Artwork Guidelines

Digital Artwork Requirements

We pride ourselves on consistently producing high quality large-format graphics that often exceed our customers’ expectations. In an effort to avoid project delays and potential extra costs, Display Dynamics has created these artwork requirements to assist you in preparing and providing us with digital files that meet necessary criteria. Following these guidelines will help ensure that your projects are not only completed accurately, but on time as well.

Quick-Start Guide

Preferred design applications: Adobe Illustrator® and Adobe Photoshop®
Download or request an artwork template from your Account Executive (Illustrator® and PDF format only)
Specify Pantone® Solid Coated colour swatches in your vector-based artwork
Do not convert Pantones® to CMYK or RGB
Resolution of raster images must be 100dpi (100ppi) at 100% final output size
Convert all fonts to outlines/curves
Include a PDF or hardcopy proof of your final layout

Supported Transfer Media

WeTransfer (Upload your files)
CD-ROM / DVD-ROM
USB Stick
Email (20MB or less)

Fonts

Avoid most font problems by converting your text to outlines/curves
In some cases, we require that your text remain editable in order to perform text changes or corrections. In such instances where this is necessary, be sure to submit all PostScript, TrueType and/or OpenType fonts used in your layout.

Colour Matching

Raster images and/or artwork layouts should be saved in CMYK colour mode.
When designing in Illustrator®, choose swatches from the Pantone® Solid Coated colour library. Artwork elements using these swatches will be colour matched to a Pantone® Solid Coated Formula Guide.
If specifying Pantone® Solid Coated colour swatches in Photoshop®, be sure to indicate the Pantone® swatch numbers/names on a hardcopy proof of your artwork.
A good way to ensure desired colour output is to provide colour-correct hard copy materials that can be used as references for matching specific colours. This is particularly useful when you would like to ensure that your final display colours match other marketing materials such as business cards, brochures, etc.

Supported Software:

Adobe Illustrator® is our most preferred file format for supplying layouts and vector artwork with maximum compatibility and flexibility. Template files are available for most display systems should you use this format.

If possible, specify Pantone® Solid Coated colour swatches. (Important: avoid renaming the Pantone® swatches or converting them to CMYK and/or RGB).
Design your artwork at 10% of final output size ensuring that your linked raster images are at the proper resolution.
Link all raster images in your Illustrator® layout by checking the 'Link' box when placing an image. Ensure that all linked images are included with your artwork submission. (Note: submitting your Illustrator® layout with embedded raster images limits our ability to perform colour corrections on these particular images within your file).

Adobe Photoshop® is the preferred application for supplying high resolution raster images. Please refer to our PDF product templates in order to determine your canvas size, bleed areas, etc.

Files must be prepared at a resolution of 100dpi (110ppi) at 100% final output size. If you are working with a template scaled down to 10% final size, the resulting document resolution would be 1000dpi (1000ppi).
Submit your completed Photoshop® layout as a flattened TIFF file in RGB or CMYK colour modes.
We generally run test prints to ensure that the colours in your layout print as close as possible to the colours you expect to see. For greater control over the final colour output, it is highly recommended that you supply the layered PSD version of your layout in addition to the flattened TIFF file.
To avoid the potential of pixelated text, add text elements in a vector-based layout program such as Adobe Illustrator®. If text must be placed in Photoshop®, ensure that all text has been rasterized if you are submitting a layered PSD file. (Note: it is recommended that text-heavy layouts be created in Illustrator®).

We strongly suggest that you create your artwork in Adobe Illustrator® or Adobe Photoshop® to ensure the best results and quickest turnaround. Should you choose to design your artwork using Adobe InDesign®, QuarkXPress® or CorelDraw®, it is preferred that you convert all fonts to outlines/curves and supply your final layout as an exported EPS file. Should you require further direction on submitting these file formats, please contact our design department Email Address - Design for assistance.

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