FAQ

Yes. Print and material samples are available upon request. Additional charges may apply for certain requests.

Below is our contact information. You will be put in touch with a product specialist who will answer your questions.

E: info@graphicad.ca
P: 306-682-4266 or 1-800-661-4266

Each project we complete is customized to your request. As a result, we do not provide refunds. If you have an issue with any of your orders, please contact us. We always work with you to make things right. A proof for each project is provided prior to printing and we ask customers to carefully review all graphics, text, and spelling to identify and correct any errors before they are printed.  We take great pride and in the quality of service and products we provide and will work with you to prevent any problems before they arise.

A bleed is when a background colour or photo extends beyond the edge of where the sheet will be trimmed. In other words, the bleed is the area to be trimmed off.  This ensures that no unprinted edges occur in the final trimmed document.

For most projects, a 0.125″ bleed is sufficient. If you don’t want to include a bleed, then a 0.25″ white margin around the entire document will work.

Setting up a bleed and exporting the file correctly varies from program to program.
Here’s a list of instructions for some of the most popular design programs.

Adobe Photoshop
If you’re editing an existing document:

• Add guidelines by going to the “View” dropdown menu and clicking on “Rulers”. “Rulers” will be placed in your document window. Click on the rulers and drag guidelines to all 4 edges of the document.
• After the guidelines are set, go into the Image dropdown menu and select “Canvas Size”.
• Add .25” to both the height and width of the document. If you want a 5”x7” card to have a bleed area, the canvas size must be set to 5.25”x7.25”.
• Once the canvas size has been changed, the guidelines from the original document will stay, indicating the edge of the print area and the beginning of the bleed area.
• Save the document as a Photoshop PDF, use the Adobe PDF Preset: “Press Quality” and remember to uncheck the “Preserve Photoshop Editing Capabilities”.

If you’re setting up a new document:

• Open a new document and set your DPI (resolution) to 300 pixels/inch.
• When choosing the dimensions of the document, add .25” to the width and height (allowing for .125” on all sides). For example, if you want a 5”x7” card to have a bleed, the Photoshop file must be set to 5.25”x7.25”.
• Once the dimensions are set, use the guide tool to set guides at .125” for the height and width to designate where the bleed area will be.
• Design with the bleed area in mind, making sure not to put crucial text or images within the area.
• Save the document as a Photoshop PDF, use the Adobe PDF Preset: “Press Quality” and remember to uncheck the “Preserve Photoshop Editing Capabilities”.

Adobe InDesign
If you’re editing an existing document:

• Go to the “File” dropdown menu and select “Document Setup”.
• Select “Bleed and Slug”. Enter .125” for top, bottom, left, and right values.
• Check the “Preview” box in the dialogue box to see what the bleed area will look like on your document (it will be represented by a red guide). Any elements that bleed must extend to the red box.
• Export your document as a PDF using the “Press Quality” print setting. Under the “Marks and Bleed” tab, check the “Use Document Bleed Settings” box and verify that .125” is entered for top, bottom, left, and right values. Also, ensure that “Crop Marks” is selected.

If you’re setting up a new document:

• Open a new document.
• Select “Bleed and Slug” and enter .125” for top, bottom, left, and right values.
• Check the “Preview” box in the dialogue box to see what the bleed area will look like on your document (it will be represented by a red guide). Any elements that bleed must extend to the red box.
• Use the bleed guides while positioning your artwork or design to ensure that your design fits within the lines.
• Export your document as a PDF using the “Press Quality” print setting. Under the “Marks and Bleed” tab, check the “Use Document Bleed Settings” box and verify that .125” is entered for top, bottom, left, and right values. Also, ensure that “Crop Marks” is selected.

Adobe Illustrator
If you’re editing an existing document:

• Go to the “File” dropdown menu and select “Document Setup”.
• Under “Bleed”, enter .125” for top, bottom, left, and right values. A red box will appear around your document, indicating where the bleed area is.
• Any elements that bleed must extend to the red box.
• Under the “File” dropdown menu, select “Save As” and save your document as a PDF (choose “Adobe PDF” in the Format dropdown menu in the “Save As” dialogue box). Click “Save”. Then, under the “Marks and Bleed” tab, check the “Use Document Bleed Settings” box and the “Trim Marks” box.

If you’re setting up a new document:

• Open a new document.
• In the New Document dialogue window, enter .125” for top, bottom, left, and right values. A red box will appear around your document, indicating where the bleed area is.
• Any elements that bleed must extend to the red box.
• Under the “File” dropdown menu, select “Save As” and save your document as a PDF (choose “Adobe PDF” in the Format dropdown menu in the “Save As” dialogue box). Click “Save”. Then, under the “Marks and Bleed” tab, check the “Use Document Bleed Settings” box and the “Trim Marks” box.

Microsoft Word

• In the Page Setup dialogue box, under the “Paper Size” dropdown menu, select “More Paper Sizes”.
• Create a new size that is 0.25” wider and 0.25” taller than the final size of your printed piece (this accounts for 0.125” of bleed on all sides).
• Design your piece, keeping in mind that 0.125” around all edges of your file will be trimmed off after printing.
• Save your file as a PDF.

Canva

• To learn how to use margins, bleed, rulers and crop marks in Canva, click this link.

CMYK and RGB are color modes used to create colours. CMYK is used in print production, and RGB is used in light emitting devices such as screens and monitors.

CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key (Black), and is a term used to describe the four colour printing process. By using these four basic inks a printer can print a wide colour gamut.

RGB, which stands for Red, Green, Blue, is a mode used for digital and screen use as colours are created by combining Red, Green, and Blue waves of light to create different colours.

RGB typically appears brighter than the printed colors. If color accuracy is extremely important on your final prints, you must set the color models (profiles) in your design files before submitting.

We can do the conversion for you. RGB and CMYK modes are different, so it is not uncommon for some colors to shift slightly when converted. Often this color shift is quite minimal.

A vector image is made up of paths and  is quickly and easily scaled larger or smaller with no loss of quality.

A raster image is made out of a fixed number of pixels. If the image is enlarged, often the image becomes soft, blurry or pixelated. Photos should be provided in the highest resolution possible to avoid any image degradation problems when printed at different sizes. Raster of bitmap images are used for photos and scanned artwork.

Graphic files displayed on a website should not be used for print. The resolution used on website image files is too small for a clean print on most print projects as these types of images have been sized down and optimized for screen devices and faster web page loading times.

This depends on the size of the project. If you want a photo on a business card, an image file can be much smaller than if you want to print a 4’x8′ sign or a car wrap. If you still have questions if your image is big enough for your print project, let us have a look, or simply contact us to discuss.

 

Typical Image Sizes	Recommended (300dpi)
Low	1098 x 648 pixels or larger (< 1MB)
Medium	1847 x 1247 pixels or larger (5-10MB)
High	2747 x 1847 pixels or larger (20+ MB)

Yes, if you meet the following conditions

1. You are the copyright owner, or
2. You have a print release or licence to print from the copyright holder

If you are not sure what this means, contact us.

All orders are proofed by our customers via email before production. Hard copy printed proofs are available upon request. Additional charges may apply for pre-press hard copy proofs.

Yes – as long as the change is requested before going into production. When you receive the email proof you will want to carefully check wording, spelling and artwork. If there are any errors, we will make the changes required and resend another proof before it is added to the production queue.

Online orders will be shipped out via Canada Post. Larger projects may be sent out through another one of our delivery partners. If you have questions about the shipping methods available please reach out to us.

We offer FREE local delivery within Humboldt, SK.