The following notes give general guidance but it is best and most important, before embarking on a printing project, to contact the printer first.

We are pleased to print from customers' own files preferably presented in good quality pdf (Adobe Reader and Acrobat files) format which minimises any inadvertent alterations between computers both Applemac and PC. We do our main artwork and design work on PC with Coreldraw. We also have Applemac facilities with InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop CS2 etc. but do not specifically specialise in these. We appreciate that many customers may only have access to Microsoft Word and this may be suitable for office printing of letters etc but with respect to its many and varied features it does not always offer facilities for professional printing such as cutting marks, colour, bleed and image placement for example so there may well be tidying up and adjustments that should be allowed for in pricing.

Colour frankly can be a headache as we all seem to see and perceive differently. This is further complicated in that Scanners, Computer Monitors, and Printing Presses (Litho, Digital and Inkjet etc) all use colour in different forms - and paper/card can also cause a difference so we do not pretend that in every case we can match very stringent colour specifications - if you want deadly accurate matching we will not offer to help - what we will do for general requirements is offer a proof prior to print run (digital printing only) - proofs may or may not be chargeable depending on the application.

We can scan and print up to A3 size (420mm x 297mm) from existing hard copies and also print from good quality digital files. Much of that stated in the above two paragraphs are relevant - the better the original the better chance of good reproduction. We do add however that quality will be hi def laser or can be inkjet (where practical) but whilst most results are perfectly acceptable and of commercial quality we do not specialise in extremely accurate colour reproduction.

POINTS TO REMEMBER

We encourage customers to prepare their own artwork if they wish, particularly if they have an inspired design idea which would be difficult to explain to someone else to reproduce.

We repeat :The golden rule please is to contact the printer before you embark on your project.

This way we can make sure that it is suitable for printing without unnecessary extra costs having to convert your file to obtain a satisfactory printing result. Generally please consider:

a) As colours that appear on your computer screen (even if it is accurately colour calibrated) are generated differently to most printing and scanning equipment - allowances and tolerances have to be made to reproduce colour accurately or as very near as possible on paper. Please refer to the section above - COLOUR

b) Large solid areas of colour in many cases will cost more (customers will be familiar that their own office inkjet and lasers that can cost up to £1 per sheet (!!) to print an A4 sheet full of solid colour) - We Printers have to buy ink too!

Also please remember that when images extend to the edge of the page extra planning, design, set up and trimming will add to the cost.

c) Remember it can be cheaper to print in one colour than full colour and in many cases can be very cost and visually effective - does that charity jumble sale flyer really have to be in expensive full colour? - Why not try a different colour paper for extra effect.

d) Images that finish on the edge of the paper should have a few millimeters "bleed" to allow for guillotine cutting tolerances. Please remember also to provide cutting marks so we know the exact size and position of the finished print.

e) Before presenting a Word or Publisher file especially please definitely do talk to us first - as files can contain hidden formatting codes which can play havoc with our printing software! Also please remember to set the correct page size first if you want an A5 leaflet please do not send your work in Letter page size!!

f) Please become familiar with the internationally recognised "pdf" format - in other words when you have finished your work - in whatever software you have chosen - convert the file to pdf format to send to the printer. This ensures, providing it is done with care, that the printer receives exactly what you intend - in other words the image position stays the same, fonts are reproduced correctly, and what you see is what you get - this prevents the problem by many software packages that files can alter between computers even using the same software on each.

Many programs for making pdf files are available free or inexpensively on the Internet - we can advise.

g) If you are using common fonts such as Times, Baskerville, Arial etc don’t worry but for special fonts do embed them in your pdf file or send them with your file - we do have a few thousand fonts but cannot possibly have every one.

h) Files can be sent as an email attachment (preferably) or sent or brought on CD or memory stick.