This document is meant to clarify our specifications for digital art files submitted to Kapan-Kent’s art department. None of the widely available graphics programs directly address the needs of screen printing file given to us, the whole production process can be expedited, with greater quality assurance if a few moments are taken to check the items on this list before art submission. We understand that circumstances do not always permit strict adherence to these guidelines, but we hope that this clarification will at the very least open the lines of communication.

General Guidelines

Since every custom order begins with the design we want to help you create a design that will give you the product you want and because Kapan-Kent is a custom decorator we pride ourselves on giving you the best possible artwork to use in your design process.  In order to achieve the quality in your design, we request that all artwork be submitted through Adobe Illustrator (AI) file or Photoshop (PSD) file.

If you have chose to create a decal program for your custom wares, Vector art is required to achieve the clear quality for your design.  Vector art is one of the two forms of art used by computers; Vector art ends in .EPS and can easily be enlarged without distorting the image.

Digital File Guidelines

When creating artwork for screen-printing, remember that it is a spot color medium, unlike offset printing (where the majority of work is a 4 color process). Keep in mind the following when submitted files for separation.

If the artwork is submitted in a pixel based file format (i.e.; jpeg, tiff, bmp, Photoshop, eps, etc…) it will need to be redrawn by the Kapan-Kent art department and additional fees can be incurred.  No colors in the file should be CMYK or RBG. Delete all unused colors from the document. Unless there is a large section of the text in the file, please convert all type to outlines/paths/curves. Since most artwork for our type of screen-printing is not text intensive, this will prevent confusion and save time of loading of fonts into our computers. When using a large body of text, try and use a very common or traditional font such as Helvetica or Times.

Do not apply any trapping to the image. All spot-colors printed use butt-to-butt registration. Use the PMS colors for the color names. Generic colors that a software program uses may look greater on your monitor; remember that all monitors displays colors differently. Therefore using the PMS color standard is the best way to ensure that the correct colors are printed. Be sure to double-check a PMS book against your monitor for color accuracy in the design.

We will try and match colors as close as possible. However, please understand we can never match a color exactly. We us a PMS chart as a guideline ONLY!