Artwork Specifications - File Types
We want you to use the platform that is most convenient for your projects; however, for the fastest turn time, we highly recommend using Adobe Photoshop, specifically our pre-built templates.
Accepted File Types:
TemplatesThe most important “art requirement” that we can recommend is to use our Photoshop templates. If you create your design using the correct template you will realize several important benefits and ensure that we produce your design in the fastest and most accurate manner possible. Here are some of the benefits of using our templates:
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Art Specifications - Handling Images, Text, and Fonts.
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Why Should I Flatten My Images in Photoshop? The simple answer is; predictability. When a Photoshop file is flattened it reduces the odds of something going wrong down to nearly zero. When layers are present and have text or layered effects applied to them, the file must be flattened before the enlargement can occur or those effects may disappear. Why Should I Compress My Font Files When Using InDesign or Quark? We must have the fonts supplied for programs such as QuarkXpress and InDesign. These are all page layout programs which are designed primarily for publishing. Converting to outlines isn’t as simple as the illustration programs. Therefore, the fonts must be compressed before sending. It is not that we ask for them to be compressed to save space, but to maintain file integrity. Many times the font will come across to us with an extension of .dat that means a file was sent uncompressed and a server has tried to determine what the file is and did its best to assign an extension. The problem is it that it renders the file useless. Fonts should also be compressed on the platform they were created on. Fonts are a system level file, meaning they interact with the system folder and are very specific to the platform they were designed to be used on. If you are using OpenType face fonts then you may compress them on either platform. As a general rule it is safer to compress them on the same system as you are using them on. Mac users should always try to use Stuffit and Windows users should use Winzip. |
Why Should I Convert My Text to Curves or Outlines in Illustrator? Certain programs like Illustrator allow users to “Convert to Curves, Paths or Outlines” which removes the need to supply us with any font files. When we get a file built in a program that allows the creator to convert fonts to outlines, we ask that they do so. The reason is that this eliminates the possibility of a missing font which would only serve to delay your job as we would need to stop it and have the file resent after being converted to Outlines. We will always attempt to use our fonts that match as closely as possible. This solution does create the possibility of tracking and kerning issues within your design. Why Should I Use LZW Compression? LZW compression, (Lemple-Zif-Welch, those are the three that created this technique.) will compress the file the most it can without causing any degradation in the pixel quality. It is true that a file can be smaller when compressing it with JPEG compression. The downside is that when there is a color transition between pixels, especially between solid areas, you will see very blotching looking pixels around the edges of that transition. What About Resolution? Photographs should be at least 288ppi. Our templates are at the resolution they are so that elements that need to look very crisp, like type or logos, will still look that way. Photographic elements do not need to be that high of a resolution to look good. Between 288ppi and 300ppi is a good rule of thumb. |
Art Specifications - Color
Pantone® is the world wide authority on color identification. The PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM (PMS) is a color identification system for specifying and matching ink colors. Using Pantone, one can communicate color with customers, designers, and manufacturers. The Pantone solid color guidelines are designed for “spot” or “flat tone” printing. The ink will be specifically mixed and matched to a particular color. The Pantone four-color-process color guidelines are designed for all four-color-process printing (which includes essentially all digital printing as well as screen print four-color-process and litho four-color-process). The four inks (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) are mixed during the printing process to create all the required colors in a design. The 4-color-process permits use of an essentially unlimited range of colors, but is not quite as precise when it comes to matching a particular solid color.
Pantone color standards for four-color-process printing are different (and sometimes very different) than the same Pantone color standard of a spot or solid color. However, given the “universal” nature of Pantone colors, they are, naturally, an excellent reference for specific color requirements. Sierra Displays encourages the use of this standard, and we encourage you to always identify your specific Pantone colors required on any job so we can ensure that we follow this standard.
We would ideally like to get your Pantone reference information on the order form in the “notes” section. We also look for Pantone reference numbers in your digital file (on separate layers outside the live area of your artwork). It is critical, however, that you “call out” or specifically identify the Pantone requirements because we may not always find embedded Pantone-builds that are not identified.
Pantone color standards for four-color-process printing are different (and sometimes very different) than the same Pantone color standard of a spot or solid color. However, given the “universal” nature of Pantone colors, they are, naturally, an excellent reference for specific color requirements. Sierra Displays encourages the use of this standard, and we encourage you to always identify your specific Pantone colors required on any job so we can ensure that we follow this standard.
We would ideally like to get your Pantone reference information on the order form in the “notes” section. We also look for Pantone reference numbers in your digital file (on separate layers outside the live area of your artwork). It is critical, however, that you “call out” or specifically identify the Pantone requirements because we may not always find embedded Pantone-builds that are not identified.