Design Tips

Preferred Artwork we Accept:

CorelDraw 12 or lower
Adobe Illustrator CS or lower (for PC)
All text as curves (aka paths / outlines)
All text as paths (aka curves)
EPS (text as curves/paths, at least 300 dpi)

Art for Visual Purposes ONLY:

BMP (windows bitmap)
JPG (pronounced: jay-peg)
PCX
TIFF (at least 300 dpi)

ALWAYS, please provide a printed copy of the artwork enclosed with disk or sent separately by fax. For multi-color jobs, please include a composite (saved in CMYK or Pantone Process colors and not R-G-B) as well as printed separations.

When creating your art, be sure to eliminate any extraneous colors, patterns, and any other element that may be invisible or behind other layers. Where colors touch, it may be necessary to create traps. Your artwork must be prepared so that the colors are in an editable format. If not, additional charges may be incurred.

Before sending your artwork, it is a good idea to import your exports to assure the artwork has been processed intact. If you have a successful import, chances are good that we will also.

To send the art electronically, click on the attachment icon (paper clip in most systems) within your e-mail messaging box. Locate the desired file for attachment and click on it, it will automatically be attached to the transmission. Please include the following with any art transmission: your company name, contact name, telephone and fax numbers, purchase order number, ship-to information, in-hands date, and any special instructions along with all pertinent details for the product(s) being ordered; qty, product numbers, imprint colors, etc. Follow up with a faxed transmission of the same information and image.

WE CANNOT GUARANTEE EXACT PMS COLOR MATCHES.

Art files may be e-mailed with the requirements listed below - or - sent on 3½" diskette, CD or DVD.

PLEASE DO NOT SEND MAC FILES

Acceptable formats (in order of preference): Corel Draw V8.0, Corel Draw 3.0 - 7.0, Adobe Illustrator for PC 7.0 or lower. EPS files can be accepted but must be black and white exactly to size. Call for more information. Many other formats are supported, but we prefer to work with the above formats which have proven to be stable. Please check with your sales representative or our graphics department if you wish to submit a file in any other format.

File Preparation and Shipment to identiprint:

Be sure to include on the disk:
Layout file (Quark, PageMaker, etc.).
All fonts. It is a good idea to convert all your fonts to outlines (paths), as this will guarantee that there won't be any problems with the fonts (fonts converted to outlines (paths), don't need to be included).
Graphic files (Tiff, EPS, etc).

Paper Match Print:
It is a common practice when ordering offset printing to first order a paper "match print" that features your design, and that is made from the same film separations which will be used in the production of your bulk order. You examine the match print for color accuracy-contrast-saturation-resolution, etc., and also confirm that your content is correct. Once you approve the "match print", it is used as the standard by which you and the printer judge his production of your order. Note that this process works best when using "traditional" inks, as opposed to "sublimation inks".

About 'Sublimation' Printing:
Your design is still being printed using an offset printing device, but traditional inks used to print on paper can NOT be used to print on cloth. Some time ago, some ingenius folk devised a way of formulating what is basically FABRIC DYE so that it could be used in an offset press. The prints are produced, and trimmed to size, and then are HEAT PRESSED onto the cloth material. The "sublimation" ink vaporizes, and then bonds with the fabric to permanently dye the material.

Match Prints  & Sublimation Printing:
Match prints can be used as a guide, but printing with sublimation inks is much more challenging then using traditional inks. We therefore cannot guarantee an exact match between paper match print and final sublimated product. It is, however, recommended that you supply us with a paper printout of your design along with your graphic file. We will use it for color reference when producing your order. If you want to order a match print from us, please email or call for details.
Page Layout Programs (quark, pagemaker, indesign, etc.):
MAC users - please remember to include both SCREEN & PRINTER fonts with your file. PC users should also verify that ALL fonts are embedded in their document. Save your file in the native format. Whenever possible, please send us an exported EPS file of your complete document as well.

NO Powerpoint or  Publisher Files, NO GIF'S, NO Low Resolution BMP'S, etc... PLEASE!

Colour Mode:
CMYK color mode unless you specify spot Pantone "PMS" color number(s)

Resolution:
Rastor Art should be 300 dots per inch (dpi) at actual size

Font Size:
Cloth Top Products: minimum 12pt font bold type

Please convert ALL fonts to "outlines" (curves, paths) when using a VECTOR based program such as Illustrator, Corel, Freehand, etc.

Layout:
Please prepare your graphic so it is 1/4" (.25") larger on ALL sides then the actual size of your mouse pad, counter mat, or coaster

Constrain the important elements (text, logo, etc.) of your design to an area that is 1/4" (.25") smaller on all sides & corners then the actual size of your mouse pad, counter mat, or coaster. This will insure that no essential elements of your design are cropped off when we print your order

Your graphic should have straight edged corners (not rounded), and should not contain any borderlines or crop mark
Trademark and Copyrights:

All materials submitted by the customer for production including art, graphic images, photos and copy will be accepted as being unencumbered by all trademark, copyright or any usage rights. The customer agrees to hold harmless and indemnify identiprint. for any and all claims that result from the usage of submitted materials. identiprint assumes no liability for customer’s use or misuse of copyright or trademarked materials.

Overall Design Considerations:

Try to design the pieces using bright colors. Avoid critical details in low contrast areas as they can get lost during the transfer process. Avoid small and intricate detailed graphics, as they will also get lost. Keep all critical graphics and text 1/2" from the edges of the final transferred piece. Transferring is usually done by hand, so leave 1/4" bleeds on all four sides.

For mousepads, get the exact size of the pad from Tech Media Industries before beginning. Avoid large areas of white, as they will soil quickly. Darker backgrounds work best.

