How to Set Up Print-Ready Artwork

For best printing results, please refer to the following guidelines. Contact us if you need assistance.

For General Printing

  • PDF format is preferred
  • Please include bleed
    • 3mm bleed for general printing
    • 20mm for all large banners and signages
  • Resolution of 300dpi or higher at printing size (eg. 300dpi at A4 for A4 flyers)
  • Artwork size should be same as printing size (A4 artwork for A4 flyers)
  • Artwork in CMYK colour mode (not RGB nor PMS)
  • All text should be 5mm away from the edge, avoid border lines if possible

For White Ink Printing

  • White ink design elements must be in vector format

For Letter cutting and Die-cut shapes

  • Cutlines must be supplied in vector format

 

Artwork Format

We prefer artworks in PDF format, however we also accept other formats including high resolution TIFF, JPEG, Photoshop(.psd),
Illustrator(.ai, .eps, svg) and Packaged InDesign(.indd, .idml). Please remember to embed all links to file to avoid missing images.

 

What is Bleed?

Imagine you're drawing a picture on a piece of paper, and you want the picture to go all the way to the edges of the paper.
Bleed in printing is like giving your picture a little extra 3mm space beyond the edges of the paper. This extra 3mm space
ensures that when the paper is trimmed to its final size, your picture still reaches all the way to the edges without leaving
any white borders. So, bleed is like a safety buffer that prevents any white gaps from appearing around the edges of your
printed material, making sure your design looks seamless and professional when it's printed and cut.

For example, if you want to print an A4 (210x297mm) flyer, with a 3mm bleed included, the file size should be 216x303mm.

 

Artwork Resolution

The recommended minimum resolution is 300dpi at printing size. Low resolution artworks will result cause pixelations in the
final product. High resolution (300dpi or higher) will produce a sharper, finer print, especially if you have very small text.
Most images downloaded from website are for web purposes and fall below the minimum resolution for printing.
If you are not sure what your artwork resolution is, you can send it to us for an inspection.

 

Colour Accuracy & Colour Modes

CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) is used for printing while RGB (Red, Green, Blue) is used for digital display such as your monitor
or mobile phone. Converting between these two colour modes can result in slight variations due to differences in the way colours are
produced on screens and in print. Colours may also vary when the same artwork is printed from different printers and on different
materials/stock. Colours on your artwork proof are NOT guaranteed to be an 100% accurate representation of the final product.

 

Variance in Trimming

Sonic Print work within industry standards to minimise offset in trimming process and ensure that the final products meet the desired
specifications. There may still be +/-1mm to 2mm variance with the guillotine when we trim your order to their final size. A +/-10mm variance
may occur with large size printing  such as signage boards. Avoid the use of borders in your artwork will also minimise the affects of the offsets.