Art Requirements
Acceptable File Formats:
- Adobe Illustrator
- Macromedia Freehand
- Photoshop
FAQ's
Q: I have a JPG image. Why can't I use that for printing?
A: Jpg's and Gif file formats are both bitmap - based images which are series of pixels. The pixels often give a blurry, "stairstep" look when printed. Both JPG's and Gif's are compressed file formats to make smaller file sizes for faster loading on web sites but do not print clearly.
Q: I saved my jpg as an Illustrator file but that still won't work. Why?
A: Opening a jpg or gif in Illustrator and saving it as an Illustrator file does not change the fact that it is still a pixel-based or "raster" image. Artwork that is actually created in a drawing program such as Illustrator, Freehand, or Corel Draw is vector-based. That means that the lines and shapes of the artwork are based on mathematical formulas which makes the artwork completely scalable. No matter how much you magnify the image, the lines will still be sharp and clear. When we change your jpg or gif into an Illustrator file, we actually re - create it.
Q: I have a Photoshop file but I was told it won't work even though it is in the list of acceptable file formats. Why?
A: Photoshop and Illustrator art programs have a lot of the same features but Photoshop is mostly used to edit photos and create other raster images. Photoshop is invaluable for photographs, color-separations or layered artwork but with the exception of a few of the key chains that allow a full-color photo, your artwork will normally be 1 or 2 colors in drawn logos which need to be vector - based files.
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| Magnified detail section of a pixel-based image. | Even more highly magnified detail section cut from the same image when it was vector-based. |
Q: What is "dpi" and why does it matter?
A: DPI stands for Dots per Inch. Images saved from web sites are normally low resolution which means they are about 72 dpi. Low resolution images work very well for web sites because they are smaller file sizes and hence load faster than a high resolution image would but those same images will not give you satisfactory results when it is printed. A raster or pixel-based image needs to be at least 300 dpi and sometimes even higher.
Q: How can I change my low-resolution image into a high-resolution one?
A: Unfortunately it is impossible to turn a low-resolution raster image into a high-resolution one. Resolution can be reduced but it can never be increased.
Fonts
Below you will see a sampling of some of the fonts we can use to typeset your message; if you don't find a suitable font here, we have many others available.
