Sound familiar?
- Your printer keeps rejecting files for missing bleed or low-resolution images
- Brand colours print dull or muddy because the artwork was set up in RGB
- Text near the edge got trimmed off the last batch of leaflets
- Every piece of print you own looks like it came from a different company
- You need a brochure, a banner and a menu, and no one is joining them up
- You were sent a quote for 'artwork' and have no idea what you are paying for
Key facts
- Flyers and leaflets from £95 + VAT; brochures from £295 + VAT; other print quoted or £45 an hour + VAT
- Print-ready files supplied as PDF/X-1a in CMYK, images at 300 dpi at final size
- 3 mm bleed on every edge and text kept inside a safe zone, usually 3 to 5 mm in from the trim
- Spot colours (Pantone) set up properly when your brand or the job needs them
- Printing is not included in design prices, but we can arrange it and quote it separately
- Editable source files (InDesign or Illustrator) available so future changes are easy
- Work done remotely from Mansfield for clients anywhere in the UK
What print design covers
Print design is any artwork that ends up on paper, card, vinyl, fabric or packaging. At dijitul media that means brochures, flyers and leaflets, posters, banners and signage, exhibition stands, menus, packaging, labels, catalogues, annual reports, books and magazines, vehicle livery and branded clothing and merchandise.
Each one has its own rules. A leaflet needs fold allowances, a roller banner needs a hidden area for the base, a food label has legal text sizes, and a book needs an ISBN barcode and a spine that matches the page count. Getting those details right is most of the job. The rest is making it look like it belongs to your brand.
The technical checklist behind a print-ready file
A file that looks fine on screen can still fail at the printer. These are the checks we run on every job before it leaves us:
- Colour: artwork built in CMYK, not RGB, because presses print with cyan, magenta, yellow and black inks. Spot colours from the Pantone range are used only where the job is printed with them.
- Resolution: photos at 300 dpi at the size they will print. A 72 dpi web image enlarged to A4 will look soft or blocky.
- Bleed: any colour or image that touches the edge extends 3 mm past the trim line, so there is no white sliver if the guillotine moves slightly.
- Safe zone: text and logos sit at least 3 to 5 mm inside the trim, more on folded or bound items.
- Black: small text in 100% black only, so it stays sharp; large black areas in a rich black mix within the printer's total ink limit.
- Fonts: embedded or outlined, so nothing substitutes on the press.
- Format: exported as PDF/X-1a, the ISO 15930 standard for CMYK and spot colour print exchange, which flattens transparency and embeds every font.
Paper, finishes and folds in plain English
Paper weight is measured in gsm (grams per square metre). As a rough guide, 130 to 170 gsm suits flyers and brochure inner pages, 250 to 350 gsm suits covers and postcards, and 400 gsm and up feels like a business card. Finish changes how it reads: silk is smooth with a low sheen and is the safe default, gloss makes photos punchy, and uncoated feels natural and is easy to write on.
Special finishes add cost but can lift a piece: matt or soft-touch lamination on covers, spot UV (a raised gloss varnish on chosen areas) and foil blocking in gold, silver or a colour. Each needs its own separate artwork layer, which we build for you.
Folds have names too. An A4 sheet folded twice to DL (99 × 210 mm) can be a roll fold or a z-fold; a gatefold opens like doors. On a roll fold the panel that tucks inside must be 2 to 3 mm narrower or it buckles, which is a common mistake in DIY templates.
Prices and how quotes work
Our fixed starting points are flyers or leaflets from £95 + VAT and brochures from £295 + VAT. Business cards or letterhead start from £75 + VAT. Posters, signage, packaging, labels, menus, catalogues, books, livery and stands are quoted as a fixed price after we see the brief, or charged at £45 an hour + VAT for smaller edits. You always get the fixed price before we start. Full details are on the pricing page.
Printing is separate. If you already have a printer, we send them the file. If you don't, our print management service gets quotes, checks proofs and arranges delivery.
Keeping your print consistent
The quickest way to look bigger than you are is for every printed item to match: same fonts, same colour values, same photo style, same logo spacing. If you have brand guidelines, we follow them to the letter. If you don't, we write down the CMYK, Pantone and RGB values we use on your first job so the next piece matches. If your logo only exists as a low-resolution JPG, we can redraw it as a vector file as part of a logo redesign, so it prints sharp at any size. Ready to start? Ask for a quote with your sizes and quantities.
What you get
- Print-ready PDF/X-1a with 3 mm bleed and crop marks if your printer wants them
- Low-resolution PDF proof for checking and sharing by email
- Editable InDesign or Illustrator source files on request
- Web versions (PNG or JPG in RGB) for your website and social posts
- A short spec sheet: size, stock, finish, fold and quantity to give your printer
- Packaged fonts and linked images list so another designer can pick it up later
How it works and what it costs
Logos from £150, brochures from £295, photography from £295 a half day and CAD at £45 an hour, all + VAT. You get a fixed price before we start.
Tell us the brief
What it is for, who will see it, where it will be used and any examples you like. Rough is fine.
Fixed price
We confirm the price and what you get, in writing, before any work starts.
First designs
We design, shoot or model it and share the first version for your comments.
Refine
We make the changes, check every detail, and prepare the files properly for print, web or manufacture.
Final files
You get the finished files in the formats you need, ready for your printer, website, social channels or manufacturer.
Frequently asked questions
What file format should I send to a printer?
Most UK printers want a PDF/X-1a file in CMYK with 3 mm bleed, fonts embedded and images at 300 dpi. dijitul supplies that as standard on every print job, plus a separate low-resolution proof for checking. If your printer asks for a different PDF/X version or crop marks, we export to their spec.
Why do my colours look different in print than on screen?
Screens mix light in RGB and can show brighter colours than ink on paper. Printers use CMYK, so very bright blues, greens and oranges dull down. dijitul sets artwork up in CMYK from the start and can specify a Pantone spot colour where a brand colour has to match exactly.
Does the design price include printing?
No. dijitul design prices cover the artwork and print-ready files. Printing is quoted separately, either by your own printer or through our print management service, where we get quotes, check proofs and arrange delivery for you.
What is bleed and why does it matter?
Bleed is extra artwork, usually 3 mm, that runs past the edge of the finished size. Guillotines are accurate but not perfect, so without bleed you can get thin white lines along the edges. dijitul adds bleed to every job and keeps text inside a safe zone away from the trim.
Can you work from my printer's template?
Yes. Send us the template (often a PDF or InDesign file with bleed and fold lines marked) and dijitul builds the artwork on it. That is the safest route for unusual sizes, folders, packaging and roller banners, because each printer's hardware and tolerances differ slightly.
Do I own the files once the job is finished?
Yes. Once paid, you receive the print-ready PDF and web versions, and editable source files on request. You can take them to any printer. Fonts are licensed separately by their makers, so we tell you which fonts are used and where they come from.
Related
Get a fixed price
Send a rough brief. You'll know exactly what it costs before we start.