Questions About Artwork
Q. I want you to produce a design from my references - what do I need to send in?
A. We will need a short written brief about how you would like your finished design to appear. Some customers also like to send in a sketch or rough visual (please note it does not need to be artistic at all - that’s our job!) of how they would like the artwork laid out. Please also let us know what text, logos etc are required plus if you have any requirements for a special border etc.
With regard to the actual references; we can work from a wide variety of sources. These range from digital photos, actual photographs, post cards, guide books, sketches etc. When we are re-drawing the images there is not normally a copyright issue but we would advise if we thought there was a problem before commencing the design.
Q. I need your design team to come up with a design concept from scratch – is this possible?
A. Sometimes customers come to us with no clear idea of what they want or need us to construct their initial idea in to a design without having anything definite to show us. With a vast amount of experience in the giftware market we can draw upon our years of design experience and suggest various ideas. We are always happy to help in this way so please ask if you require assistance.
Q. I want to submit my own design – how do I do this?
A. You can submit either hard copy for us to scan (we can scan up to A1 in size) or digital files. If you want to submit digital files please see the specifications below.
Q. What are your artwork specifications?
A. Please send digital files at no less that 300dpi at actual print size. We can accept pdf, jpg, tif and eps files plus Photoshop and Illustrator files. Please ensure any fonts are either rasterised or converted to outlines or alternatively please include the font folder in PC format. If you want to send in another file format please call to discuss suitability.
Q. Do you have templates for the various products so we can set the artwork up ourselves?
A. Yes we have templates for all the products. Please contact us and we can email them to you.
Q. How can I send my artwork?
A. If your file is under 7mb we can receive it by email otherwise many of our customers are using internet services such as You Send it or Drop Box for larger files. Alternatively a CD in the good old Royal Mail still does the job.
Q. Do I see a visual before ordering?
A. We always supply a visual before we print so if amendments are required they can be carried out at this stage.
Q. Once my design is complete can I use it on other items in your range?
A. Yes, the design can be transferred on to any of the giftware in our range and if the design is in single colour there is no extra charge for this.
Q. What are the lead times for the artwork stage?
A. For more straightforward jobs, just requiring a small amount of our design input, the lead times are normally 14–21 days approximately. For designs requiring our artists to actually draw the various scenes then we are normally looking at around 28 days approximately from receipt of order.
Q. What are the lead times once I confirm my design is ready to go to print?
A. Our despatch times from acceptance of the design for the textile items, paper products and garments are approximately 21-28 days. Mugs and melamine take around 28 days. However if you have a specific delivery date in mind, please let us know when you first order and providing it is realistic, we will make every effort to achieve this for you.