Artwork Guide

  3. IMAGE RESOLUTION

We recommend picture resolution be at 350 DPI or higher.

Images created for websites usually have a resolution of 72 DPI (Dots Per Inch). This is much lower than what is required for good print quality. If the artwork is provided at a low resolution, the printed pictures may appear blurred, jagged and rough.
Printing material needs a minimum of 350 DPI, so please ensure your artwork meets this specification. Keep in mind higher resolution pictures generally result in larger file sizes.

High Resolution vs. Low-Resolution Pictures:

The pictures below are both 100 mm x 50 mm in size but they have various resolutions. The first image is at 350 DPI while the second one is a 72 DPI image:

 4. FONT OUTLINE

With access to thousands of fonts available on the internet for both Mac and PC, we cannot ensure that the fonts used in your artwork are available on our system. This uses AI, EPS, and PSD files only. Your artwork is checked before we print but missing fonts can cause errors in the artwork and hold the printing method.

To resolve this you may either provide us with the fonts used for your artwork or you can follow the steps below:

For AI Files (Illustrator):
1. In your Illustrator Window, click on the text block you need to outline. (Ensure you do the Direct Selection tool in your Tool Panel, it is the Black Arrow in the highest corner, or you simply Press (V)).

2. Once decided, Right Click or press the Right Mouse Button & a drop-down menu will look. Decide to Create Outlines. -Right Click(RMB) > Create Outlines

The different way of doing this is by clicking on Type at the top menu, then select Create Outline in the drop-down menu. – Type > Create Outlines

Or you could simply use a shortcut once the text block is decided, just press Shift+Ctrl+O or Shift+Command+O for Mac.

For PSD FILES (Photoshop):
1. In your Photoshop Window, click on the layer where your text is placed. Right Click on all the text layers & then pick Rasterize Type. Pick All Text Layer > Right Click on any Highlighted Layer > Rasterize Type

The different method is by Clicking on Layer on the top menu, Want to Rasterize in the drop-down window, & then Choose Type. Pick All Text Layer > Layer (top menu) > Rasterize (dropdown) > Type

You can also email us a list of fonts utilised in your artwork and we will be happy to search for them online. For fast printing of your artwork, we suggest sending us the fonts utilised via email. To do this, simply Open Control Panel, Click on the Fonts Folder, Copy the fonts utilised in your artwork, Paste to a folder of your choice and attach them in an email to us. Control Panel > Fonts > Copy Used Fonts > Paste (to your folder) > Attach to your email.

 5. Artwork Orientation

Artwork should be kept in a range of 4 mm (safety) from the decline of the sticker. A bleed margin of 4 mm should also be allowed for. The pictures above illustrate the suggested safety and bleed margins for many sticker types.

 6. CUSTOM DESIGN GUIDE (SHARP EDGES)

 In assessing the cut of your custom designs, we usually discourage sharp edge cutting as this is prone to cutting errors.

 To protect your artwork from any imperfections we suggest rounded corners for your custom cuts.

  7. ARTWORK BORDERS

We suggest omitting borders from your artwork due to slight changes in the image during the normal printing and cutting methods. Please see the samples below.

 WITH BORDERS
The slight image shift & cutting error is visible because of the appearance of the black border around the logo mark.

 WITHOUT BORDERS
With this setup, it’s almost impracticable to notice the impact of the cutting error since consideration is drawn to the logo at the center of the sticker and not to the imperfect cuts on either side.

Seeing the big picture now? That’s why we recommend against including big borders in your artwork. You can decide to delete them from your final artwork or we can do it for you.

 8. Transparency, EFFECTS, LINKS, ETC

If separate pictures are added as links, please be sure to embed them in your document.

If you are using effects such as transparencies, shadows, blurs etc., these may appear on your screen but may not be part of the printed image. These effects need to be rasterised to ensure they are added in the final print.

To check the final rasterised image in Adobe Illustrator, open the Flattener Preview window (Window) -> (Flattener Preview)

  9. FINAL PROOF

Please ensure your text size is not too small.

Also, make sure that the thicknesses of your stroke are at least 0.25 pt or bigger to be noticeable. Any thin lines or design details may not look on the printed stickers.