Same Day Business Cards

When printing, 300 PPI or 600 DPI are the best print resolution for digital printers. The design of a file with a resolution below 300 PPI or 600 DPI will result in blurring and pixelization. On the other hand, you should not design with a resolution higher than 300 PPI or 600 DPI. As far as the eye can see, there will be no difference in print quality. It will also make your file much larger (increase file upload/transfer time).

We always recommend 300 PPI or 600 DPI drawings to print, but we also know that sometimes you do not have the ability to edit your drawings. If you cannot print your files with a resolution of 300 PPI or 600 DPI, you will have to take some measures to ensure that a lower resolution works for you.

We recommend that you set the resolution in your graphics editor (i.e. Photoshop) to 300 PPI before you start drawing your file. Increasing the resolution after the start will still result in blurring/pixelation.

For more information download our handy resolution guide.

All supplied artwork is checked by our team before printing. If we have any problems with your files, we will contact you and advise you on how to change the format or if there are any issues with the artwork. Please note that conversion to CMYK or to standard print sizes may occur if your files are not supplied correctly.

During our checks we will look for the following;

• If the files are presented in one of the accepted formats (PDF, JPG, TIFF or EPS).
• If the number of pages is correct
• If the file supplied is greyscale (only if you have ordered a colour print)
• If the file is the correct size for what you have ordered (otherwise we will need to scale your work to fit the desired size, however, this may result in a reduction in resolution and quality.
• Additional bleeding will be added if required.
• If the appropriate fonts have been incorporated into the file.
• If the correct colour mode has been used, if not we will convert your files to CMYK for you.

For more information, why not download our Colour Guide.

When graphics continue to the edge of a sheet of paper, bleed is necessary. Why? A commercial printing press can’t print to the edge of a sheet of paper, instead multiple products are printed onto a larger sheet of paper and cut down to size.

Because it is impossible to cut exactly to each design a little over print on every side is required. This is the bleed, and any professionally printed document will require it and a corresponding safe zone.

How much bleed do I need?

The industry standard is 3mm of bleed on each edge of a document, with a 3mm safe zone inside.

For example, an A4 sheet set-up with the correct bleed will be 216mm wide x 303mm deep, it will then be cut down to the finished size of 210mm wide x 297mm deep.

What is the safe zone?

The safe zone is an additional 3mm inside of the finished document where there should be no text or images you do not want to go up to or bleed off of the edge of the finished document.

For more information, please download our Bleed Guide.

You can upload your print ready files in the following formats: PDF, EPS, JPG or TIFF.

We can also print from Photo Shop (PSD), CorelDraw (CDR), Illustrator (AI), InDesign (ID), Publisher (PUB) & Quark files (QXD), or similar file formats. by converting them to PDF prior to printing.

Make sure that your PDF file is saved directly from your graphics program in standard PDF/X1a. To avoid problems with layers and transparencies during the printing process, it is recommended to use the “1.3 compatibility” setting when saving artworks.

If you are sending TIFF files, be sure to reduce the number of layers to one.

If you are unable to supply your artwork in any of these formats, please contact us prior to placing your order.

You should always create your files in the final size that you want your printed document to be, a business card should always be 85mm x 55mm (finished size), with 3mm of added bleed (91mm x 61mm) that will be cut off after printing to make sure that there are no white edges on your finished cards.

Any artwork that is too small or too large must be scaled to the correct print size, this results in a reduced quality final result.

Please feel free to give us a call to go over any questions you may have about print sizes or for more information on paper sizes please download our handy size guide.

Yes we are! We offer the widest range of eco-friendly printing products available in Portsmouth using vegetable based inks. We also offer many products including recycled business cards, brochures, presentation folders, stationery, catalogues, flyers, calendars and more.

FSC paper is now our standard stock.

Historically, the printing industry has had a poor reputation for caring for the environment, with excessive use of water and electricity, paper waste and the use of volatile chemicals resulting in toxic waste. Protecting the environment is one of Squid Print’s major concerns, and we strive to put our planet first.

And this is how Headline Printers is making a difference:

• Using vegetable based inks
• Use of FSC paper stocks as standard
• Printing methods, such as duplex printing, that reduce paper usage
• Modern machines that significantly reduce energy consumption
• Elimination of toxic and volatile chemicals
• Alcohol-free presses where possible
• We recycle redundant machines and computer parts.
• We recycle our printing plates, press blankets, bottles, cans and containers