or download the pdf: Artwork Guidelines

HOW TO SUPPLY YOUR JOB:
Please supply your job on CD, or ask your Rainbo account representative for our ftp information. Jobs can be e-mailed to your account rep. if you compress them to a single file, and if the file size is smaller than 10 MB.

• Use our art templates. Template sizes vary depending on the manufacturer, so using other templates may incur additional charges. It is helpful if you fill out the Artwork Form and provide print-outs of each document.

• We always supply an emailed or printed proof for you to approve before we print a job.

• Keep in mind that home color printers and computer monitors show misleading and inaccurate color. For best color accuracy, use
Pantone Process and Spot swatch books to determine the proper color values.

FORMATS ACCEPTED:
Supply the art in one of the following three ways (listed in order of our preference):

1. Quark XPress (up to version 8), using our templates from the web. Please include all fonts and imported graphics used.

2. Adobe Illustrator or Adobe InDesign (up to the latest version), using our eps templates from the web. Please embed all graphics and outline all fonts, and supply the files as native files or exported as EPS files.

3. Adobe Photoshop (up to the latest version) as a TIF (or EPS) file. You can import our eps templates into Photoshop: Open the file from Photoshop, rasterize it at 300 dpi, and flatten layers. When constructing the layout, make sure any new art is on other layers above the template layer. Do not flatten dielines into the artwork.

We prefer not to get PDF FILES because we need to make the final print pdf ourselves, but if you would like to supply them, make sure it is a PDF with the images at 300 dpi, the fonts are included, and you've followed all of these guidelines and used our templates.

MOST COMMON MISTAKES:
Many jobs we receive have technical problems, and we charge
$80/hr. (1/4 hr. minimum) for fixing them. Here are the main rules to follow to avoid these charges:
• Lay out all documents according to Rainbo's Templates, available at www.rainborecords.com.
• Use CMYK or GRAYSCALE mode (not RGB) for all images and color spaces.
• Make sure all documents contain bleed, where appropriate. (When a background image should extend to the trim line, extend it 1/8" beyond the trim line).
• Keep all type and logos are at least 1/8" from any trim line.
• Supply all images and fonts needed to output the job. (Provide both screen & printer font parts for Postscript fonts.) Or, in Illustrator or InDesign, you can outline all fonts.

CD LABEL TIPS:
• When supplying art in Photoshop, please provide bleed at the inside and outside edges.
• If supplying spot art in Photoshop, use spot channels or duotone mode. A CMYK Photoshop file is four-color, even though it may only appear to have 2 colors in the design.

ILLUSTRATOR TIPS:
• Use CMYK color space only. Also, don't correct the color space of imported RGB images in Illustrator. This has proven to be unreliable.
• Flatten all transparent objects and groups before supplying files. (note: flattening automatically converts spot colors to CMYK). In some cases, automatic flattening produces unexpected results in the image quality and/or text..
• Make sure all colors used are Process CMYK colors, not Pantone or spot colors (unless you're specifying PMS colors in your design).

PHOTOSHOP TIPS:
• All images should begin as high resolution files (300 dpi for CMYK or Grayscale, 600 dpi or higher for Bitmap Mode).
• Provide all images in CMYK mode, not RGB.
• Type that has been set in Photoshop may not print with clean, sharp edges. While this may be acceptable for titles, logos and larger type, it can make smaller type unreadable (below 7 pt.). For sharp type, use a vector-based program such as Quark, Illustrator, or InDesign.
• Save line art in bitmapped mode, not grayscale, or it will not print crisply.

QUARK TIPS:
• Make sure all colors used are Process CMYK colors, not Pantone or spot colors (unless you're specifying PMS colors in your design).

OTHER TIPS:
• Be sure to keep a copy of all your files, since we will not be responsible for keeping or storing any files which we did not create.