl decals can be removed.

How easily they remove and whether they leave residue depends on the surface, vinyl and how long they’ve been applied.

Take extra care with painted or delicate surfaces.

PRODUCTION

Production times are shown on the relevant product page and can vary depending on the product and time of year.

Remember that production time and delivery time are separate. Choosing faster postage doesn’t make the order itself faster to produce.

Sometimes.

If you have a deadline, contact us before ordering and we’ll let you know what’s realistic.

Contact us as soon as possible.

Personalised and made-to-order products often enter production quickly, so changes or cancellations may not be possible once work has started.

DELIVERY

The estimated delivery time begins once your order has been made and dispatched.

Production and delivery are separate, so please allow for both when ordering for a particular date.

Yes. All orders are sent via tracked service.

Where faster delivery options are available, they’ll be shown at checkout.

Remember that a delivery upgrade speeds up the delivery after dispatch, not the production of your order.

If you have a specific deadline, contact us before ordering.

If your estimated delivery window has passed and your tracking doesn’t show any upadtes, get in touch with your order number and we’ll check it for you.

It’s worth checking the tracking first as this may show a delay, attempted delivery or collection point.

CUSTOM ORDERS

Quite possibly.

Different size, unusual shape, your own artwork or a quantity that isn’t listed — send us the details and we’ll see what we can do.

As much as you have.

Dimensions, quantity, wording, colours, intended use and any artwork are all useful.

If the product needs to fit onto something specific, photos and measurements are even better.

Yes.

Send us the product, size and quantity you need and we’ll provide a quote.

If your estimated delivery window has passed and your tracking doesn’t show any upadtes, get in touch with your order number and we’ll check it for you.

It’s worth checking the tracking first as this may show a delay, attempted delivery or collection point.

SOMETHING’S NOT RIGHT

Please get in touch and include your order number, along with photos where relevant.

We’ll take a look and work out what’s happened.

Contact us as soon as possible.

If your order hasn’t entered production yet, we may be able to change it. Once production has started, changes aren’t always possible.

Send us your order number and clear photos of the item and packaging so we can take a look.

NOT SURE ABOUT YOUR FILE?

Don’t spend half an hour trying to work out whether your PDF is secretly a vector.

Send us the file, tell us what you’d like printed and at what size, and we’ll take a look.

ASK ABOUT YOUR ARTWORK →