Free Art Services
- E-Mail Proofs
- Virtual Mock-Ups
- Layout Services
- Logo Conversion- basic
- Typesetting
Our expert graphic designers look closely at your artwork and provide suggestions and assistance if needed. Email us your art or upload it at the shopping cart prompt and we’ll take it from there! We’ll turn your design into industry-standard “vector” art and email you a virtual proof for approval.
Art Guidelines & tips for the Promotional Product Industry
- The number one tip is to design the art at the size of the imprint area
- Print out the design to make sure it is legible
- Always convert the fonts to outlines before sending art
- Avoid serif fonts when using small point sizes
- Ask us about the limitations of decorating various materials before you get too far into the design concept
- Keep a copy of a working file
- Back-up early and often
Vector Art
The most commonly used art format for imprinting your logo or message on promotional products is called "vector" art. Vector art is a term that means the art is production ready, it is not a file extension or program. Vector files can be resized without loss of quality and can print to any resolution required. Make sure the art meets this criteria.
The art is saved in the Postscript Format All fonts have been converted to outlines (or curves). Keep a copy in fonts for yourself!
Make sure all line thickness and fonts meet the minimum size requirements for the item you are ordering.
If there are any linked or placed images in the art they must be at 100% actual size and meet the minimum resolution requirement for each product. The image(s) must be supplied at the same time the vector art is. The most common programs that generate vector art are Adobe Illustrator® and CorelDraw®. File extensions are .ai, .eps and sometimes .pfd if saved properly.
Most logos are created as vector, even if all you see is a jpeg or gif file. Designers usually supply clients with jpegs or other file formats for several reasons. Mainly, if you do not have the proper graphics program then you will not be able to view the file. Another reason is vector files are editable and can be changed, this is generally not desirable when using an approved logo. That is why may corporations have a standard use guide for preserving the integrity of the logo.
Acrobat .pdf Art
Portable Document Format (PDF) files are the standard for allowing people to exchange computer files.
PDF files are viewable and printable on virtually any computer platform. They can sometimes be used for
supplying art, but only if the initial art was created from vector art. Almost nay type of file can be saved as .pdf,
but that does not make it usable. When supply a PDF file make sure these guidelines have been followed.
The PDF files were created from vector files and must retain all the editing capabilities of the creating program.
All images must be included with the art, just as with vector files.
The PDF files must meet the minimum standards
for line stroke and font size required for each product. PDF files created from a page layout program must
include all files, images and fonts at the same time.
Page Layout Programs
As a general rule, page layout programs, like Adobe InDesign, are not a good choice for imprinting a logo.
Some factories do support them, but it would be wise to check the art requirements for a specific promotional
product before putting in any time.
Page layout documents must have the art set-up at 100% of the actual
imprint size
All files, including images, must me included with the page layout document.
Images must be to
size and meet minimum resolution standards
Page layout programs can not convert fonts to outlines,
so they must be included with the all the files. Make sure the included fonts are compatible with the factory
computer platform (Mac or PC).
Please call us with any art questions or requests, 800.339.8863