This is a list of requirements and preferred file types for printing at Skink Ink. See our discussion of color spaces and color profiles to help in preparing files for printing
General: Add borders
We print full bleed unless otherwise instructed, this means that if you want a border then please add it to your file but be aware that it will add to the cost of the print as we charge for the sheet size used and not just the image area.
General: Do not gang up images onto a sheet, add crop marks or add a bleed
We will handle all printing marks and layout. We trim by hand so no additional image area is required.
General: Dimensions and resolution 300dpi at 100% scale
File dimensions must be the same as the final print size. So for example; if you want a 12″ x 18″ print then the dimensions in the file should be 12″ x 18″. For photoshop files the resolution decreases in equal proportion to any increase in the dimensions, so when resizing the file avoid resampling to preserve the quality but keep the resolution above a minimum of 150dpi.
If the resolution falls below 150 dpi then stop enlarging. That is as big as the image will go. However if it is critical that you have larger print talk to us. There are things that can be done depending on the qualities of the file but don’t just “add” resolution as you are degrading the print quality of the file and this is called “upresing”. There is a discussion of it here.
Color space: RGB preferred
All of our printers have inks with far more colours than just Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black(K). So you lose the benefit of those extra colors when you use the CMYK color space. See this page for a full discusson of the differences between RGB and CMYK colour spaces
Color Profile: “Adobe RGB (1998)” is preferred.
“sRGB” or whatever RGB profile you are happy with will also work but you again lose quality with a narrow gamut like that defined by sRGB. If in doubt, don’t change the profile.
Convert all fonts to outlines
We frequently have to open files to check the quality. If we have to change something and the fonts are unavailable this means that the text will reflow and you will not get the results you expect.
Adobe Photoshop
—Resolution: 300 dpi for most images. 150 dpi is acceptable especially for anything above 36″.
—Flatten layers and rasterize text.
—File type: TIFF or non compressed JPEG are preferred. RAW will not work as we do not edit files for printing.
—You may use any of the compression options in Photoshop to reduce file size except JPEG. For JPEG please do NOT allow the file to be compressed as it seriously damages the quality of the information. JPEG is ‘lossy’—only ever use ‘lossless’ forms of compression.
Adobe Illustrator and InDesign
—Save or export as .pdf to include fonts files and images before you send the file.
—Use the pre-set “High Quality Print” for RGB files and “Press Quality” for CMYK.
—If setting up a new file do so in RGB—if it is already CMYK, don’t convert it.
—Convert text to outlines.
All Other Files Convert to Acrobat Pdf
—Use the Acrobat preset “High Quality Print”. (“Press quality” will convert to a CMYK file.)
—Please do not add a bleed or crop marks, we will do this when we print.
For our Fast Track discounts we require that the file is set up correctly. So that we do not have to adjust it in anyway. Please follow this list of requirements before submitting your image file to qualify for our 15% Fast Track discount.
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