Artwork Specifications

Great signs begin with Great artwork

Happy Customers are a direct result of Great Signs and Great Signs are a direct result of Great Artwork. It is with that in mind that we have developed these simple guidelines to follow. Using these guidelines will help to ensure your final products arrive quickly and look the way you want them to look like.

Creating your artwork

There are just a few simple rules to follow when creating your artwork that will help to insure a quality output from our equipment.

Design the artwork in the size of your final sign size. If you are creating artwork using raster based software such as Adobe Photoshop or if you are using vector based software like Adobe Illustrator or CorelDRAW and your design has raster images such as photos then you must create your image the same size as your final output. For instance if you are designing for an 18” x 24” sign panel then your artwork should be 18” x 24” at 300dpi. If you’re using vector based software and all elements of the design are vector based then your artwork can be scaled and you just need to be sure to create the file in the exact aspect ratio of the intended output.
Create your artwork in CMYK. With the new age of digital printing most of our products are now printed digitally using CMYK values. In order for us to match your colors as close as possible, it is optimal that you supply us with the CMYK value for each color in your artwork. If your artwork contains photos or other full color images your artwork will be printed as full color. Please designate in your artwork or on supporting documentation what the exact CMYK values are. If you would like to match your colors to PMS values then please supply those as well. To avoid possible mistakes and delays DO NOT rely on our artist to select CMYK colors from your artwork for you.

Supply us with original files

While it is possible for us to print from art files such as JPEG (.jpg), GIF (.gif) and Bitmaps (.bmp) we prefer to receive the artwork in the format that it was originally developed. If the files were created properly as outlined above then having those original art files gives us the greatest opportunity to print your design the way you intended it to be. For instance if you created your artwork in Adobe Illustrator then send us the original .ai file instead of a converted .pdf or .eps file.

Optimal artwork formats

If available include the font files as well as any photos and/or logos that coincide with your artwork.

.AI

.EPS

.CDR

.PUB

Other Usable formats (May incur a recreation of artwork fee):

Use any of the following formats to submit your artwork if the above formats are not available.

.JPG

.BMP

.TIF

.PSD

.PDF

Check the resolution

While it is possible for us to print full size files at 72 dpi your images will be significantly cleaner and more vibrant if 300dpi or higher resolutions are used. As outlined above optimal results are achieved when the artwork is created at full size and we are supplied with those native art files.

Send only the files you want printed

Be sure to complete the approval process within your own company then send us only the final approved design. Submitting multiple files for a single output will only increase the chance of mistakes and possibly delay your order.

Give your design some space

Your signage can’t do it’s job if it can’t be read so be sure to give all critical elements such as text and logos sufficient space from the edge of the sign. For signs, riders, car magnetics and other solid print products a general rule of thumb is to allow1/4” to 3/4” of space from any edge. For banners and other materials that may have a stitch area or grommets a 1” to 1 ½ “ border is recommended.

Photo guidelines

A general rule for sending photos is to send the photo in its original form as the digital camera created it. If it is necessary to supply us with a hard copy of your photo, be sure it is a high quality color photograph on quality photo paper (the hard copy will be returned as soon as possible). In addition, the photo should be as close to the output size as possible. For instance if the photo area of the sign panel you are ordering is 5” x 7” then you should supply us with photo of similar size.

DO NOT send us scanned business card photos or photos printed on a desktop printer.

DO NOT submit photos taken with “softening” or “fantasy” filters. These types of photos can appear out of focus or blurry.

Usable photo formats:

Use these formats for optimal photo print quality.