Monday to Friday 8.30 am to 5.45 pm

At John Brailsford Printers we always want you to get great results from your artwork and files supplied. We are always happy to give you guidance on preparing files or do the design and typesetting for you. We have listed below our most popular asked questions. Still unsure? If you have any questions about your artwork then please do not hesitate to call our studio guys, as we will always find a way of working with your artwork.

File formats that we support:

 

Software that we support: 

Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe PhotoShop
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Pagemaker
All Microsoft Office products

 

You can send us your artwork via the following methods:
E-mail – sales@brailsfordprinters.co.uk however, we do not recommend files over 10mb be sent by email
CD-ROM / DVD – either by hand or post
USB drives or memory sticks – either by hand or post
Upload your artwork with your order online

Need to send us large files? Click here to send www.wetransfer.com

 

Please check the following before you send your files

 

Document Size
Your document size must be the finished size plus bleed. What is bleed?

Any part of the design that is required to go to the very edge of the paper is said to “bleed”. Printing is often done on a larger paper size and then trimmed down to the final size later. To allow for small variations in the printing position, any design elements that bleed should be extended beyond the edge by 3mm.

Check the product description for the correct sizes:

• Business Card 85mm x 55mm
• Compliment Slip 3rd A4 size 99mm x 210mm
• A7 size 105mm x 74mm
• A6 size 148mm x 105mm
• A5 size 148mm x 210mm
• A4 size 297mm x 210mm
• A3 size 297mm x 420mm
• A2 size 594mm x 420mm
• A1 size 594mm x 841mm
• A0 size 1189mm x 841mm
• C4 envelope size 229mm x 324 mm
• C5 envelope size 162mm x 229 mm
• C6 envelope size 114mm x 162mm
• DL envelope size 110mm x 220mm
• Mini Labels size 38mm x 21mm
• Folder A4 plus : folded size 215mm x 305mm to hold A4 sheets

Files
If you are supplying your files in anything but a PDF format, then please include all images, fonts and graphics that you have used within your document.

 

Images
Remember with pictures that the higher quality (dpi – dots per inch or resolution) the better they will print. As a rule of thumb scans or images should be at 300dpi and at 100% of the printed size. Images from websites and other screen sources tend to be of low quality, typically 72 dpi because they are created for screen viewing. These are still printable; although the finished print will appear blurred and unprofessional.

If you’re scanning photos yourself, save them as either JPG, EPS or TIFF files to get the best colour and clarity.  Always scan at 300dpi at the size you’re going to use the images at and remember to convert the images from RGB to CMYK.

All artwork should be supplied 1 up per sheet.

 

Multiple Pages
For any document with multiple pages please send as a single PDF file with each page on the PDF file being a page on the document.  i.e. A double sided leaflet : Page 1 = the front and Page 2 = the back

 

Colour Specifications
For optimum colour reproduction, we require all colours/images to be saved in CMYK colour format. Some software such as Microsoft Publisher and Microsoft Word do not support CMYK colours. Although we can still print these files, we can’t however guarantee accurate colour proofing and final colour match from these applications.

When printing CMYK use 100% black only for text and line work as this will ensure that there are no dots on the edge of your text. For full or heavy black coverage we recommend using 100% K & 30% Cyan as this helps deepen the black.

Avoid tints of less than 10% of C, M, Y or K as they can print much lighter than they appear on your screen.  For best results go for 20% – 50% tints.

Printing on different paper stocks will affect the colours – a colour that looks ultra glossy and vibrant on coated gloss paper will look flat and dull when printed on matt paper.

 

Layout Tips 
It is important when considering the design of a job, to not only take into account the overall look, but also the practicality with regard to whether it can be printed, guillotined and bound or folded. We are always available to give advice along the way, but following the points below will help us provide you with a great finished product with the minimum of delay.

If you have A4 size artwork that needs reducing to A5 size or A4 size enlarging to A3 size or similar, we can easily reduce or enlarge your PDF file for you at the printing stage, just let us know in the notes box at the checkout.

 

Supplying Proofs and a Mock-up
For complicated orders and to ensure that we print your files as you expect, we prefer that you supply us with final black and white or colour printouts. Our studio will check your files against these visually to make sure that our output looks the same, if possible it is also helpful to supply us with a mock-up. This will give us information on for instance, which order the pages go in, which way up each page is to be printed and also how the job is to be folded.

Following receipt of your files, we will check them to ensure that they are OK for our requirements. If you request it, we will then output a colour digital proof of your job and this will be sent to you in PDF email format unless you choose our Perfect Print Proof option then a printed example will be provided with a final opportunity to make sure your job is correct. Because of the different processes involved between the way a digital proof is produced and the process used to print your file, proofs sent by email digitally, can only be used as a good guide for colour but are completely accurate as to content.

 

The approved proofs should then be returned to us to enable us to pass the job into our print production department. Typical turnaround is from when we receive your proof approval.

 

Special considerations when using Microsoft Office Word
Word can adjust itself to your printer and the printer margins and as soon as you transfer a Word document from one computer to another, the document can reflow, using the new computer’s and printer’s parameters. That’s why line and page break changes between computers and a document can look completely different on our screens compared to yours. Please download PrimoPDF software here to make a PDF from your Word file for us to use to help avoid these problems.

 

Creative Design, Typesetting and Layout Services
We can also prepare your layout, typesetting and create logos and graphics, our experienced studio guys can provide creative, interesting and professional layouts, faster and cheaper than doing it yourself. We will professionally typeset your copy, place your images and logos and send you a colour proof for approval. Typical artwork, typesetting and layout charges start at £25.00 per hour. If you require extensive creative work, we will always be happy to provide you with a quotation.