Artwork comes in lots of different file formats. Our specifications below will help you to understand what file formats we accept to ensure that all of your printed goods come out at the highest quality possible. There are two different types of files that we use in printing, the first is Vector file formats and the second is Raster File formats.
We prefer vector file formats over raster due to the scalability of these files. We can expand the artwork as much as you would like and it will not loose and sharpness or resolution. So we can take a vector design which is 100 mm x 100 mm and expand this all the way up to 8000mm x 8000mm without any worry of losing quality or sharpness. Vector files use points, curves and lines that can all be upscaled without any loss of quality
Raster files are digital image files that use small rectangular pixels to create an image. It is usually used for photographs or other detailed images due to its ability to display a wide range of colours and graduated tones within the image. However the only problem with Raster images is that these cannot be upscaled. Once you try to make a Raster file bigger it will start to loose its quality and you will see rectangular blocks on the image (Pixelation). That is why it is always best to save Raster files using the highest quality possible and at a minimum 300 DPI (Dots Per Inch)
File Formats That We Accept
We only accept the following file formats for printing;
- .AI (Adobe Illustrator)
- .EPS (Encapsulated post script)
- .PDF (portable document file)
- .JPEG
- .PNG
- .SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics)
- .CDR (Corel Draw)
Please be advised any files uploaded to us in JPEG or PNG must be at a minimum 300 dpi and scaled to the correct size.
Any files to be uploaded in .CDR must be exported in corel draw as .AI / .EPS files. If you cannot do this please let us know and we will try to do this for you.
Resolution / Quality
Although we prefer to use Vector format files to ensure that whatever our customers print always comes out at the highest resolution. We understand that some customers may not be able to provide these file formats and will only have access to image files.
In that event we would simply ask that any image files sent to us are 300 dpi as a minimum or higher to ensure that any large format prints we produce will always have the sharpest and clearest quality when printing.
Colour Formats
There are two main types of colour formats that are used in the digital industry. CMYK (Cyan, Magento, Yellow, Black) & RGB (Red, Green, Blue)
All files uploaded to us must be provided in CMYK as this is how files are processed for printing. CMYK is also the main inks used in large format printers across the industry. RGB colours will need to be converted to CMYK prior to being uploaded to us. However if you are unsure of how to do this, just get in contact with us and we will do our best to assist you.
RGB colours are primarily used on digital displays such as computers & televisions. the three primary colours of RGB are Red, Green, Blue. These three colours are used to create a broad spectrum of different colours. RGB colours look vibrant and perfect on digital monitors. However when RGB colours are printed using CMYK inks, the colours can come out severely differentiated to what you see on your computer screen. This is why we recommend to convert files to CMYK colours and checking the colours afterwards for correction.