Rolex Plastics printshop and bindery
Rolex Plastics


Preparing Artwork


Although we prefer to work in Mac software, we can accept IBM formatted disks, as long as the documents fall within our software parameters.

Files supplied on disk must include the following information and resources:

LOGOS*

Company logos received via internet sources (usually as GIFs or JPEGs) are for the most part set at a monitor resolution of 72 dpi. This low resolution is unacceptable in the print industry. Screened artwork must be no less than 300 dpi, while B & W line art must be no less than 600 dpi for ultimate print quality. Screened logos are not recommended for screen printing (see below).

File Name - Creator Application Name*

File Format i.e. TIFF, EPS, PICT Composite Hard Copy Hard Copy of all Separations List of all Fonts Used Screen & Printer Fonts Used (Non PostScript fonts should be converted to outlines) All Imported Graphics

*Without these we cannot assure that your job will be printed correctly

FONTS

f a variety of fonts is used in your file, please convert all text to outlines in order to avoid any possible typeface conflicts.

SCREENS

42 lpi(lpi - lines per inch) - 65 lpi (screen angle of 22.5 degrees) Screens higher than 65 lpi will fit in and start to become a solid (lines should be no less than 1/2 point). The coarser screens (42 lpi) are used primarily on binders and clipboards due to the nature of the material being printed upon. Please call us for more details. Please indicate percentages and screen frequencies on hard copy.

TRAPPING

Due to the opaque nature of screen printing, a large trap is possible, a minimum of 2 pt trap is desirable. In many cases overprinting (particularly dark over light) can eliminate the need for trapping and reduce registration problems. All multicolour artwork must have registration and trim marks. One-colour art requires only trim marks set at the correct finished size.

BLEEDS

When a colour extends to the edge of the artwork a bleed (stretching the colour beyond the cropmarks by at least 1/8 inches) is necessary to ensure that when the art is trimmed the colour goes completely to the edge.

FILM

Final film for Screen Printing should be supplied as: film positive, right reading, emulsion up.

LAYOUTS

All art should be set up in Illustrator or CorelDraw to Rolex's specifications particular to the job (i.e. number up, gutters, positioning, etc.) All artwork must have cropmarks. Most often this requires manual placement.

Programs used Mac & PC platforms:

QuarkXpress 6
PageMaker 7
InDesign CS
Illustrator CS
Photoshop CS
Freehand 9
CorelDraw (9.0)
Microsoft Word
Adobe Acrobat

GRAPHICS TAGS

EPS or PDF file is best,

Uncompressed TIFFs

are the second best choice.