Guide to Uploading files
This guide is written based on Adobe Illustrator but all formats and instructions are the same for other programs. If you are using Photoshop, click here.
1. Open Document
Open your document in Adobe Illustrator. This could be a .pdf, .eps or .ai (illustrator) document.2. Missing Profile
If you get a ''Missing profile'' warning, click on ''Leave as is (don't color manage)'', then ''OK''.3. Set the size of the document
The bleed area is included in the total area of the product.For example, the final size of business cards on Optimalprint is 90x55 mm, and the document that will need to be uploaded should be 98x63 mm (4 mm added to each side).
To add the 4 mm bleed on each side:
Press ''File'' and then ''Document Setup''.
This will give you dialogue box. Here you enter the size for document. Enter 98 mm for width and 63 mm for height. If you want a vertical card, enter 63 mm for width and 98 mm for height.
Press ''OK''
The following sizes apply for the different product sizes - However, note the following:
a. Files for folded products are uploaded with the format when unfolded; e.g. an A5 folded into A6 is uploaded as an A5.
b. Do not add bleed on envelopes.
c. 2-sided products are uploaded as 2 separate files
| Product | File size with bleed | Printed product size (bleeds are now removed) |
| Business Cards | 98 x 63 mm | 90 x 55 mm |
| A6 | 156 x 113 mm | 148 x 105 mm |
| A5 | 156 x 218 mm | 148 x 210 mm |
| A4 | 218 x 305 mm | 210 x 297 mm |
| A3 | 305 x 428 mm | 297 x 420 mm |
| E65 Envelopes | 220 x 110 mm | 220 x 110 mm |
| C6 Envelopes | 162 x 114 mm | 162 x 114 mm |
| C5 Envelopes | 229 x 162 mm | 229 x 162 mm |
| C4 Envelopes | 324 x 229 mm | 324 x 229 mm |
| EC4 Envelopes | 229 x 312 mm | 229 x 312 mm |
4. Bleed
Make sure all elements close to the border of your design go across the border and into the 4mm bleed area. If your document has a background color, make sure the color covers the entire page/bleed area. If you have a frame inside your card, make sure this is at least 3mm inside the product area, i.e. at least 7mm from the borders of the design file.
5. Color
We only print CMYK colors, and you must convert all colors to CMYK if your file contains Pantone or other color codes. If an element contains a Pantone color, press the CMYK button in the ''Color'' window, shown on the picture by the orange circle.
6. Outline your fonts
If your document contains text, please outline the text:Select all text elements, press ''Type'' and ''Create Outlines''.
7. Saving the file as PDF
Press ''File'', then ''Save As''.
Press ''Save''. This will give you a dialogue window with settings for the PDF-file.
Set ''Standard'' to ''PDF/X-1a:2003'' and ''Compability'' to ''Acrobat 4 (PDF 1.3)
Press ''Compression'' in the left menu.
In ''Compression'', set everything to ''Do Not Downsample'', Compression to ''Automatic (JPEG)'' and ''Image quality'' and ''CCITT Group 4'' for ''Monochrome Bitmap Images''
Press ''Marks and Bleeds'' in the left menu.
Uncheck everything. Bleeds should be 0 mm, since the Bleed is included in the file already
Press ''Output'' in the left menu
For Color, set ''Color Conversion'' to ''Convert to Destination (Preserve Numbers)''
Set destination to ''U.S Web Coated (SWOP) v2''. In some versions of Illustrator this is displayed as “Working CMYK -U.S Web coated (SWOP)v2”, if this applies to your version of the program, please chose this option instead.
For PDF/X set ''Output Intent Profile Name'' to ''U.S Web Coated (SWOP v2)''. In some versions of Illustrator this is displayed as “Working CMYK -U.S Web coated (SWOP)v2”, if this applies to your version of the program, please chose this option instead.
Press ''Save PDF''.
You are done and the file is ready for upload.