I do not have Adobe Photoshop. I have been working with an old version of Microsoft Picture It. My files are saved as .jpg and as .png. Can you work with these, or would I need to convert them to PDF? I would like to know what size I need to make the canvas in order to make your crop marks or if they are truly necessary in the different format? They are currently just 5×7″ images with no crop marks or anything like that. These are wedding invitations and RSVP cards. I can send you the files for your review. If I would need to enlist your assistance in formatting, how much do your design services cost?
– Adobe-Impaired
Although we highly recommend creating a PDF, a JPEG of 300 DPI would work best. It’s possible to create a digital print file out of a PNG, but because they are usually made for the web, the image would have to be very large to get the resolution that would be needed to create a clear print.
If you go with a JPEG, please keep in mind that we would need to add a 1/8″ bleed. So in the case of the 5” X 7”, your images would have to be 5 1/8” by 7 1/8”. For large format items, the bleed may need to be ½” or 1”, so the image would have to be slightly bigger than you intended to accommodate for the crop marks. You wouldn’t have to include crop marks, as some of our software will add that. You just need to make sure the image is the same size (or proportion, in the case of the PNG) as the product ordered (plus the bleed, of course).
We charge $21.25 for every 15 minutes of design time it took to create print-ready files. For most situations, changing a file to a PDF format would be within the 15 minute time frame. However, it may take longer if you have multiple image files, such as for a booklet.
Hope that helps!
Do you want to have your digital printing question answered? Leave your question in the comments below or email us at customerservice@smartpress.com and we will do our best to answer your questions.
The post Ask a Smartpress.com Expert: No Adobe Products? appeared first on Printing, Graphic Design, and Photography Blog at Smartpress.com.
