REMINDER: we do have a complete and experienced 
Art Department in-house with several graphic artists on-staff -- we can create the necessary files for you if you aren't sure how to, or don't want to, do this yourself.

Please contact us  if you have any questions!

Bleeds

We do use some strange terms in our industry, one that many folks get confused over is the term "Bleeds"...  as in, "does your artwork bleed off the edge?" -- if you want the background to extend off the edge (versus having a white 1/4" margin on all sides) then the answer you would give us is "yes".

Most novices, and surprisingly many professional designers do not know how to properly layout a job with a Bleed (so don't feel bad, you aren't the only one!)

If you want your image to extend off the final cut sheet, the file must be created with proper "bleeds".  A bleed is the term for overhanging artwork (background color, photos, etc.).  Typically we extend our bleeds out beyond the final trim by no less than 1/4" (absolute minimum of 1/8").  Also we need extra paper to produce these bleeds –  EXAMPLE:  if you want your final piece of paper to be 8.5"x11" we will have to print on larger paper (like 9"x12") which is not as economical as using standard letter size sheets (or, we can go smaller -- making your final piece will be just under 8"x10.5" if trimmed down from a letter size sheet).  Besides making sure that your artwork extends beyond the trim, we will need you to provide "crop marks" showing us where to cut the item. 

Crop Marks: 
If you have a postcard or business cards that you want the image to bleed off the edge once the final trimming is done, we need the crop marks to tell us where to chop into the paper... especially as we will run multiple cards on a sheet (depending on quantity desired, etc.) -- if you want to save our time (and expense) in doing the multi-up layout for you, and desire to do your own PRINT-READY layout, you will have to be sure to allow "trim space" of 1/2" between items. You will also need to start by learning  what size sheet we will be printing onto and how many out we want the file set up for. 

Please refer to the Guides page to get a better idea of what we require.