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B2B terms

Artwork requirements for online orders

Choose a product on the left to view its current requirements and downloads.

Important information
  • We accept raster TIFF/JPEG files and vector PDF files.
  • Products with selective hybrid varnish must be supplied as PDF.
  • Colour mode: CMYK. Maximum file size: 400 MB.

Artwork preparation recommendations

Concise Practical Predictable results

Dark front / light reverse

What can happen? Set-off: ink transfers to the reverse.

How to avoid it: Use a similar tone on both sides or laminate the dark side.

Thin borders around the edge

What can happen? Cutting tolerance up to about 3 mm can make the border look uneven.

How to avoid it: Use borders at least 5 mm wide or avoid edge borders entirely.

Important elements close to the cut line

What can happen? Text or logos may be trimmed.

How to avoid it: Keep them at least 2 mm from the cut line, preferably farther.

Large black areas using one ink

What can happen? Black may look grey, and overprint can create uneven colour on a varied background.

How to avoid it: composite black C60 M50 Y40 K100 for solid areas.

Small text using several inks

What can happen? Misregistration of about 0.2 mm can create coloured halos.

How to avoid it: Use no more than two inks in small text; set black text up to 16 pt as C0 M0 Y0 K100.

Brochures / heavy paper / solid areas on dense substrates

What can happen? Margins can shift, brochures may spring open, and solid areas may crack on folds or crease lines.

How to avoid it: Use wider margins; choose 150–170 g/m² for inner pages; laminate solid areas on 250–350 g/m² stock.

Imperial Print technical artwork requirements

All digital artwork supplied for production must comply with the technical parameters below.

🛡 Quality We do not send incorrectly prepared artwork to production.
⚖ Copyright We use licensed professional software only, in accordance with Article 176 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

We accept artwork created with Adobe Systems applications. Files prepared in other software or without following Imperial Print requirements may require additional time and incur extra costs.

