Tips & Tricks

A PDF File can be created using many different methods. Some applications use a bult-in PDF converter, and some do not have this functionality at all.

However, if you own a copy of Adobe Acrobat Professional (this is not the same as Adobe Acrobat Reader), you can create a PDF from ANY application that supports printing. To create a PDF, simply choose "Adobe PDF" as your printer.

PDF SETTINGS
You can download this file and copy it to the following folder:

C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersDocumentsAdobe PDFSettings

Then simply choose the "FullRes" preset when printing to the Adobe PDF printer. If using the preset, no further action is necessary.

Regardless of the method you choose to use in creating the PDF, a set of similar options will be available. The instructions included on this page assume you are using Adobe Acrobat Professional. Please use these options as guide to help you determine what setting to choose in your application.

Design your artwork as you normally would while keeping in mind the specfications below about bleeds and colors.

SPECIFIC DESIGN TIME INSTRUCTIONS BLEEDS
Please keep bleeds in mind when you are designing your artwork. If your artwork has a white border, then bleeds are not required. However, if your artwork is NOT white on all four sides, then you MUST include bleeds in your files. This area should be extended past the page borders, as indicated by the blue lines in the above picture. Please click here for more information on bleeds.

BORDERS and SAFE AREA
The cutting process for printed materials has a mechanical tolerance of about .0625 or 1/16 of an inch. When using a border in your artwork, it is essential that your design use at least .125 or 1/8 of an inch of white space from your border to the cut line to maintain a symmetrical appearance. Click here for more information about borders.

It is also imperative that no text or essential parts of your artwork come within 1/16" of the trim line. Again, due to the mechanical tolerance during the cutting process, any content within 1/16" of the trim line may be cut off.

RESOLUTION
For optimal results, your image must be at least 300 DPI (dots per inch), also known as Pixels Per Inch (PPI) at the final output size. Please do not attempt to change a low resolution image to a higher one by changing the DPI in your imaging software. Doing so will result in a blurred output.

SOLID BLACKS
If you want to have an area of solid black within your document, using 100% Black will not result in a nice, rich and saturated black. To obtain these results, instead using a rich black color, represented by the following CMYK values:
C: 60%, M: 40%, Y: 40%, K: 100%.