Art Submission Information

Preferred Vector Application Formats

CorelDrawX4 or later

Output from the Pc Edition of Corel Draw 4 is an acceptable art submission format. Please ensure art that is submitted in this manner is Vector or line art. Colors should not be CMYK or RGB in value, colors should be submitted as PMS Spot Colors. PMS Spot colors will increase the likelihood that the colors you submit for are the colors your receive.

Adobe Illustrator CS4 or later

Output from the Pc Edition of Adobe Illustrator CS 4 is an acceptable art submission format. Please ensure art that is submitted in this manner is Vector or line art. Colors should not be CMYK or RGB in value, colors should be submitted as PMS Spot Colors. PMS Spot colors will increase the likelihood that the colors you submit for are the colors your receive.

Please convert all text to curves, paths, or outlines before submission of vector art. Please try to avoid the use of very small or fine lettering. For multi-color art submissions, please use Pantone spot colors and indicate the exact PMS color numbers. For all other software save files as an encapsulated postscript file(.eps). Such files are generally acceptable as long as the file contains vector image information and has been correctly exported as an encapsulated postscript file. Do not rename .jpegs, .gifs or other image formats with a .eps extension and submit them.

Preferred Raster Application Formats (Photos)

Photoshop CS4 or later

Output from the Pc Edition of Adobe Photoshop CS4 is an acceptable art submission format. Please ensure art that is submitted in this manner is 300dpi or greater at 100% of the expected print size. Image quality at the scale you desire to print will determine the overall print quality of your items. If your images are not at least 300dpi at 100% of the expected imprint size the imprint on your items may not appear as expected, it may appear blurry, discolored, or pixelated.

Unacceptable Application and File formats

Quark Express, Freehand, Pagemaker, .bmp, .gif, or any other not listed above. Do not send logos or images from word processors (Microsoft Word, Corel Word Perfect), presentations (Microsoft PowerPoint, Adobe Persuasion) or web sites. These images are not of a high enough resolution or quality for reproduction or imprint.

The Raster Difference

What is Raster ?

In the computer graphic industry, a raster image format or bitmap is a data structure representing a generally rectangular grid of pixels, or dots of color, viewable via a monitor, paper, or other display medium. Raster images are stored in image files with varying formats. A bitmap corresponds bit-for-bit with an image displayed on a screen, generally in the same format used for storage in the display's video memory, or maybe as a device-independent bitmap. A bitmap is technically characterized by the width and height of the image in pixels and by the number of bits per pixel (a color depth, which determines the number of colors it can represent). The printing and prepress industries know raster graphics as contones (from "continuous tones") and refer to vector graphics differently.

What is Resolution ?

Raster graphics are resolution dependent. They cannot scale up to an arbitrary resolution without loss of apparent quality. This deficiency contrasts with the capabilities of vector graphics, which easily scale up to the quality of the device rendering them regardless of size. Raster image formats deal more practically than vector image formats with photographs and photo-realistic images, while vector image formats often serve better for typesetting or for graphic design. Most modern consumer printers can resolve 2400 dots per inch (DPI) or more during the print process; determining the most appropriate image resolution for print can at times pose difficulties, since printed output can have a greater level of detail than a viewer can discern on a monitor. Typically, a resolution of 300 pixel per inch will work well for 4-color process (CMYK) printing.

The Vector Difference

What is Vector ?

Vector image format use geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and shapes or polygon(s), These primitives are all based on mathematical equations. There are instances when working with vector tools and formats are best practice, and instances when working with raster tools and formats are best practice.

Vector image formats store the lines, shapes and colors that make up an image as a mathematical formula. A vector imaging program uses these mathematical formulas to construct the screen image, building the best quality image possible, given the screen or print resolution. The mathematical formula determines where the dots that make up the image should be placed for the best results when displaying the image. Since these formulas can produce an image scalable to any size and detail, the quality of the image is only determined by the resolution of the display medium. The file size of the image stays the same. Printing the image to paper will usually give a sharper, higher resolution output than printing it to the screen but can use exactly the same vector data file.

More on Vector Formats

For example, consider a circle. The main pieces of information a program needs in order to draw this circle in a vector format are

An indication that what is to be drawn is indeed a circle
The radius r
The location of the center point of the circle
The Stroke/line style and color (possibly transparent)
The Fill style and color (possibly transparent)

Some of the Advantages to this style of drawing over raster graphics are:

This minimal amount of information translates to a much smaller file size compared to large raster images (the size of representation doesn't depend on the dimensions of the object), though a vector graphic with a small file size is often said to lack detail compared with image information of a real world photo.
One can indefinitely zoom in on (e.g. a circle or an arc,) and it remains smooth. On the other hand, a polygon representing a curve will reveal being not really curved.
The parameters of that make up objects are stored and can be later modified. This means that moving, scaling, rotating, filling, etc. will not degrade the quality of a drawing. This ensures that items do not lose quality when they are scaled for render on any specific device. (eg. Printers, Monitors, Smart phones)