File Preparation

You do not need to be a print expert to order from us. Send us your best file and we will tell you honestly how it will print before we go to press. That said, the notes below will help you get the best result first time.

Resolution

Resolution is measured in dots per inch (dpi) at the final print size.
Resolution Result
300dpi Ideal. Sharp at normal viewing distance on any paper.
200dpi Good. Slightly softer up close, fine for most work and all canvas.
150dpi Acceptable minimum. Will show softness at A2 and above.
Below 150dpi Send it anyway — we will tell you what it will look like before printing.

As a rough guide, an A2 print at 300dpi needs around 7,000 × 5,000 pixels. An A0 needs around 14,000 × 9,900 pixels.

File Formats

  • TIFF — preferred. Lossless, no compression artefacts.
  • PNG — good, especially for illustration and flat colour.
  • JPEG — fine at maximum quality (level 10–12). Avoid heavily compressed JPEGs.
  • PSD / PSB — accepted. Flatten layers before saving if possible.
  • PDF — accepted for press-ready files. Export at 300dpi.

Colour Space

Send your file in Adobe RGB or sRGB. We convert to our printer profile here, so you do not need to do anything special. Do not send in CMYK — inkjet printers work in RGB and converting from CMYK loses colour range.

Bit depth: 16-bit is ideal for photographs and tonal work. 8-bit is fine for everything else.

Borders

Paper prints come with a 2cm white border as standard, which suits hinge mounting behind a window mount. Tell us at checkout if you want something different:

  • Borderless — image runs to the edge of the paper
  • Smaller border — specify the width in mm
  • Larger border — useful for signing below the image

Canvas with a 5cm border has the image extended into the border area where the artwork allows, so stretched sides continue the picture rather than showing white. If you would prefer a solid colour, tell us at checkout.

Sending Your File

Two options at checkout:

  1. Upload directly — up to 2GB, straight from the product page.
  2. Paste a transfer link — WeTransfer, Dropbox, Google Drive or similar. Make sure the link does not expire before we print. We usually print within 3–5 working days.

If your file is very large and you are local to Wokingham, you are also welcome to bring a USB drive to the studio.

Colour Accuracy

Screens emit light; paper reflects it. Some very saturated colours — particularly bright blues, greens and oranges — cannot be reproduced exactly in print. We print with colour management throughout and check every job by eye.

For large orders or work where colour matching is critical, we recommend a test print first. It costs the price of a single small print and removes uncertainty before a full run. Add a note at checkout or contact us to discuss.

For more detail, see our colour accuracy guide.

What we check before Printing

Every file is opened and inspected before we go to press. We check:

  • Resolution at the requested print size
  • Colour space
  • Whether the crop looks intentional
  • Obvious file corruption or artefacts

If something looks wrong, we contact you before printing. You are never charged for a print you have not approved.

Ready to start?

Browse papers and sizes and place your first order. Or contact us if you have questions about the process first.