Artwork Tips for Print: How to Set Your Documents for Success and Keep Costs Down

At TMB Printing, we’re dedicated to providing high-quality offset and digital printing services that meet the needs of your business. Whether you’re printing brochures, business cards, or any other marketing materials, getting your artwork right from the start can make a big difference in the quality of your final product—and can also help keep costs down.

In this blog post, we’ll share some helpful tips on how to prepare your artwork for printing, ensuring your design prints perfectly, while also being mindful of the factors that influence printing costs. Plus, we’ll explain our approval process, so you’re always confident in your printed materials before they go to press.

Choose the Right Document Size and Orientation

• Standard Sizes: Whenever possible, choose standard print sizes, such as A4, A5, or DL. Non-standard sizes can require custom cutting, which can increase the cost of production.

• Bleed Area: Make sure to add a “bleed” area around your design. The bleed is the extra space (usually 3mm) around the edges of your document where the ink extends beyond the final cut. This ensures that there are no white edges after trimming.

• Margins and Safety Area: Leave a margin of at least 5mm from the edge of your document for important text and logos. This will prevent them from being too close to the edge and potentially getting cut off.

By ensuring your document is set up with the correct dimensions and bleed areas, you avoid costly errors and reduce the need for adjustments during production.

Use High-Resolution Images

Image quality is one of the most important factors in achieving a professional and sharp print result. Low-resolution images can look pixelated or blurry when printed, which can impact the overall quality of your print job. Here’s what to keep in mind:

• Resolution: For the best print quality, images should be at least 300 DPI (dots per inch). Low-resolution images (72 DPI, typically used for web) won’t print clearly, so it’s important to use high-resolution files.

• File Type: For clear and crisp prints, use a high-quality file formats PDF for complete documents.

The better the quality of the images you provide, the better the final print will look, which can also help reduce the need for artwork redesign by our team.

Choose the Right Colour Mode

When preparing your artwork for print, it’s crucial to use the correct colour mode. There are two main colour modes to be aware of:

• RGB (Red, Green, Blue): Used for screens and digital displays, RGB uses light to create colours. However, RGB is not suitable for print.

• CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black): This is the colour model used in printing. Make sure your artwork is created in CMYK mode so that the colours are accurately reproduced in print.

Converting your artwork from RGB to CMYK can sometimes cause slight colour shifts, so it’s best to design in CMYK from the beginning.

Font and Text Considerations

Fonts play a major role in how your printed material looks. Here’s how to ensure your fonts are print-ready:

• Use Professional Fonts: Avoid overly decorative fonts that can be hard to read in print. Stick to clean, legible fonts for clarity.

• Embed or Outline Fonts: If you're sending a file such as a PDF, make sure to either embed the fonts or convert the text to outlines. This prevents issues where certain fonts may not appear properly when opened on different computers.

Proofing and Artwork Approval Process

At TMB Printing, we understand that your printed materials must meet your expectations perfectly. That's why we offer a proofing and approval process:

• Artwork Proof: Before we move forward with printing your order, we’ll send you a digital proof of your artwork. This proof shows how your document will look once printed, including colours, layout, and text positioning.

• Review Carefully: Take time to carefully review the proof. Double-check all text for spelling or grammatical errors, confirm the layout is correct, and ensure that the colours are consistent with your brand.

• Approval or Adjustments: Once you’ve reviewed the proof, simply approve it if everything looks good. If any changes are needed, let us know, and we’ll make the necessary revisions. We’ll only proceed with printing once we’ve received your final approval.

This process ensures that you are completely satisfied with the final product and prevents any costly mistakes or reprints.

Cutting Costs with Efficient Design

We always want to help our clients achieve their goals without going over budget. Here are a few additional tips for keeping costs down:

• Simplify Your Design: More complex designs, with lots of colours, intricate patterns, or oversized prints, may cost more due to the time and resources needed for production. Consider simplifying your design to cut costs.

• Print in Bulk: Printing in larger quantities often reduces the per-unit cost. If you need ongoing printing, consider ordering larger batches to take advantage of cost savings.

• Standard Finishes: While unique finishes like embossing, foiling, or special coatings can create impressive effects, they also add to the cost. If you’re working with a tight budget, consider opting for more standard finishes.

If you have any questions or need help with preparing your artwork for print, don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re happy to assist with any queries, create your artwork for you if needed and ensure that your printing projects are a success, from start to finish.