Artwork and formats
Customer-supplied art must be provided in specific formats for Xanthos Graphix to complete your order successfully.
Most screen-printing needs to be In vector-based art. An EPS file from a computer illustration program usually works best. A high-resolution TIFF file can be used if the design will be printed in the four-color process.
Other forms of image files such as GIF, JPEG, JPG, PNG or PDFs are sometimes usable, but they require more work to rebuild into vector art, more bags of chocolate to bribe the art staff into doing it and will eventually cost the customer more money. Hard copies, or paper copies, also fall into the category of needing to be rebuilt.
Here are some terms for you to be familiar with so we can work with you as efficiently as possible.
VECTOR ART (a.k.a. LINE ART)
Vector art (line art) is artwork that is created using a computer illustration program. It is made up of shapes that are outlined and/or filled with color. These shapes are based on equations and can be scaled up or down without any loss of quality.
Vector art files are relatively small and easily sent via e-mail. The art staff at Xanthos Graphix likes vector art. Vector art is their friend, and it’s your friend, too, because of the expense It can save you!
RASTER ART (a.k.a. BITMAP)
Raster art (bitmap) is an image composed of small squares on a grid. Each square is given a color. When these squares are made small enough, they blend into a whole image.
Raster images are usually created by photo editing programs, paint programs, digital cameras and scanners. If the resolution is high enough, Xanthos Graphix can use this art for four-color process printing. We also may be able to convert it to vector, but that takes time, and we all know that time = money.
Raster images can be scaled down but not scaled up. When scaled down, the dots get smaller and the image quality goes up. Unfortunately, scaled up has the opposite effect, and the image begins to look like a bunch of squares. This is not a pretty sight and should be avoided at all costs.
RESOLUTION
Resolution is the number of squares/dots/pixels per inch in a raster image. It is often measured in dpi (dots per inch) or ppi (pixels per inch). Web images are usually set at 72ppi. This means that there are 72 pixels in one inch, and is considered a low-resolution image.
As talented as we are, Xanthos Graphix can’t do much with this type of image without a lot of time, chocolate chip cookies and work. Our designers much prefer working with images 300 dpi or more.
DIGITIZING FOR EMBROIDERY
Due to the differences in printing with inks and sewing with threads, some designs may need to be adjusted before they can be embroidered. Letters and lines may need to be enlarged or deleted. Gradients may need to be shifted or removed. These changes will be discussed with customers before they are implemented.
SPOT COLOR
The easiest way to think of spot color Is to remember your old color-by-number pictures. In spot-color printing, every color used is another ink and another screen, but you can create tints of these colors to stretch your palette.
An example of this might be if a design contained black, red and gray. This design could be either a two or three-color job. The gray could be gray ink or a tint of black. Tints only get lighter if printed on a white or light surface. Things get really confusing when tints get printed on colored garments. Trust us on this.
FOUR-COLOR PROCESS
Four-color process printing is when only four inks are used and visually combine to create every color in the design. This is the process most color magazines and newspapers use. For an easily seen example of this, look closely at your Sunday funnies. They are usually printed around 120 dpi, so the dots are relatively big.
You may also hear the term CMYK, which stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and blacK. These are the colors used in four-color process printing
Please call us for a quote at (785) 841-4100
