Adobe PhotoShop

Guidelines for Adobe Photoshop

Scale Your Document

Adjust your document to the correct scale:

1 inch = 1 foot

*For a 3 ft. x 8 ft. banner, document should be set up 3 in. X 8 in.

If you intend an image to completely cover a print (full bleed), be sure that the image extends past the document edge. Please DO NOT end it at trim - when sewn, the banner will show white on the edges!

Also, do not place important elements like text, borders, or logos too close to the trim line. They may get trimmed off or sewn through! To be safe, do not place anything important any closer than 1" from the bleed edge of the document.

Images

You are responsible for the quality of the images you are submitting. The source of your images is extremely important to obtain the highest quality results. Please be aware of the following:
	LOW-END FLATBED SCANNERS - Most flatbed scanners are not very good at preparing images for a 4-color press. The images may appear soft. and fuzzy and the color will likely produce poorly. We recommend having the images professionally drum scanned at a service bureau and saved into CMYK.
	LOW-END DIGITAL CAMERAS - Most consumer-level digital cameras cannot produce the resolution or the color needed for a 4-color press. They are typically designed for the internet, not print. There are, however, more expensive digital cameras and camera backs that approach print quality. The newer 3.3 or higher ?mega pixel? cameras, for example, can sometimes produce good results in print. Find out about your cameras output in detail before deciding to use a digital camera.
	PREVIOUSLY PRINTED MATERIAL - Scanning previously printed material will likely produce a ?moire? pattern— a visible, distracting texture. Whenever possible, start with original photographs or artwork, not previously printed material.

Color Information

Do not use RGB images!

RGB stands for Red, Green, Blue, the primary colors of visible light. A computer monitor can only ?imitate? the colors of ink on paper. CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black, the ink colors used in 4-color process printing.

There is a color-shift. when converting from RGB to CMYK. If you are concerned about the color of your images, then we recommend that you order a proof for your job. DO NOT trust the colors on your monitor, unless you have a monitor that has been accurately calibrated.

Using Black:
For all Blacks (K) including logos, borders, and headlines are ?rich.? This means that it also has C, M, and Y values as well as K. If we were only to print the Black values, the black that is printed would appear washed-out. In order to make visually stunning blacks it is necessary to add the other values into the mix.

Standard Black Setting:
C - 10
M - 10
Y - 10
K - 100

Resolution

Viewing Distance and resolution guidelines is based on the following:

The larger the image, lower the resolution required at full scale.

Resolution in CMYK Mode. (Megabytes (MB) at full size)
5ft. or less 100 PPI (file size 5.5 MB per Sq. ft.)
5ft. or greater 75 PPI (file size 3.1 MB per Sq. ft.)
10ft. or greater 50 PPI (file size 1.4 MB per Sq. ft.)
50 ft. or greater 25 PPI (file size 0.35 MB per Sq. ft.)

To determine resolution at scaled size, determine the scale factor, multiply resolution X scaled factor.

- Example -
5 ft. X 7 ft. Image (35 sq. ft.)
Resolution is 75 PPI at full scale (file size 3.1 MB per Sq. ft.)
Your file size will be 5X7=35 sq. ft. (35 X 3.1 MB=164.4MB file size)
Your resolution for 1/12 Scale is 900 PPI (75 X12 = 900)

Design Tips

When there is text or vector art, such as logo etc. We recommend you place your bitmap file into vector based application (Illustrator, Corel Draw, etc.) and do your type and vector graphics, this will give you very sharp lines in the final output.

Saving the File

We require .PSD, .EPS, or .TIFF files from Photoshop.

Here's how:

Select File > Save as
1) Save as a TIFF
2) Set Byte Order to Macintosh
3) DO NOT check LZW Compression
4) Click OK

Check List

› File is in correct scale 1inch = 1 foot.
› Colors must be in CMYK format. Correct color input from the color chart, including black.
› All text must be converted to outlines
› When laying out the design, make sure graphics and text are not close to the edges due to hemming and grommets.

Note: To avoid any delay and any additional setup cost, please make sure that all of the above guidelines are met.