Quick navigation: use “Navigation” on the right • Ctrl + K — focus the search field.
1.1. in person on a USB drive;
1.2. remotely via FTP or a file-transfer service. Overseas services such as Rapidshare are not recommended because they may cause delays.
1.3. Do not:
1.3.1. use Cyrillic letters in folder or file names;
1.3.2. use file names longer than 30 characters;
1.3.3. use self-extracting archives.
2.1. Adobe PhotoShop (*.psd, *.tiff); Adobe Illustrator (*.ai, *.eps); Adobe InDesign (*.indd); Adobe PDF (.pdf);
2.2. You can create a PDF using the prepared settings for Adobe applications.
3.1. Page count must match the binding method. Saddle-stitched or thread-sewn products require a multiple of four pages; perfect-bound products require a multiple of two.
3.2. All pages in a multipage file must have the same size and orientation and must be supplied in the correct order.
3.3. Supply individual pages, not spreads.
3.4. Do not supply each page as a separate file.
4.1. Confirm the finished size with a print specialist because the selected format may not match the technical limits of printing and finishing equipment;
4.2. add 2 mm bleed on every side for all products and 5 mm for thread-sewn products. Keep important elements at least 3 mm from the trim line;
4.3. When creating PDF files from Adobe applications, use the prepared *.joboptions settings file.
4.4. When creating PDF files from CorelDRAW, use settings that comply with these requirements.
4.5. The PDF TrimBox must match and define the finished trim size.
5.1. Do not use lines thinner than 0.5 pt (0.17 mm).
5.2. For hybrid or selective varnish, do not use lines thinner than 0.9 pt (0.3 mm).
5.3. For reversed text on a mixed-colour background or text built from two or more inks, do not use type smaller than 6 pt (2.1 mm).
5.4. For fine lines, observe the minimum printable width for the selected screen density:
5.4.1. up to 24% — 0.45 pt (0.15 mm);
5.4.2. 25–49% — 0.3 pt (0.1 mm);
5.4.3. 50–100% — 0.2 pt (0.07 mm).
Lines that do not meet these limits may disappear in print.
5.5. Minimum type size depends on the text colour:
sans-serif typefaces — 6 pt in CMYK, 4 pt in one colour;
serif typefaces — 7 pt in CMYK, 5 pt in one colour;
reversed sans-serif type — 7 pt in CMYK, 5 pt in one colour;
reversed serif type — 8 pt in CMYK, 6 pt in one colour.
Prepress checks cannot always identify elements that fall outside these limits. The problem may become visible only during printing and require new plates and equipment setup, increasing costs and delaying dispatch.
6.1. When supplying an editable publication file (*.indd, *.ai, *.eps or layered *.psd), include all fonts or convert them to outlines;
6.2. When supplying *.indd, *.ai or *.eps files, include or embed all linked images;
6.3. Embed every font in print-ready PDF files. Missing fonts are replaced with Courier. Avoid system fonts because the raster image processor may substitute them.
7.1. Prepare all colour images in CMYK; RGB, LAB and other colour spaces are not accepted. Prepare black-and-white images as Grayscale. Do not use rasterised text below 8 pt, especially reversed text built from two to four inks.
7.2. All process-colour objects must be CMYK. PANTONE® spot colours are permitted, but convert them to CMYK for four-colour printing. Define spot colours using standard PANTONE® libraries;
7.3. Set black elements and text defined as CMYK 0/0/0/100 over a uniform background to overprint;
7.4. Avoid grey elements built from multiple inks. Build solid colours from as few CMYK components as possible for stable reproduction, and create grey using Black only; otherwise colour may vary across the run;
7.5. For deep rich-black solids, use CMYK 60/50/40/100. Other mixtures may introduce an unwanted colour cast;
7.6. Total ink coverage must not exceed 300%. Higher coverage can cause set-off, poor shadow detail and paper fibre picking;
7.7. Do not embed ICC profiles. The RIP may apply embedded profiles automatically and produce an unintended result;
7.8. Imperial Print equipment and colour proofing follow ISO 12647-2:2007 and use the ISOcoated_2v_eci.icc output profile.
8.1. Use 300 dpi for raster images. Standard screening is 200 lpi for coated paper and 175 lpi for uncoated offset paper. Resolution above 400 dpi does not improve quality and slows PDF creation and RIP processing, so images above 400 dpi are automatically downsampled to 300 dpi.
8.2. Do not place *.JPEG, *.GIF, *.BMP or *.PICT files, or images pasted through the clipboard, into page-layout files.
9.1. Draw selective or hybrid varnish as a Spot Color named “lak” or “gibrid”, place it over the printed artwork and enable overprint. Supply CMYK and varnish in one file, not separate files. Varnish coverage must be 100%; selective and hybrid varnish cannot reproduce tints;
9.2. Draw cutting, creasing and perforation over the printed artwork using vector lines only, Spot Colors named cut/big/perfo and overprint. Use solid lines for cutting, dashed lines for creasing and dash-dot lines for perforation;
9.3. Draw embossing and/or debossing over the printed artwork as vector Spot Colors named “Tisn” and/or “Kongr”, with overprint enabled.
10.1. Proof sheets are printed at the print shop. The customer approves artwork after reviewing printed sheets in the office or online proof files.
10.2. Approval is confirmed by the customer’s dated signature on each printed proof sheet or by email approval of the electronic proof sent via internet or FTP.
11.1. A digital colour proof produced on calibrated print-shop equipment is used to check colour separation and as the printer’s colour reference. Prints from an office printer or digital press are not valid colour references.
11.2. Colour-proof files must match the files supplied for production.
12.1. Supply covers for perfect-bound and thread-sewn publications as spreads that include the spine width.
12.2. Spine width depends on the number of sections and paper weight. Confirm it with the print manager.
12.3. Leave the inside of the cover spine white and add 2 mm on each side to improve adhesion between the text block and cover.
12.4. For perfect-bound publications, allow for content loss in the glued spine. Keep text and important elements 5–7 mm from the inner page edge. Split spread images into left and right parts and move each 5 mm away from the spine.
12.5. For wire-bound products, allow space from the trimmed edge to the inner edge of the binding holes. Keep at least 12 mm from the finished edge, or 15 mm from the bleed edge.
Dark front with a light reverse
What can happen?
Set-off — ink transfers from the printed side to the reverse of the next sheet.
How can you avoid it?
— use a similar tone on the front and reverse;
— when contrast is required on 350 g/m² stock, for example for business cards or pocket calendars, we recommend laminating the dark side.
Thin borders around the product edge
What can happen?
Cutting tolerance — up to 3 mm depending on the product. Exact alignment with the cut line is nearly impossible, so the border may look uneven.
How can you avoid it?
Use borders at least 5 mm wide to make asymmetry less visible. The best option is to avoid borders along the artwork edge.
Important elements close to the cut line
What can happen?
Because of cutting tolerance of about 2 mm, text, logos and other elements may be trimmed.
How can you avoid it?
Keep important elements at least 2 mm from the cut line.
Large black areas using one ink
What can happen?
Single-ink black solids appear unsaturated and almost grey. Vector black elements also often have overprint , which can make the fill uneven over a varied background.
How can you avoid it?
Build large black areas using composite black: (C60 M50 Y40 K100).
Small text built from several inks
What can happen?
Permitted colour misregistration — up to 0,2 mm. This can create coloured halos around small text.
How can you avoid it?
For small text, use no more than two inks. Set black text up to 16 pt as pure black: (C0 M0 Y0 K100).
High-page-count saddle-stitched brochure
What can happen?
Paper has thickness, so after trimming a saddle-stitched brochure, margins on the centre pages will be smallerthan on the outer pages.
How can you avoid it?
Allow for page creep or use wider margins throughout so the difference is less visible.
Brochure on heavy paper
What can happen?
The brochure may spring open and hold its shape poorly.
How can you avoid it?
Use heavy paper for the cover only. For inner pages, choose stock no heavier than 150–170 g/m².
Large solid areas on heavy substrates
What can happen?
On uncoated 250–350 g/m² stock, large solid areas, especially dark or saturated ones, may crack. White or light cracks can spoil the finish.
How can you avoid it?
Use a protective finish — lamination matt or gloss. It protects the ink and significantly improves durability. We cannot always check every file for large solid areas, so plan this in advance or consult a manager.

Ready to have your artwork checked before printing?

Send the file to a manager and we will confirm whether it is ready for production.

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