We DO NOT accept artwork in the following formats:
• Word • Publisher • Excel • MS Paint • Fax • Photocopied artwork • Photos of artwork • Corel Draw • dat

What is screen printing?
Screen printing is a process that is very different to that of digital. Screen printing requires the use of a finely woven mesh stretched slightly over a metal frame. Similar to offset, screen printing requires one screen per colour being printed. For example, a 3 colour design requires 3 screens. However this is where the similarity ends, screen printing is more limited in resolution and colour registration. This can vary dramatically depending on what surface you are printing in and whether it is flat or round.

So how does the art go from the proof to the screen?
The colours are separated on a computer using designated programs and printed out on to individual pieces of clear film creating a stencil. This stencil is then exposed onto the screen in a darkroom environment.

Should I set the art up as CMYK or spot colours?
We only use CMYK as a rule when printing logos such as photographic images that can’t be replicated with spot colours. We cannot print text in CMYK unless it is black as it will come out pixelated and blurry. It is always best that we check and advise on CMYK art to asses it in the quoting stage in case there need to be spot colours used as well as the CMYK which can affect pricing.

Four colour process:
We accept the following files at 300dpi at final size: • .tif file • .eps file
Please note: if the image you are sending is not sharp, i.e. pixelated or distorted, it will reproduce in the same way. Four colour process files are unable to be modified by us. We have no control over the final print colours. For more information please contact our graphic designers.

What is a white underlay?
This is a layer of white ink under your design on a clear or coloured bottle. This allows us to print and match PMS colours without the colours changing. There are limitations on some designs as to whether we can put an underlay under them. Text and crests are a good example of this. If you require an underlay on something like this then, depending on the design, we may be able to print a solid block and print over the top. There are also limitations on trapping.

Do I need an underlay?
You may need an underlay if you are printing PMS matched colours onto coloured bottles. As a general rule, the darker the bottle and the brighter the ink, the more the PMS colour will change. For example, a bright yellow PMS on to a black bottle is about the hardest combination and can result in a yellow/brown finish without an underlay. Art needs to be assessed by us to see if we can use an underlay. Text being printed on bottles cannot use an underlay due to the limitations in registration.

What is registration?
Registration is enabling more than 1 colour to line up effectively when printing. We must allow for 1mm of movement in registration between each screen for various reasons such as stretch in the screen and flexibility in the product. The intricacy of the artwork can be a vital factor when assessing how well a design will work and also play a big factor when printing white underlays.

Templates:
We have an artwork template for every bottle, see bottles for the templates needed.