Adobe Press Quality PDF files are recommended for most print jobs.
Preferred file type: PDF
Color: CMYK, all spot colors converted to process colors
Color Profile: US SWOP v2
Bleed: See specific product for any bleed or margin requirements. Most large format products (banners, posters) do not require additional bleed. Most press printed products that have art to the edge should have a 1/8″ (0.125″) bleed added to all sides.
Resolution: It is recommended that large format products should have resolution of at least 100dpi at print size. Offset press printed items should be at least 300dpi at print size. Lower than recommended resolutions are still printable but may result is visible pixelation of your artwork.
What is press-ready art? What is camera ready art?
Camera ready art or press ready art refers to the file to used for your print project being of a high enough quality and meeting certain specifications to provide the best finished product. Back in the old days, the process of making printing plates used camera/film processing techniques. Today, the term Press Quality is used as a preset in most programs that can create PDF files.
What software should I use to make my print file?
Abobe software is the industry standard for professional graphic design. The primary programs for page layout design are Adobe Illustrator and Adobe InDesign. These two programs are well suited for page layout and design and saving your work as a press ready PDF. CorelDraw also is an excellent sign design tool that can generate press quality PDFs.
Photo editing software such as Photoshop is not recommended for creating PDF print files. If you must use Photoshop we recommend flattening your image and saving as a maximum quality CMYK JPEG for uploading and printing. Press quality images require 300dpi at actual size. For larger graphic prints that do not contain small text 100dpi can often be adequate. Color mode must be set to CMYK.