Applying a bleed to the design means simply that any graphics or colours that go up to the edge of the design should be increased in size or positioned so that they go 3mm outside it. We recommend that for the best visual result that text should be placed at least 4mm inside the edge of the design.

Colour Matching

If precise Colour matching is require please let us know the Pantone colours needed or/and send us a sample to match to.

The process of assuring that a colour on one medium remains the same when converted to another medium can be extremely challenging because different processes & media have different colour gamut’s (ranges). For instance Colour monitors use a RGB gamut, whereas process printing Offset & Toner based Digital Printers use the CMYK gamut.

The CMYK colour model (process colour, four colour) is a subtractive colour model, used in colour printing, and is also used to describe the printing process itself.

In additive colour models such as RGB, white is the “additive” combination of all primary coloured lights, while black is the absence of light. In the CMYK model, it is the opposite: white is the natural colour of the paper or other background, while black results from a full combination of coloured inks.

Colour Density

Because each of the CMYK colours can be laid down from 0% to 100%, it is possible to specify a colour that results in a lot of ink being laid down (i.e. 400%). This can create problems with both paper folding (cracking of the ink coating) and double sided printing (print rollers make an impression in to the black as the page is reheated to print temperature).

We recommend that you stick to a total of 230% wherever possible for any colour (i.e. the combined % of C, M, Y, and K add up to less than 230%).

Working with Rich Black

Rich black, is an ink mixture of solid black over one or more of the other CMY colours, resulting in a darker tone than black ink alone generates in a printing process. A typical rich black mixture might be 100% black, 40% of each of the other three inks (CMY).

By default Photoshop will create “Rich Black” with 250% ink coverage. You should make adjustments to colour settings and / or individual colours to produce a black that is no more than 230%.