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PREPRESS GUIDELINES

Follow these steps to create print-ready files.

See the basics at a glance, or click the link for detailed instructions.

ALTOâ„¢ Prepress Guidelines Document size

DOCUMENT SIZE

Files must be at a 1:1 scale. If different, indicate applicable percentage.

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ALTOâ„¢ Prepress Guidelines Color Profile

COLOR PROFILE

Prepare documents in CMYK. Use Pantone spot colors for color matching.

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ALTOâ„¢ Prepress Guidelines Image Resolution

IMAGE RESOLUTION

Preferred image resolution is 300 dpi with a minimum of 150 dpi.

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ALTOâ„¢ Prepress Guidelines Bleed & Margins

BLEEDS & MARGINS

Include bleed of 0.5” with crop marks offset by 0.5” and a safety margin.

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ALTOâ„¢ Prepress Guidelines Embedded Links

EMBEDDED LINKS

Embed all links

(images, logos and graphics).

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ALTOâ„¢ Prepress Guidelines Fonts

FONTS

Convert all text to vector line drawings (create outlines).

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ALTOâ„¢ Prepress Guidelines Dielines

DIELINES

Include dielines for holes and special cutting. Indicate stud placement.

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ALTOâ„¢ Prepress Guidelines File Types

FILE TYPES

We accept high resolution PDF (preferred), PSD and JPEG.

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION

  • Review all documents at 100% zoom.
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  • All PANTONE colors must remain in spot colors.
     

  • Color matching services are at an additional cost.
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  • Margins and decorative borders have special requirements.
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  • Font size is dependent of font color and background color.
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  • SH reserves the right to ask for native files.​
     

  • ALTO™ uses specific PDF export settings. Download the Quickset PDF here.

5 GRAPHIC RULES TO LIVE BY

01. COLORS

Use bright, contrasting colors to make your design stand out. Colors should be bold but balanced so use a combination of warm and cool colors. Play with different color combos to see what suits your design. Complimentary colors are a great place to start!

02. TYPOGRAPHY

Keep readability and legibility at the top of your mind when incorporating text into your design. Chose a pleasant and easy-to-read typeface and pay attention to letter and word spacing. Optimal paragraph width is 50-60 characters.

03. WHITE SPACE

White space is important. When elements get too crowded the design becomes hard to absorb and you can lose your audience. To use white space to your advantage imagine a grid over your design. Use this grid to place, align and space out graphic elements.

04. GRAPHIC ELEMENTS

To make the design process efficient, gather everything you need before you start. That means logos, icons, graphics, images, etc. and format them for size, resolution and color profile. This will make your life a lot easier!

05. TEST PRINTS

A design can look one way on a screen and totally different when printed. View the design at 100% zoom on your screen. When you're satisfied, print a section of your design at 100% to verify and correct image quality, colors, typography and written content.

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