Artwork Requirements for Printing

Our design team will walk you through any questions or concerns you have about placing your order, but we like to keep this information handy online for our clients on a time crunch.  

In order to provide your custom graphic order in a timely manner and keep additional
artwork charges to a minimum, the guidelines listed below should be followed.

When in doubt, ask.

We’re here to make this process as easy as possible for you and your team. If you’re not sure about your artwork or the colors, or even the overall design, just ask your BuyShade senior design specialist for advice! We see hundreds of projects a day, and are happy to help you feel more comfortable in purchasing a custom project and knowing what your finished project will be like.

Artwork Requirements:

  • All fonts need to be converted to outline – (in order to avoid any defaulted text).

  • All art intended for digital print needs to be vector.

  • We cannot print the following Pantone colors in any way: PMS 801 – PMS 814. We also cannot digitally print Metallic Pantone colors.

  • Digital art will be output as CMYK. RGB-colored art needs to be converted to CMYK prior to submission. However, any colors that need to match a specified color need to be called out as a Pantone solid coated number.

  • Raster images and effects will be printed in CMYK.

  • Remove any overprint or transparency effects, and all linked files need to be embedded. All graphics are subject to review and approval before production. Artwork should be sharp, clean, smooth and free of jagged lines/shapes.

  • Digitally printed fabric colors may not exactly match dyed fabric colors.

How To Prepare and Send Artwork:

  • You may use ZIP or STUFFIT compression for multiple files (PC or MAC). Alternatively, you may also use an FTP site such as Dropbox, Hightail, WeTransfer, etc. to upload your file and email us the link.

  • Send artwork early to avoid production delays.

  • E-mail all art files directly to the following address: artwork@buyshade.com or to the design specialist you’ve been working with. Please include your design specialist’s name and your contact information.

  • Files made in Adobe Illustrator CS6 (AI, EPS, PDF, SVG) – MUST convert all fonts to outline.

  • Artwork should be supplied invector format. All RASTER objects in artwork must be appropriate resolution. If not, it may require artwork changes and additional charges.

  • Files made in Adobe Photoshop CS6 (PSD, PSB, TIF, JPG) – MUST rasterize your fonts and save files as .psd (if you have layers or need transparency.) Image resolution should be at 150 dpi at 100% actual size artwork is to be printed or 300 dpi at 50% the actual printed size.

  • Please contact us or your design specialist to send file resources that are larger than a digital dropbox will allow.

Help! I don’t think I have vector art.

Vector format files are different from standard rasterized artwork in that it does not use pixels and is designed to scale, and therefore does not have pixellation when expanded to larger sizes. These files are typically made by the original logo designer as an .EPS, .AI, or occasionally a .PDF. The file must originally be made in these formats to be expandable — changing the file type if the file was not originally a vector artwork will not make it into an expandable vector file.

If you don’t have vector artwork, no problem! We can have your logo artwork reproduced in a vector format for a small fee. We will provide the vectorized file to you for your use in future projects afterwards. Please note that photographs cannot be reproduced as a vector, so try to work with photo images that will allow large format printing.

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