About Graphics

COLOR		Your RGB and Our CMYK	Standard Ink Colors and their Names   Most Popular Inks   Advanced Color Chart   Pantone Color Chart, PDF Format
IMAGE RESOLUTION			DPI and Image Resolution
IMAGE FILES			TIF, BMP, EPS, PNG, JPG and GIF
PACKAGE AND SUBMIT			Packaging Graphics and Images

We offer complete design, format, and layout services and will work with you to create your project from scratch.  Just give us a sketch of your concept and let us do the rest.  Contact us to discuss our design services.

---

• Colors: Your RGB and Our CMYK
  A PC monitor (almost always) displays pixels (dots) mixed as RGB, red-green-blue. Commercial print work displays pixels mixed as CMYK, Cyan-Magenta-Yellow-Black (called 4-color or process color printing).  If you send us files with images or graphics as RGB, we covert to CMYK to print.  Therefore, check your creation software to see if CMYK is an option you can choose.  Otherwise, we will do our best to match the RGB colors you present to us.
• Our standard CMYK colors are found here, our most popular color matches, and an advanced color chart.  
  Just tell us what ink colors you want.  (Color matching incurs a $30 per color per job charge.)
• Perfect color matches cannot be guaranteed. The industry standard is +/-10% color deviation.
• Web colors and actual colors may vary slightly. Web displayed colors are only used as a reference.
• Process Color Matching means you can choose specific colors which we get by mixing inks according to a formula.  Use the color swatches to determine your color. 

Top---------------------------------------------

• DPI and Image Resolution
  DPI means dots per inch.  Images on websites display at 72 dpi.  The higher the DPI, the clearer the image resolution.  
  • Commercial printing requires graphics at NO LESS than 300dpi for either color or grayscale.  
  • We prefer 600dpi or higher.
  • Provide images in tif or bmp format.  Your image creation software will offer that choice.
  • Set your scanner for 300dpi.  Convert the final product to CMYK for printing.
  • For signs and large format jobs, use Adobe Illustrator or Macromedia Freehand to create the image.  Save in eps format.

Top---------------------------------------------

• TIF, BMP, EPS, PNG, JPG and GIF
  JPG, GIF, and PNG files are used for web pages and are acceptable for home color printers but are not acceptable for commercial printing.
  • JPG photos you get directly from the Internet are only at 72dpi and cannot be used in your printing project.
  • JPG photos you save from a digital camera can be used if you set your camera resolution to 300 or higher.
  • When in doubt about a graphic, include the graphic file in the "working" folder.  We can sometimes re-create a graphic from your image; we sometimes already have the image in an acceptable format; and, we sometimes can make an acceptable substitution.  
  • Below is an illustration of how the same image will appear at different resolutions; e.g., 2x2 = 2pixels wide by 2pixels high.

Top---------------------------------------------

• Packaging Graphics and Images
  • Graphics and images should be in their own folder named "images" or "graphics."
  • ZIP or Stuffit to compress the files.
• Create a folder on your desktop and name it. Inside that folder create folders named "images," "fonts," and so on.  In these folders place the file to be printed, images and art work, photos, fonts and other material accordingly. You can also create a folder called "working folder" to separately house working files you wish to send. 
  
  By Mail or in person:
  When providing us job files, we can accept the following:
  • Camera Ready Copy
  • Electronic Media such as CD, DVD, Floppy Diskette, Zip Disk
  • For other media formats, call us first.
  • Include a hard copy of the project to give us a visual presentation of your requirement(s).

  By Internet File Upload:
  Compress your folder with WINZip or Stuffit and use our Upload link to send.
  

   

Top---------------------------------------------

Contact Us: 301-261-0522 or 410-793-3890
Visit Us: 2410 Crofton Boulevard, Crofton, MD 21114

As always, if you need additional information or clarification, call us.  Outside of the 301 area code, contact us at 800-647-2408.