Typesetting:
Light Type on Dark Backgrounds:
Because of the propensity of sublimation to gain, keep reverse type open. Use a font size no smaller than 10pt. and avoid thin serifs and lines. Keep the kerning and leading open.

Dark Type on Light Backgrounds:
Dark type on a light background should be thin or medium. Avoid heavy bold fonts as during the transfer process they have a tendency to fill in. Keep type at least 8pt. if possible.

If feasible, keep all type out of raster images as it can affect the final product. It is preferred to stroke all fonts in Illustrator or Freehand before importing the file into a layout program such as Quark or PageMaker.
Remember to include all non-stroked fonts with the disk. Don't forget the fonts in embedded EPS images.

Graphics:
Keep vector images clean using bright colors. If the art originates as a vector image, don't convert it to a raster image. Keep concepts bold and avoid extremely fine detail, as it will get lost during the transfer process. If you have PMS colors be sure to call them out as such even if the job is printing 4-color process. This lets us know the color you are trying to obtain in the final product. Make absolutely sure there is no banding in any graduation screens. It is always preferable to create all graduations in PhotoShop from scratch. If you can see any banding in your color proof at all it will be unacceptable for sublimation.

Prepare raster images as you would for regular offset lithography, except try to choose bright images. Avoid tightly detailed or drab colored images. The brightest images work best. Be sure your image is high resolution, 270dpi or above at 100%. Please give us any layered files if you have them.

Correct Scan Resolutions:

The first important point to understand is the differences between PPI (pixels per inch) and DPI (dots per inch). Many software programs and scanner interfaces use these two terms interchangeably but that's not exactly accurate. As a general rule, and for the purposes of this article, the term PPI should be used when referring to image resolution, and the term DPI should be used when referring to printing resolution. How can you remember this? Monitors display pixels, and printers produce dots. So, as you follow this discussion, whether your software calls it DPI or PPI, when I talk about the resolution of your image, I will be using the terminology PPI.
Key Points
PPI refers to image resolution
DPI refers to printer resolution
Inkjets need half the PPI of the printer's DPI setting
Print size and print quality have an inverse relationship
Print size and print quality are dependent on pixel resolution

Pixel Resolution:
Digital photos and scans are all bitmap graphic types, no matter what format the image is saved to. That means they are made up of a grid of individual, tiny pixels with each pixel representing a single color in the image. If you zoom in on one of these images (see example) in your imaging software you'll be able to see the individual squares of color. What this means in relation to printing is that these types of images are resolution-dependent. In other words, the quality of the print and the size of the printed image is limited by the number of pixels in the image. You can't increase one value without effectively decreasing the other

Inkjet Printer DPI:
Today's inkjet printers have three standard output settings:

Normal: 300 x 300 or 320 x 320 dpi
High Quality: 600 x 600 or 720 x 720 dpi
Photo Quality: 1200 x 1200, 1440 x 720, 1440 x 1440 dpi
You might also have a draft or economy setting, but you should never use this setting for printing images. It's primarily used for printing text and rough drafts.

A popular myth is that it's necessary to scan an image at the same resolution that you will be using to print. In the case of color and grayscale images, this only results in excessive file sizes. A good general rule for inkjet printing is that you need half the PPI of the printer's DPI setting that you intend to use. So if you're using your printer's "normal" setting (300 dpi), your image needs to have at least 150 ppi

Calculating Image Size and PPI:
So how do you calculate the image size you need? It's simpler than you might think. First, decide what size you want your printed image to be, then multiply the height and width in inches by the PPI you need for the print resolution you'll be using. Here's a reference chart for some common print sizes:

Printer Quality
Normal High Photo
Print @ 300 - 320 dpi 600 - 720 dpi 1200 - 1440 dpi
Scan @ 150 ppi 300 ppi 600 ppi
Printed Size
2" x 3" 300 x 450 pixels 600 x 900 pixels 1200 x 1800 pixels
4" x 6" 600 x 900 pixels 1200 x 1800 pixels 2400 x 3600 pixels
5" x 7" 750 x 1050 pixels 1500 x 2100 pixels 3000 x 4200 pixels
8" x 10" 1200 x 1500 pixels 2400 x 3000 pixels 4800 x 6000 pixels

The chart above is mainly based on photographic images. If you have a scanned illustration, cartoon, or painting, you can usually go a little lower with the PPI and not see a noticeable change in the printed quality

Why is my scan so HUGE?
Keep in mind that when you scan an image at anything higher than 72-100 ppi, it's going to display much larger on your monitor than the original picture or page. That's because your monitor can only display a fixed number of pixels per inch, usually 96. When you place the image into a page layout program, most software will be able to read the PPI information and will place your image into the page at the proper size. Some of the low-end printing software may not, however, and you'll have a very large image placed into your page. When that happens, you'll have to size the image in your layout program to the printed size you based your calculations on.

PPI and Digital Cameras:
When you're printing images from a digital camera, you have to calculate things a little differently. With a digital camera, you have a fixed number of pixels which is the maximum your camera is able to capture. Today's moderately priced cameras have an average maximum resolution of 1200 x 1500 pixels. In this case, we have the pixel dimensions, so we need to work in reverse to figure out the best quality setting and printed size. Using the formula above we can calculate that with 1200 x 1500 pixels we can either get a high quality print at 4 by 5 inches, or a photo quality print at 2 by 2.5 inches. That's not a very big image for a photo-quality print, so if you thought you'd be producing photo-quality 8 by 10 prints with your £300 digital camera and inkjet printer, you're probably going to be somewhat disappointed. As you can see, there is a choice to be made as to whether you want to sacrifice printed size or image quality.

To review:
PPI refers to image resolution
DPI refers to printer resolution
Inkjets need half the PPI of the printer's DPI setting
Print size and print quality have an inverse relationship
Print size and print quality are dependent on pixel resolution