Artwork Issue
'Unfortunately, your files did not pass our quality control.'
When an order is created and PDF files are submitted after checkout and payment, the artwork will pass through our preflight and automated workflows.
As a pay and upload service, your artwork files must be set up according to the ordered print specification.
If your artwork has not been set up correctly you may receive an email highlighting issues with your file(s). These issues will need to be corrected prior to resubmission. This is to ensure your print job is produced as intended and to the highest possible standard.
Some common issues include:
Incorrect Size / Trim Box Dimensions
The most common error relates to incorrect file size or trim dimensions. Please ensure documents are created to ordered size.
Bleed Not Specified
Bleed must be set to allow for movement on press. Put simply bleed is the area of artwork extended out around the edge of the page to avoid white edges should movement occur at the trim stage.
We typically advise 3mm bleed all around (top, Bottom, Inside & Outside).
Safe Area
Similar to Bleed, we recommend a 5-7mm safe area inside the trim area. Any artwork elements you wish to avoid being lost or truncated when artwork is trimmed to size should be contained in the safe area e.g. text or logos.
Low Resolution Images
All images should be supplied to 300 DPI for print. Low-resolution images will look pixellated and low quality. Even if you start with a 300dpi image, make sure that resizing it hasn’t reduced the effective resolution.
Pantone and RGB
Our print production processes are CMYK only and special 5th colours are not commonly held like pantones. Artwork files that contain RGB or Pantones elements may not convert to CMYK as expected and can lead to significant colour shift on press.
Please ensure your documents are set to CMYK colour space and all spot colours are set to process when exporting a PDF for print.
Fonts not Embedded
The smooth output of text is always better when produced from the original font rather than the rasterised text (ie, turned into a bitmap image).
For licensing reasons fonts can’t be freely transferred in an extractable format; embedding fonts in a PDF is a one-way method of making sure all the fonts used on a page are available for reproduction at maximum quality.
If fonts are missing or unavailable, they are typically exchanged for Courier, which will not only ruin a design, but upset designers.
Other
Insufficient Offset of Crop Marks
Crop marks should be set well outside the bleed area to avoid them becoming visible. 10mm Offset is recommended.
Reference