Printing FAQs


Photos & Resolution
Fonts 
Ultra Violet Inks
File Size
PDF's
Web Page Captures
Proofs
Turn Around Time
What is Output Quality?
Scaling
Laminate
Media Besides Paper
Paper Stock
Type of File To Send
Do We Save Your Files?
How to Send a File
Foamcore vs. Gatorboard
Edge Trim for Foamcore & Gatorboard


(Use our Templates or need help with print definitions)

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Photos & Resolution- Scans that have been professionally created for brochures and advertisements will generally work well in large format. Older digital camera pictures are generally not dense enough to go to large sizes, although professional high resolution digital pictures are OK. An uncropped 2 megapixel digital photo can go up to 18x24 pretty nicely, a 5 megapixel photo can go to 30x40. Older 480x640 pixel pictures tend to look ratty when taken above 8x10" size, and we suggest you only use them for small pictures on your poster. (more)

We need images to be between 72 and 100 dpi in their final size to look good. This means that a 24x36 photo needs an uncompressed tiff image of between 12 and 24 megabytes in size. A rule of thumb is that 4 mb of tiff per square foot of image will give you 100 dpi. We find that more than 100 dpi is unnecessary, since your eye cannot see a pixel that small from a few feet back.
We prefer to scan your photos here, since our equipment is calibrated together. If you want to scan them yourself, give us tiff or jpg images, and use the settings on your scanner for an imagesetter. We will call you if we think there's a problem with your images.


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FileSizes- Files over 250 MB can be problematic - lets talk if your files are very large. (more)
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Fonts- We have the fonts that are supplied with the listed programs. (see software we support) If you have a font you bought elsewhere, send the font file along with your program file. It is a big help if you convert your fonts to curves in the programs like Corel, Illustrator, and Freehand that will do this.
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Can You Capture a Web Page?- We can capture your Web Page from the Internet, and print it out large size and in vibrant, full color. It's great for presentations, and to be able to show customers or management when they visit your office. It's particularly nice to see the entire Web Page at once! Give us the URL and we'll do the rest. For Web Page designers, this is a great way to show examples of your work.
We will print whatever portions of your Web Site that you want. Since the pages vary in length, we usually make the page 36" or 48" long and let the width fall wherever it does. If your page is wider than it is tall, it will be 36" or 48" wide with the height allowed to vary. We capture the active screen, i.e. without the Netscape headers, sidebars, and footers.
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What's your turnaround time? We normally produce orders that come in today on the next business day. Large orders (more than a dozen pieces), can take longer. If you are in a jam and need a job the same day, let us know. We can usually rip files received by noon our time. There is a 50% rush charge for production received after noon that must completed the same day.
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How good is your output? We use state of the art 1200i wide format Quantum Pigment Ink equipment, and the results are stunning! You'll have smooth blends, sharp text, accurate skin tones, and vibrant spot colors. We normally print postscript output at 600 dpi. Also our offset printing is done with soy based inks and recycled materials when ever available.
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Don't I need to see a proof? If it makes you more comfortable, we'll send you a color proof, the charge is $15 per (8.5x11+ for larger) plus the Fedex. We find that once you've seen our work, proofs are not usually necessary. When we are doing a large number of pieces, we'll do one for approval before we do the rest, but it's usually not worth it for single pieces. We stand behind our work, and will happily reprint it if there is a problem.
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What kinds of paper do you print on? Our standard paper is a 46 lb. matte surface paper made especially for inkjet printing. 46 lb. is about twice the weight of normal copier paper. We also stock a 7 mil gloss photo paper. (more)
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What can you print on besides paper? We stock Heavy Eco vinyl for trade show banners, matte and gloss outdoor vinyl, and backlit material for light boxes. For large orders, we will order any of the special materials that are available for our equipment, which includes vinyl, canvas, satin, cotton, polyester film, Tyvek, and many other materials. If you have special needs, let's talk!
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What is your laminate? We offer gloss, matte and crystal laminates. All are hot applied. We put it on both sides of the print to completely encapsulate the paper, which protects it from moisture. Hot applied laminates will not delaminate, something that can happen with cold applied materials. We have never, in over eleven years in business, had a print delaminate.
Crystal laminate is our premium trade show laminate. It has a pebble finish surface that eliminates glare, and it lets colors through beautifully. It is extra heavy for durability, with a total thickness of 23 mils. Maximum width is 42".
Gloss and matte laminate give a total thickness of 16 mils. Matte reduces reflection (glare) problems substantially. There is no doubt that matte dulls the colors a little, but that's the trade-off we make to reduce glare. Gloss laminate will give your poster the look of a glossy photo, and the colors really pop. Our standard is to trim gloss and matte prints with 3/16" of clear laminate all around. You can request that we trim your prints to the edge of the paper, but you lose your moisture seal. You can also ask us to trim with a fine edge, which gives you a 1/16" sealing edge. Our standard for crystal laminate is a fine edge.
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What's the difference between foamcore board and gatorboard? Gatorboard is a lot tougher than foamcore, and we suggest it when you expect your prints to last. It also will not bend with changes in humidity like foamcore will. We stock both in 3/16 thickness, foamcore in white only, gatorboard in both black and white.
Foamcore board is suggested for event signage only used for a day or two.
When we apply your print to either material, we use a hot melt adhesive that will not loosen with time. We use a hot vacuum press to apply it, which assures a smooth, bubble free job.
We can apply a U shaped plastic edge strip to either material that protects the edge from being banged up with handling. If you are taking presentation boards from place to place, this is a good thing to do! It gives your prints the look of a frame, and comes in black, white, gold and silver.

(also see supported software) PDF's from most programs work just fine. Save a high resolution CMYK pdf. From newer Adobe programs give us press quality pdf's.You can also send the native file you created, plus any files that are linked to it. If you created the art with Quark, collect for output. If, for whatever reason we need to change something, having the native file allows us to do it.
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How should I send you a file? Click on the icon on the right to enter your order here or email orders to: info@phatprints.com if the files are less than 10 mb. If they are more, leave them in Phatprints.com, in the pub folder. Send us an email letting us know you've left us a file, since we'll have the file with nothing to tell us what to do with it. When sending files electronically, we ask you to ZIP (PC) or Stuff (Mac) everything into one file.
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Can I send a PDF file? We can certainly print a PDF file, and the results are excellent. It does take away our ability to edit your file. If, for instance, we see a typo, we then will need for you to edit your file and retransmit it. If you are saving a PDF for us, embed your fonts and give us the highest resolution PDF it will make. (more)
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Scaling - I've got my file set up as 8-1/2x11. Can you scale it up? Sure, and up to 42x?", as long as your original files are a high enough resolution to scale to your required size and still look good. Our print drivers are unlimited for scaling. Programs like Pagemaker and Quark will limit your page size and won't let you scale higher than 400% in the program, but you can set your file up at whatever size and we can scale it here with our equipment.
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Do you save my files? All files we print are archived onto DVD. If you want the same piece reprinted in the future, it's easily done! Again, this is where it helps to have the native file, because it's easy to change a few words when you want to update the art.
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What is Quantum ink and what will do for me? The trade-off between great color and print longevity is over. Producing dynamic reds and bright yellows, KODAK Quantum Ink offers exceptional color gamut and density over the competition. Hit those hard-to-reach PANTONE Colors to create prints with incredible impact. With brilliant prints guaranteed to last, you no longer have to trade longevity for color. PHAT Prints offers over 30 different indoor and outdoor media types optimized and profiled for KODAK Quantum Inks—consistent output you can rely on year after year.

Question? Contact us at info@phatprints.com or call us! 715-362-0990