Adobe solutions are certainly the most widely used. Most notably Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. In addition, there are many other programs that allow the creation of print data. The Affinity Designer by Serif or CorelDraw by Corel are popular. These commercial solutions usually work on Windows and Mac OS X.
If you want to use free software, Gimp or Inkscape is the best choice. Both programs are available for many operating systems (Linux, BSD, ...). These programs are designed for the creation of screen graphics, and not for the professional printing area. Therefore, it is strongly advised to order a data check as well as to send control printouts as a screenshot or by post for comparison.
Please make sure that your program can export the data as PDF or tiff.
Basically, it is safest if you send your template as *. tif document (300 dpi, LZW-compressed, in PC format) or *. pdf. We also accept *. ai, *. eps, or *. psd file formats. Please do not create transparency in vector drawings! Please save your print-ready data under a meaningful name such as the abbreviation of the motif or company name.
Basically, it is safest if you submit your template as a * .tif document (300 dpi, LZW-compressed, in PC format) or * .pdf. The ideal formats are PDF/X-.3 or PDF 1.5 or lower. For PDF versions higher than 1.5 we recommend the additional transmission of control printouts by screenshot or by post. We also accept as file formats * .ai, * .eps, or * .psd. For these formats sending of control printouts is strongly recommended. We do not like to see Corel Draw files (* .cdr), as they have often encountered problems in the past. Please always save Corel Draw drafts as * .pdf. Similarly, we advise against using Inkscape software to create print templates, since they do not output 100% compliant PDF files. If the submission nevertheless takes place in the mentioned, possibly unsuitable formats, we assume no liability for the printing result. Please do not create transparency in vector drawings. Please save your print-ready data under a descriptive name such as the abbreviation of the motif or company name.
In principle, it is possible to edit data in RGB mode (= screen colors). We then convert the data for four-color printing to the standard color model CMYK. Please note that this may cause color shifts. Unfortunately, we cannot accept complaints for this reason.
Therefore, please create your graphics in CMYK.
GIFs and JPEGs are now simply web formats and are compressed at a loss. Many JPEGs or GIFs are optimized for the smallest possible file size. However, we need the best possible quality for printing. If the data is only available as JPEG, please set at least 300 dpi (=dots per inch) resolution and use the highest quality when saving.
We print stickers in any format. There are no limits to your creativity in terms of size and shape.
There is the risk of variation of the stickers after printing. If there is a trimming border you avoid an unmeant border. If you forget the trimming we generate these at our discretion. To avoid surprises it is better to design your sticker with a border of 3 mm on each side.
Ordering a die-cut or kiss-cut may become neccessary for two different reasons:
Atypical Shape: In case you want your sticker not in a rectange shape but for example in a heart shape, this can be done only with a cutting plate for die-cut or kiss-cut. You can order your sticker in almost every shape, not only symmetrical shapes. Depending on the fineness of the shape, it may be neccessary to use a kiss-cut. with a kiss-cut, only the adhesive material is cut, not the paper carrier. This means, with a kiss-cut your sticker will be delivered on a sheet that is larger than the sticker itself. You may use this tp have more than one label on a sheet, e.g. an letter-sized sheet with many labels. Ofcourse, also the sheet may have a different shape if you combine die-cut and kiss-cut in one production. Please feel free to contact us and find the best sticker-solution for you.
Precise format: Also usual rectangle stickers may be produced with a die-cut. This way, tolerances of usual cutting wont affect your sticker's format anymore. For product labels or add-ons for other printing and advertising products or wherever an exact size of your sticker is essential, we recommend that you order a die-cut.
The following hints are dedicated to everyone who designs stickers in layout programs which are based on vectors like Adobe Illustrator or Macromedia Freehand. These information is not necessary for users of pixel-oriented programs like Adobe Photoshop. Text should be changed in vectors because we sometimes do not have the fonts you may use on our system. Especially if it is an uncommon font. In this case our computer will replace your font with a standard font. So please, change your fonts in vectors. Also avoid incorporating your fonts in *.pdf. This is not compatible with all PDF-versions (for example 1.3) and tends to problems in the exposure. The following instruction applies for Adobe Illustrator: Mark your text with the Marker and have a look in the menu texts for the section create outlines. Finished. Another possibility is to send us the TrueTypeFont-data file (*.tff) which is saved in your windows system folder.
We can print lines down to 1 point in width. If you want thinner lines, we cannot guarantee a perfect print result.
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