Printing Tips & Resources

Print File Setup

File Format

PDF (highly preferred), EPS, TIF, AI, PSD, PNG, JPG 

Bleed

1/8″ (.125) on all sides in most cases when your file is sized appropriately

Safety Margins / caution Zone

Important content (text, images, etc.) should be at least 1/8″ inside the trim line on all sides in most cases.

Fonts

Please outline all fonts or provide all font files. On most occasions, sending your file as a pdf solves issues on that front.

Color

In most cases, CMYK will be the color mode that your project will be printed since digital presses typically only use Cyan/Magenta/Yellow/Black ink. 

There are exceptions.

The RGB color mode is primarily used for screens and monitors. It has a much wider color gamut than a CMYK digital press is capable of. For your fine art prints, banners, stickers, canvas prints, etc., our large format machines utilize many more colors of ink and can see the future beyond the CMYK restrictions of a digital press.

Rest assured, we at Orbit Press are cognizant of this factoid, and we can guide you to the vibrance of color that your eyes will respect. Some people want that KAPOW! in color… others are not of that sway. // You would be surprised how many people request small art prints to frame or sell from the large format fine art printer to capture the color truthfully. Ask us if you’d to see a sample of this for yourself~ 

a rainbow of Black

When it comes to black, you may think black is black. Most printing presses utilize a rainbow of black. Each shade of black serves it’s own purpose — from all the colors of inks swirled together as one rich, deep black, to using black ink alone under certain circumstances.

We have samples at bay that you can witness for yourself. This is a weird thing, but it exists. We have a myriad of customers that prefer their art projects printed in grayscale (black and white), but when it comes to certain art, we have slew of people printing black in color.

Rich Black = CMYK at 60/40/40/100

Grayscale = CMYK at 0/0/0/100

Resolution

All rasterized (bitmap) images must be at least 300 dpi when sized correctly. However, 400 dpi for photo images and 1200 dpi for text and line art is highly recommended.

FAQs