Printing requirements

Silk Screen aims to provide the best possible service. You can help us do that by supplying the right kind of files in the right way. Our printing requirements section has more details on this. If anything is unclear, please get in touch with one of our staff members.

Adobe Illustrator CS5 (AI or EPS) files:
Convert any fonts used in the file to letter contours.

If this hasn’t been done, include the relevant fonts.

Adobe Acrobat files:
Supply in PDF format. If colour separations are required, convert text to letter contours (this will be necessary for trapping). Otherwise, include the relevant fonts. Set the layout to 100%.

Indesign CS5 files:
Include fonts and images used.

Include a printout of the file.

Photoshop files:
Save as a TIFF file in CMYK. Resolution: 300 DPI at actual size.

At lower resolutions, we can’t guarantee that printed images will be sharp enough. JPEG, BMP, GIF files etc are often poorly compressed and can therefore only be enlarged to a certain extent.

Use of blending or trapping:
For blending, please maximise overlap under the dominant colour. Light colours are usually printed first and the darkest colour last. This creates a smooth finish for the printed matter.

Line thickness:
A minimal line thickness of 0.2mm gives a good result. For example, watch out for small font sizes with a fine serif running into an even thinner line. There’s a risk of this not getting printed.

Use of colour numbers:
We print colours from the PANTONE colour chart. This chart consists of PMS numbers.

Please provide the PMS number for colours in files.

Always provide a print-out of the file for checking.

For files printed in full colour, always provide a colour proof for colour checking!

Please send digital files to: dtp@silk-screen.nl