Print-Ready Artwork Specifications

Some general guidelines to help you prepare files for printing

Here are our general print specifications and guidelines. Your project may have special requirements that differ from below. Please refer to your written quote for further information. It is imperative that your files are set up correctly, otherwise, we may not be able to print your files or there may be printing errors or omissions.

If you require any assistance, please contact us as we are happy to help. If you’re unsure if your artwork is suitable for printing, please send it to us and we will check it for you free of charge.

Signage Printing Specifications

Please supply artwork as a press-ready PDF in a single document per item. If your job has multiple-sized prints or types of printing generally these are best supplied in separate PDFs (please get in touch to confirm for specific jobs).
Note that some signage items will have specific templates to use – these include tablecloths, windflags, marquees.
Artwork should be actual size plus 5mm bleed on all sides for documents. Please add 20mm bleed for pull-up banners. Please ensure colour/images on edge of page bleed all the way into the bleed zone. Large signs and banners (more than 5 metres) can be scaled down as required to fit in artboard.
Please include crop/trim marks.
All colours should be CMYK unless otherwise advised in your quote. We can auto-convert RGB colour to CMYK but cannot accept responsibility for any colour variance.
Large black areas should be true black. For thick signage stocks use 60/50/50/100 (C/M/Y/K).
All fonts should be embedded or converted to outlines.
Flatten all transparency effects.
Overprints must be set correctly for desired result.
Embed images and ensure all images are at least 150 DPI at actual size.
Safe zone – borders and text should be at least 5mm from edges as 1-2mm variations may occur when trimming or cutting.
Please ensure your artwork matches your order specifications.

Document Printing Specifications

Please supply artwork as a press-ready PDF in a single document per item. If your job has multiple-sized prints or types of printing generally these are best supplied in separate PDFs (please get in touch to confirm for specific jobs).
Booklets should be laid out as pages (rather than spreads). 2-page business cards should be supplied as 2-page PDF – and a separate PDF for each kind if printing more than 1 kind.
Artwork should be actual size plus 3mm bleed on all sides for documents; 5mm bleed for booklets. Please ensure colour/images on edge of page bleed all the way into the bleed zone.
Please include crop/trim marks.
All colours should be CMYK unless otherwise advised in your quote. We can auto-convert RGB colour to CMYK but cannot accept responsibility for any colour variance. If you require colour matching, please get in touch to discuss your requirements.
Please let us know in advance if you require colour matching, Pantone colours, speciality colours (eg. metallic gold), or other special finishes such as embossing, Spot UV, Scodix or foil. We can provide specific setup instructions for these.
Large black areas should be true black. Generally, our preferred values are 40/30/30/100 (C/M/Y/K). For light stocks we recommend 30/0/0/100. Heavier stocks you can use up to 60/50/50/100.
Total Ink Coverage should not exceed 300% as a maximum (some lighter stocks may require less ink coverage).
All fonts should be embedded or converted to outlines.
Flatten all transparency effects.
Overprints must be set correctly for desired result.
We recommend all images are 300 DPI at actual size. Embed images.
Safe zone – borders and text should be at least 3mm from edges as 1-2mm variations may occur when trimming.
Please ensure your artwork matches your order specifications.

Speciality Printing Specifications

Spot UV

All Spot UV elements should be supplied on a seperate page of the print file
Set all of the Spot UV elements as a spot colour named ‘Spot UV’
The Spot UV page should match the other artwork pages exactly (size, orientation, crop marks, position of elements, etc.)
Ensure all Spot UV elements are outlined and set to ‘overprint fill’.
Ensure all Spot UV layers are set to ‘print’.
Avoid applying Spot UV over the top of thin lines, small text or finely detailed artwork.
Spot UV business card setup:
- For Spot UV business cards, we require a 3 Page PDF:
- Page 1 will be the side of the business card that requires the Spot UV.
- Page 2 will be the Reverse side of the Card
- Page 3 will be the Spot UV page (with all elements setup as a spot colour marked ‘Spot UV’)
- Spot UV can be applied to one side of the business card only.

Dielines (diecutting and kiss-cut)

For dieline setup, we recommend sending us your print-ready artwork or working file and we will set up the dieline for you (usually for no additional charge).
If you’re supplying a print file with a dieline, please set the dieline as a single solid stoke, aligned on the path (ie not inside or outside of it).
Set up on a separate layer named ‘diecut’ or ‘kiss cut’
Set the dieline as a spot colour named ‘cut’ and set to 100% magenta – ie. 0/100/0/0 (C/M/Y/K).
Ensure the dieline is set to ‘overprint strokes’.
Ensure the dieline layer is set to ‘print’.

Note that there are some limitations to detail of cutting available depending on the substrate being cut, the size, and whether being CNC router cut or laser cut. Please get in touch to discuss requirements first if your cut is anything more detailed than a standard shape or simple outline.

White ink (for printing onto clear vinyl)

For white ink setup, we recommend sending us your print-ready artwork or working files and we will set up the white ink for you (usually for no additional charge).
If you’re supplying a print file with white ink, please set the white ink as a spot colour named ‘white ink’ and set to 100% magenta – ie. 0/100/0/0 (C/M/Y/K).
The white ink should be on a separate layer named ‘white ink’.
Ensure the white ink is set to ‘overprint fill and stroke’.
Ensure the white ink layer is set to ‘print’.
If reverse printing with white ink on clear vinyl (for stickers to be applied on inside of window), ensure artwork is reversed.

If you require any assistance, please contact us, we are happy to help.

We strongly recommend that you use an experienced graphic designer to create your artwork as it is important that print files are set up correctly to avoid unexpected results when printing. Brisbane Custom Signs & Printing accepts no responsibility for errors, omissions or production problems that may arise due to print files not being set up correctly.

Sending your artwork

For files under 5 Mb, please email your artwork to: quotes@brisbanecustomsigns.com.au

For files over 5 Mb, please use a file transfer service such as SendSpace, WeTransfer or Dropbox.