BLUE STREAK ORDERING
ART SPECIFICATIONS
1512 SHOL AR AVENUE
C H AT TA N O O G A , T N 3 7 4 0 6
o: 800.251.7262
f: 423.697.0810
w: vincentprinting.com
PDF FILE REQUIREMENTS
- Submit only a single-page print ready PDF with bleed following common protocols
- Use standard page layout program such as InDesign or Illustrator
- Properly configure document size and bleed amounts
- The document size is the size of the board
(i.e. 14 x 48, 10.5 x 36, 10.416 x 22.667, etc...)
- If the board requires bleed, the correct amount of bleed is specified
in the document setup (6 inch requirement = 0.5 inches in document
setup, 8 inches = .667, etc...)
- Preserve as much vector data as possible
- Export a PDF out of InDesign, or Save As a PDF out of Illustrator
- Build document at proper scale
- 1/12 scale (1 inch = 1 foot) for outdoor products
- 1/4 scale (3 inches = 1 foot) for POP and Transit products
- Build document and all elements in CMYK colorspace
- Makes solid blacks using rich black recipe of 40C 40M 40Y 100K
- Don't use any other colorspace to define colors such as HSL or Gray (K only)
- Convert spot colors to process
- Make all raster elements 300 dpi at scale
- OK to use higher resolution, but not lower
- Don't downsample images
- Use lossless or no compression
- Follow common document protocols
- Outline all fonts
- Set solid whites to knockout, solid blacks to overprint
InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop templates for most common board sizes are available.
BLUE STREAK ORDERING
ART SPECIFICATIONS
1512 SHOL AR AVENUE
C H AT TA N O O G A , T N 3 7 4 0 6
o: 800.251.7262
f: 423.697.0810
w: vincentprinting.com
PSD, TIFF, JPG FILE REQUIREMENTS
- Submit only a single-page document which includes bleed
- Use Photoshop to create/assemble your art
- Properly configure document size and bleed amounts
- The document size is the size of the board plus required bleed
(i.e. 14 x 48 plus 6 inches of bleed would be 15 x 49)
- If the board requires bleed, the file MUST include AT LEAST the
required amount of bleed. It can include more, but NOT less
- Flatten layers and Save as PSD, TIFF, or JPEG
- TIFF should use compression
- JPG should use compression, highest quality settings
- Build document at proper scale
- 1/12 scale (1 inch = 1 foot) for outdoor products
- 1/4 scale (3 inches = 1 foot) for indoor products
- Build document and all elements in CMYK colorspace
- Makes solid blacks using rich black recipe of 40C 40M 40Y 100K
- Don't use any other colorspace to define colors such as HSL or Gray (K only)
- Convert spot colors to process
- Make all elements 300 dpi at scale
- OK to use higher resolution, but not lower
- Don't downsample images
- Use lossless or no compression
- Follow common document protocols
- Outline all fonts
- Set solid whites to knockout, solid blacks to overprint
Sorry, no other file formats will be accepted
InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop templates for most common board sizes are available.
BLUE STREAK ORDERING
ART SPECIFICATIONS
1512 SHOL AR AVENUE
C H AT TA N O O G A , T N 3 7 4 0 6
o: 800.251.7262
f: 423.697.0810
w: vincentprinting.com
TOP 5 MISTAKES WHEN UPLOADING ART
Following these specifications will ensure files uploaded for Blue Streak processing
will proof and print exactly as expected in the minimum amount of time.
- Uploading a folder with an InDesign or Illustrator file and sub-folders with links and fonts.
- While this is a preferred method for submitting a job for manual prepress
processing, this will not work for Blue Streak processing and will need manual
correction, requiring additional time.
- Uploading a file without bleed
- The system assumes the proper amount of bleed is included in the file.
If it is not, the file will not be correct, and will need manual correction,
requiring additional time.
- Uploading a file that is not CMYK
- This will cause undesired color shifts or complete color dropouts.
Correcting this requires manual intervention and will take additional time.
- Uploading a file that is built at too small a scale, too low a resolution, or not in
correct proportion
- This can cause severe pixellation of elements or the entire image in the case
of too small a scale or too low a resolution being used, and/or compression/
expansion distortion (squeezing or stretching) of the image in the case of
incorrect proportion being used. Fixing these issues usually requires submission
of new art and manual processing, causing delays of up to several days.
- Uploading a file that doesn't use common protocols
- If solid white elements are set to overprint they may disappear when the file
goes to print. Depending on the size of the element this may be easy to
overlook in the proofing stage. If blacks are not set to overprint, or the rich
black recipe is not used, black elements may appear muddy or gray. This is
also easy to miss in the proofing stage. If these issues are missed in the
proofing stage and the product is printed and shipped, these problems may
not be discovered until the installation stage. In that case, fixing these issues
not only take a lot of time, but also incur considerable economic penalties
as well.