ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE PRINTING ARTWORK GUIDE BOOK ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CREATING ARTWORK FOR PRINT TOGETHER. contents pg3. Choose a Design application pg4. Artwork requirements pg5. Creating PRINT-READY artwork in LAYOUT pg6. Creating PRINT-READY artwork in indesign pg7. Creating PRINT-READY artwork in Illustrator pg8. Creating PRINT-READY artwork in Photoshop pg9. Creating PRINT-READY artwork in canva pg10. Creating PRINT-READY artwork in crello pg11. colour Choose a Design application Below is an outline of five applications that can be used to create artwork ready for print. In this document we explain how to set up artwork and output press ready PDF files in all of them. Lets first take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of each. PROFESSIONAL DESKTOP applications Adobe InDesign Adobe Illustrator Adobe Photoshop Adobe InDesign is mainly used by Adobe Illustrator is more often used to Adobe Photoshop is mostly designed professional graphic designers to design create vector based logos and graphics, to manipulate images. It can be used material for print from scratch. It is the however is often also used by graphic to create documents for print, however most comprehensive application, but designers and illustrators to create we do not recommend this as the best requires design knowledge. artwork for printing. option. Advantages: Advantages: Advantages: - The most comprehensive design tool - Vector based graphics are best for - It can be used to enhance images and for desktop publishing printing also add text in one application. - Best quality PDF output for print. - Best quality PDF output for print. Disadvantages: Disadvantages: Disadvantages: - Not really suitable for complete - Not really suitable for complete - Not really suitable for complete beginners. It takes time to learn beginners. It takes time to learn beginners. It takes time to learn. - Not as easy to output files for printing - It isn’t free to use. It needs to be - It isn’t free to use. - It isn’t free to use. purchased on a monthly plan. For more details about purchasing Adobe software visit: www.adobe.com/au/creativecloud/plans.html EASY TO USE ONLINE DESIGN template software Layout Canva Crello Layout is a free online application Canva is one of the most well known Crello is very similar to Canva but with fewer created by PrintTogether specifically for online design tools. It has thousands bells and whistles. creating artwork ready to print. of pre-designed templates that can be Advantages: modified to create artwork for print. Advantages: - Free basic plan Advantages: - Free to use - Easy to use - Free basic plan - Easy to use - Files can be resized at no extra cost - Easy to use - Files can be resized at no extra cost - Lots of pre-designed templates and text - A growing number of pre-made - Thousands of pre-designed templates blocks to choose from and modify templates to choice from or create your - Access to free and paid library images, - Access to free and paid library images, icons own icons and graphics and graphics. - Access to free and paid library images, - Files can be output as print-ready PDFs Disadvantages: icons and graphics with bleed and crop lines. See page 9 - US size templates (however they can be for more details. - Files can be output as print-ready PDFs resized) with bleed and crop lines. See page 5 Disadvantages: - Files can be output as print quality PDFs but for more details. - Mostly US size templates they do not have bleed and crop lines. See - Professional looking templates - Templates can look a little generic page 10 for more details on how we suggest setting up files for print. Disadvantages: - Free version doesn’t let you resize - Quality of PDF output not as good as Adobe - Not as many features as other designs. You need to upgrade to applications. applications. More developments are monthly plan to do this or do 30 day being added. free trial www.crello.com - Quality of PDF output not as good as www.layoutcreator.com.au Adobe applications. www.canva.com Artwork requirements For best printing results we require artwork to be supplied as press ready PDF files with bleed and crop lines. Not sure what this means? Lets take a look in a little more detail. 1 artboard 2 Bleed 3 Text safe area 4 Crop lines When designing for print, Bleed is the area outside Important information Crop lines are little black the artboard is the area the artboard. When such as text and logos lines that are added by that your design fills. designing for print, any shouldn’t go beyond this some design applications artwork elements such as area. when outputting a PDF When desiging in Adobe background colours that for print. They indicate the InDesign, Adobe Illustrator go all the way to the edge We advise leaving a gap edge of the artboard and or online your artboard of a page need to extend of at least 5mm from the where items need to be should be set to the actual over the artboard into the edge of the page and the trimmed. dimensions of your item. bleed area. text safe area on small items such as business In Adobe InDesign they When designing in Adobe This is so that we have cards and around 10mm are added when exporting Photoshop we suggest print either side of the on bigger items such as a PDF. See page 6 for making the artboard blade when we trim, posters and booklets. details. In Adobe Illustrator bigger than the actual size otherwise you can end up they are added when of your item to manually with a non-printed paper If text is too close to the saving as a PDF. See page create bleed. line up the edge of your edge of the page it looks 7 for details. items. wrong once trimmed and We explain how to set up runs the risk of being In Layout, Canva the artboard in each of Artwork needs to extend trimmed off. and Crello they are the above applications into bleed by at least 3mm automatically added when throughout this guide. for flat items (such as cards you export or download and flyers) and 5mm for your file in the ‘Press booklets. Extra is needed Ready PDF’ format. for booklets to allow for creep as pages wrap around each other. 4 2 1 3 The blue artwork above extends beyond the artboard into bleed. Note: Crop lines cannot This is how to set up your artwork in Adobe InDesign and Adobe be added in Adobe Illustrator. Photoshop. See page 10 Fast for details. turnarounds Why wait days to get a print quote when you can get instant prices online! Get items printed and delivered in just a few days. Check our weekly print schedules online when placing orders. www.printtogether.com.au 3 In the above example the text is well within the text safe area. When designing in Layout, Canva or Crello extended elements do Fast not show in the bleed area unless turnarounds you choose to display bleed and Why waitFast days to get a print quote when you can get instant prices online! Getturnarounds items printed and guides. delivered in just a few days. Check Why wait days to get a print quote our weekly print schedules online when you can get instant prices when placing orders. online! Get items printed and delivered in just a few days. Check www.printtogether.com.auour weekly print schedules online Photoshop does not support when placing orders. bleed. We suggest manually www.printtogether.com.au creating your artboard bigger in these applications. See page 10 for 8 In the above example the text is more details. outside of the text safe area and too close to the edge. Creating Print-ready artwork in LAYOUT CREATING ARTWORK OUTPUT PDF You can start creating artwork for printing Once you have finished designing your Once you have finished designing your in Layout by either selecting ‘Free item in Layout you are ready to create a item you are ready to create a print-ready design templates’ in the top menu of the print-ready PDF. There are just a couple PDF. First save your design. Then click PrintTogether website or by visiting of steps you need to check first. ‘Export to Print’. This will open an export www.layoutcreator.com.au 1. Make sure you have used high-quality window, again click export to print. In order to upload logos and images and images and logos. If they look blurry save designs you first need to login or on screen they will look blurry once setup a free account. You can login with printed! your email and a PrintTogether reference Make sure that you have included number or set a new password. 2. enough bleed. To do this click show guides which will show the bleed area outside of the artboard. Now make sure any elements that go all the way to the edge stretch past the edge of the artboard and into the bleed area. This shows the black background stretching 3 past the edge into bleed. The darker grey shows the print that will be trimmed off. You will then be taken back to the PrintTogether website to see a preview of your design and to select all your printing specifications and process your Select a product and browse through the order. Your design will automatically templates to find one that you like the be saved as a press ready PDF in the look of (or design from scratch). Once process and sent to us.