
Artwork
Requirements: Full-Color Resin-Printed Atlas Duraplates™
To qualify
for our order discount you must use the artwork template corresponding
to the item number you are ordering, and follow the requirements below.
Basic requirements
- Process-color bitmap files must be placed within
our vector art template. You can create
your graphics and lettering partially or entirely in Photoshop
or other similar applications if you like, but such artwork
needs to then be imported, positioned, and cropped on our
template as it is intended to print. All common placed
bitmaps files are fine — JPG, GIF, PNG, TIF, BMP,
PSD, etc.
Do not embed any bitmap
files in the document. Place them as linked files instead,
and send them to us as separate companion files along with
the .ai or .eps layout file. (This is in case we need to adjust anything for successful output, which is not unusual.)
- Vector artwork should be drawn cleanly enough to
color-separate and trap properly. We will do any trapping of artwork required on this end, but
vector paths must be executed professionally enough that they
do not complicate color separation or trapping. This means
properly closed paths, without stray points or other litter
in the form of unnecessary or leftover non-printing “junk” paths,
and so forth. If artwork
is autotraced, take a certain amount of care when setting
up the parameters for the automated trace to ensure a decent
result, or else redraw the artwork manually. Autotraced artwork
done as a quick-and-dirty “shortcut” may be more
trouble than it is worth if the file needs trapped. If we
need to rebuild or rework poorly built or poorly autotraced
files or otherwise haphazardly constructed pathwork, it is unlikely we will be able to give you the
discount. (Though sometimes partial credit may be given, depending on the time saved.)
- Standard reproducible tint range is a 10–15% highlight
dot and 85% shadow dot. These
apply individually to each process-color plate (cyan 15–85%,
magenta 10–85%, yellow 10–85%, and
black 10–85%).
Above 85%, tints will start going solid, completely
so before 90%. As tints go below the minimum highlight
dot they will start to drop out, completely so by the time
a 5% overshoot is reached. This reproducible tint range
of 10–15%
to 85% is based on outputting artwork at 400x400dpi with
a 60-line halftone screen. While it is not mandatory for the discount to make sure your artwork is satisfactorily reproducible
within this range, we strongly recommend you do, or
you might not be happy with the results if critical art
elements fall outside it, and we cannot be held liable.
- Convert all fonts to outlines or pixels. The
former applies to fonts used in Illustrator or other vector
art programs, the latter to fonts typeset with Photoshop. It’s
much better to create type as vectors for printing purposes.
If lettering has been submitted as “live” fonts that aren’t available in our own library, we may need to re-typeset or redraw the lettering as vector art, with a reduction or elimination of the order discount.
Note: If you are laying out variable-data plates with flat alphanumeric output (item #40067), go ahead and convert your dummy entry for the large alphanumeric font to outlines. On our end, we will use that as the positioning guide for setting the location of the database-driven variable-data output field.
- Mounting holes should not punch through
critical lettering or artwork. Or if they
do and it doesn’t matter to you, you must notify
us in advance, so we don’t spend time attempting
to contact you about the issue or need to fix any problems
on our end. Mounting holes are shown
in our .eps file templates to aid in laying out
artwork.
- Save/export final file in Adobe Illustrator .ai
or .eps format, any version through CC (Creative Cloud). Windows
or Macintosh does not matter, since Adobe graphic formats
are cross-platform-compatible. Most other vector artwork
applications, such as CorelDraw, can save/
export files
to either Adobe .ai or .eps format.
- Discount may be reduced or pro-rated for
anything other than minor adjustments that we need
to make to your file. That said, we do welcome any work you can do on your end to help. Even if you do not qualify for the full discount, we will extend partial
credit depending on the amount of time saved. If you
don’t
understand one of the guidelines above, don’t hesitate to contact us — we’re
glad to answer questions, since that makes
things easier for everyone.
- Don’t worry about trapping the
file. We’ll handle any trapping required on our end. There can be more than one way to trap artwork depending on the situation, and different production lines may require different amounts of trapping. Our work is easier if we get an untrapped file from you that doesn’t contain pre-trapped objects we might need to rework or “undo.” (Trapping is not something usually taught as a design skill anyway, and most designers dislike doing it even if they know how, so this should be a “win/win” on both sides.)
Guidelines for best reproduction
and visibility at a distance
- To ensure successful reproduction, keep details to at least 1-point in thickness. This
applies to both printed ink and to any small unprinted interstices between
inked areas (often called “negative space”). Details slightly
smaller will often print okay, say 0.75-point, but smaller than that usually
risks dropouts in the case of inked areas, or else filling in of negative
space. Industrial-resin printing (or screen-printing, for that matter) cannot
resolve details as fine as commercial offset printing. Keep this in mind
when you are repurposing artwork originally desiged for printing on paper
or any artwork that is highly detailed.
- For best visibility at a distance, target 1-point thickness or above. Details such as outlines and drop shadows around lettering, for instance (a very common example), that can be easily perceived when holding the product in your hand may be imperceptible once beyond 10 feet away, unless thickened up.
Anything you want to be perceivable at any distance should be at least 1-point thick, and that minimum applies mainly to details in graphic elements, rather than lettering. With lettering, any "extras" such as outlines or drop shadows should be a bare minimum of 2 to 3 points thick on the smallest lettering, on up to 4, 5, or 6 points, even 8 or 10 points on the largest lettering. If the counters (inside spaces) of lettering get filled up completely by drop shadows of such size, they will cause more problems than they are worth in terms of reduced legibility, and would be better eliminated. Either that or find a typeface with more open, spacious counters to accommodate thicker drop shadows without interfering with legibility.
- If you are not sure about how well something will work when viewed on a license plate from some distance, ask and we’ll be happy to advise you based on our experience. A happy customer makes doing business more fun and is our best advertisement too.
- Placed bitmap files should be 300dpi or higher
at actual output size. For non-photographic images
that should have clean/hard edges, 600dpi is strongly recommended.
We are
not responsible for poorly appearing printed output due to
low-resolution images, such as those intended
originally for use on websites at 72dpi, or other similar
images.
- Use color swatches consistently. While not critical with
process-color like it is with spot-color art, when
color swatches are defined it’s a good idea and always helpful to
apply them consistently. Don’t,
for example, use a defined color swatch for some red objects but apply an undefined
red color to other red objects. Although we vet submitted files to catch oversights
like this that could otherwise sometimes result in a mismatch between slightly
different colors that should instead match, our job is easier if you prep files
properly on your end.
- Background colors. Plates are printed on a white
reflective background. Background
colors other than white are printed with a flood of colored ink on the
reflective white background. For black plates, resin-black is totally
opaque and looks excellent when used as a background color — deep-black
and glossy enough to create the appearance of a high-grade enamel-coated
black plate surface, an approach
we regularly use. Other colors are similarly
rich with the same high gloss.
- Bleeds. Plates are typically printed subject to
a 3/16” outer
white margin, however bleeds can be printed in many circumstances.
Solid background colors can be printed full-bleed without issues. If
care is taken in laying out artwork properly, non-solid backgrounds
can also be printed full-bleed, but must be seamlessly tiled in the
vertical direction. This is because plates are printed on continuous
roll-fed reflective sheeting in the top-to-bottom direction, butting
exactly end to end. Once printed, the rolled sheeting is automatically
laminated onto rolled aluminum as both are fed through a conveyor apparatus,
and then plates are die-cut from there. Since slight variances in positioning
can occur during die-cutting, background artwork must
be tiled vertically with no visible discontinuity
where the artwork pattern butts itself and repeats, so as to preclude
the possibility of a hitch in the art showing near the top or bottom
plate edges.
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