Art Guidelines for Large-Format Digital Printing

We strive to produce the highest quality large-format printing in the industry. Large-format digital output has its unique requirements to achieve optimum results. Rainier Industries has many years of experience in digital imaging. We have produced this document to help you get the highest quality results without incurring additional costs or unnecessary delays. Careful adherence to these guidelines will ensure complete success. If you would like to download a pdf of these guidlines follow this link: Download a pdf

Media

Please submit art on CD ROM or DVD discs. Files may be sent electronically via e-mail (if under 5MB) or via our FTP site. Please call for additional information when utilizing our FTP server.

File Preparation

Submitted files should be professionally created at full size in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator or Macromedia FreeHand and saved as native files (.psd, .ai, or .fh_ extensions, respectively). Some files created in other applications may be acceptable, but may be subject to additional preparation charges. Artwork that exceeds the pasteboard dimensions in Illustrator or FreeHand may be scaled down, but please indicate the scale (50%, 25%, 10%, 1"= 1', etc.). Any document containing text should have all text elements converted to outlines, or paths; doing so will avoid font conflicts, a major source of delay for many jobs. Remember to save a copy for yourself without converted text just in case last-minute edits are necessary. Avoid complex blends and paths, and any transparency effects in Illustrator or FreeHand; these effects can cause major delays, or even prevent a file from processing at all. Imported art elements should be linked, not embedded. Remember to update links and supply them along with the file to be output. Furnish some form of color proof to match to, created from the submitted file and indicate any Pantone colors used. Supply all full-color files in CMYK color space. Any artwork or imagery that extends to the edges of the finished piece will require bleed. Contact Rainier Industries to determine how much bleed will be necessary for your project. Crop or trim marks should indicate the finished size of the piece.

Image Resolution

Items produced in low quantities, smaller than 48" x 48" generally (though not always) are best printed on our HP5000 thermal ink jet printers. Minimum resolution for files intended for this printer should be 100pixels per inch. For very small items, 18" square or smaller, 200 ppi should be the minimum. Our Vutek 3360 is generally the preferred printer for larger output sizes exceeding 48" x 48", and these should be at least 50 ppi, not to exceed 100 ppi. Very large final sized output (exceeding 16') should be 25 ppi. Keep in mind Photoshop has a 30,000 pixel limit in any one direction (horizontal or vertical) when creating files for output. Contact us if you have image resolution requirement questions.