CHRISTMAS PROJECT - Artwork GUIDELINES

Bold and bright designs that fill the paper produce the best effect. Large areas of white background are less effective.

GET THE BEST RESULTS

Good RESULTS

Pastels (chalk or oil)
Paints (all techniques and media)
Collage (including paper and fabric - ensure these are stuck well)
Felt Tips
Line drawings in ink
Inks
Printing
Charcoal
Glitter

Coloured pencils or pencil drawings
Same coloured media or material on the same coloured background
Pencils or coloured pencils onto coloured paper
Metallic pens & paint
Photos printed on glossy paper
Reflective/shiny papers or materials
Sellotape or transparent film

DO NOT USE

COMPLETING YOUR ARTWORK FORM:

Complete artwork on A4 or A5 sized paper or card. The artwork can be either landscape or portrait.

Please attach one piece of artwork per form.

Fasten your artwork to the form with a glue stick - Do not use staples, paperclips or tape as these will appear on your final product!

Try to keep designs unfolded and damage free as creases and marks will show on the final print.

Keep important details away from the edge example - cauliflower cards

artwork guidline orientation example - cauliflower cards

Edges of finished cards are trimmed by a couple of mm, so keep important details such as text, border designs and important features at least 1cm away from the edge of the paper. We hate trimming off important details!
Text on the designs will shrink when resized for printing onto small products, so ensure all wording is big and bold.
Please note anything extending beyond the A4 or A5 sheet will not appear on the finished card at all.

KEEP IMPORTANT CONTENT AWAY FROM THE EDGEs

TIPS TO AVOID DISAPPOINTING RESULTS

avoid faint pencils

AVOID REFLECTIVE MATERIALS

Faint pencils vs pressing harder - cauliflower cards artwork guidlines

Coloured pencils give variable results, depending on what artwork has been made and what colour the background is.

Many pencils and some pens do not print well on brightly coloured backgrounds. If the contrast between the drawing and the background isn’t great enough the printer will convert to the nearest colour.

To enhance your results you could:

Use thick, bright pens on coloured backgrounds.
Apply pencils firmly to the paper to make them as bright as possible.

Beware of reflective surfaces such as:

Glossy Photo Paper
Shiny / Reflective Card
Sellotape or Transparent Film
Metallic Ink / Paint

These are susceptible to colour change during the artwork process, so can appear much lighter due to reflections.

To get better results, you could:

Print photos on matt finish paper to reduce reflections
Use alternatives to reflective card such as sugar paper or tissue.
Avoid placing clear tape over important parts of artwork.
Only use metallic inks on dark backgrounds.

Cards are trimmed 2-4mm, so if any important design elements are near the edge, they will get cut off in production.

White borders may be added to your artwork to prevent this.

Keep important details, particularly text, at least 1cm from the edge to guarantee it does not get trimmed off.

Make your artwork stand out!

Using media the same colour as the background - such as white paint on white paper may be clear on the artwork but when printed it can appear lighter and flatter.

The same issue occurs when placing cotton wool on white backgrounds.

Very light, cream backgrounds can sometimes print white.

How to help get the best results:

Create contrast between the artwork and the background.
If using cotton wool in your design, put it on a coloured background so it really stands out.
Use bright coloured media, opt for pens or paint instead of faint pencils.