General Artwork Information

Trapping:

The overlapping of color, called trapping, is used to avoid areas of misregistration (empty space between colors that should be touching). In screen printing, it is extremely important to use this technique! There will always be a slight variable shift in color where two or more colors intersect. If your file has not been trapped, we must trap it. The amount of trap is in relation to the size of art, material and the colors chosen.

 

Bleeds and Cutting Margins:

Bleeds must be a minimum of 1/8" (.125 inches) beyond the intended cut line. We may not be able to alter bleeds on 4-color process work. Any scanned or continuous tone art must have full bleed added prior to submitting your art. Enlarging the base file, or undersizing the product to compensate for a lack of bleed is usually not acceptable.

Likewise, any elements not intended to bleed must be held back a relative distance from the cut edge. The size and product determine the margin needed. Contact us for further direction if you're unsure.

 

Pro-Cut Information:

• All text must be at least 1/4" (.25 inches) tall.
• Space between characters and elements must be at least .045 inches.
• Main strokes, line weights or art elements should be a minimum of .0625 inches.
• Pro-cuts should be measured according to the active material area being used.
• Additional costs are applied to orders over 18 picks (see diagram).

 

Font Information:

• Fonts must be converted to paths or outlines prior to artwork submission. Failure to do so may result in fonts dropping or our artists choosing our closest font.
• We now offer the Adobe Font Library as our main source and reference for fonts. Previously ordered decals will remain the same, but changes to repeat orders may need slight font adjustments.
• Minimum common font sizes that can be chosen as a quick reference are:

MINIMUM FONT SIZES:
Sans Serif: All Caps	Serif: All Caps
Positive: 4 pt Bold	Positive: 6-8 pt Bold
Reverse: 6 pt Bold	Reverse: 10-12 pt Bold